Just What Baseball Needed
Jul 14, 2021, 9:54 AM | Updated: 9:54 am
(Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The NFL is top dog, the NBA isn’t far behind, so where does that put MLB?
Behind.
The question is, how far behind is baseball from football and basketball? That is tough to quantify, but we can likely all agree that it is behind. The NFL news cycle dominates for the full calendar year and the NBA continues to do the same.
Baseball has trouble controlling that cycle even during their own season.
Baseball just had its own personal showcase in Denver over the last couple of days with the Major League All Star Game. It was started with a star studded entertaining evening of Home Run Derby. The crowd came to see Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani and ended by watching Mets slugger Pete Alonso win his-second straight title.
Those two along with Soto, Olson, Perez, Story, Gallo and the incredible story of Trey Mancini all put on a show that was must see tv.
This event is fun. This event is the perfect combination of great television while also being incredibly entertaining for those at the park. The participants looked like they enjoyed themselves and so did we. This was GREAT for baseball.
Speaking of Ohtani, what he is doing this year is unparalleled and that gets people talking. He was in the Home Run derby. He batted leadoff and was the DH for the American League all while being named the starting pitcher. WHAT? Yes, something I have never seen in my life and likely will never again unless it is Ohtani repeating the feat.
Baseball has so many great young stars and they are spread throughout the league. Big markets, smaller markets, basically all the markets in the baseball. MLB is discussing eliminating the runner on second base to start extra innings, removing the 7 inning double headers and banning the shift.
These are all fine but their concentration needs to be more of how they can get their names out to all of the public. The stars sell the game.
Baseball has those stars now and they also all seem very willing to sell the game. It still may fall short to football and to basketball’s increased popularity but baseball should own the Summer and do some serious damage when the best part of the sports takes place and that is the post-season.
The last couple of days did at least get people talking about baseball. Baseball had a few good days, but they need to turn it into more than just that.
The game is still great, the names are becoming great, this was the exact thing that baseball needed. Now let’s go enjoy the second half of the season.
