Category Archives: Public Relations

July 7, 2020

Money on Betts

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Mookie Betts takes the lead on involving black youth in baseball:

“Obviously MLB can help, but I think it’s on us, the Black players, to bring it to the Black communities and make baseball cool,” he said. “I think that’s where the disconnect is. Us as Black people don’t think it’s that much fun. So we have to find a way to make it fun for the Black community and get more guys here.”

LATimes.com

I’m not sure baseball was ever cool, but it certainly was fun to play growing up. Few of my friends were in organized baseball. We played in an empty lot or on the school playground. Somebody had a ball, somebody had a bat, and we’d share gloves. We made up rules to make three on three games work, or even two on two games. I would be tempted to ban organized baseball for children under ten years old so they can discover the fun of the game themselves.

I wish Betts success in this endeavor. Maybe he can pull a page from the Willie Mays playbook and play with children in the streets of Los Angeles during the day.

July 18, 2018

Touting Trout

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The Angels don’t like that Rob Manfred wants Mike Trout to market himself:

In an extraordinary rebuke of a sitting commissioner, the Angels issued a statement Wednesday strongly defending their franchise player, Mike Trout, against criticism that he ought to dedicate more time to selling himself and his sport.

“We applaud him for prioritizing his personal values over commercial self-promotion,” the statement read. “That is rare in today’s society and stands out as much as his extraordinary talent.”

For a long time I’ve heard complaints that MLB did not market players due to friction between the owners and the union. Now MLB wants to market their best position player, and he doesn’t want to do it. I’m seeing more ads with Jose Altuve, which is great. Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, Kris Bryant, Jose Ramirez, etc. would all be great people to promote, young great players who are going to be around for a while. There are plenty of others from which to choose.

March 2, 2012

The Evolution of Sports Leagues

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The first session of the Sloan MIT Sports Analytics Conference (SSAC) discusses the evolution of leagues. Gary Bettman represents the NHL, Rob Manfred MLB, Adam Silver NBA, Steve Tisch NFL, and Scott Boras I assume represents the players interests.

I’m not sure sports leagues really evolve.  That requires competition and/or pressure from changing resources. The major leagues destroyed their competition years ago.  As long as the fans are watching, there’s not much resource pressure.  The NFL does face a challenge with the concussion issue, and I hope that is addressed.

Update: You an also see what I’m tweeting @StatsGuru, and follow has tag #SSAC.

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Opening remarks. The incredibly handsome Daryl Morey is second from the left.

Update: The panel. Michael Wilbon moderates:

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Update: Bettman believes that losing an NHL season helped the other leagues settle their labor disputes. It proved owners could stick together.

Update: Manfred says that the 1994-1995 strike stays with both sides of the negotiation. He also points out that negotiations have gone from lawyer driven in the ’80s to analytic driven today. With revenue sharing built in, analytics are needed to prove why it’s good.

Update: Boras is asked about the evolving partnership between players and owners. With greater revenues, the risk for loss is higher on both sides.

Update: Tisch is very happy with the ten year NFL deal. The stability gives them more room to partner and innovate.

Update: Wilbon is now asking about Internationalization.

Update: Silver says basketball is now the number one sport in China.

Update: Silver takes first Jeremy Lin shot at Morey. 🙂

Update: Baseball has a very good fashion business in Europe. Need players from a country to make sport popular there, according to Manfred.

Update: Boras says Ichiro was basball’s Jeremy Lin. Suzuki changed the way baseball thought about the Pacific rim.

Update: Question time.

Update: What has MLB learned from the Braun investigation? Manfred says it’s a chance to improve the process. Boras points to the importance of impartial arbitrators.

Update: The concussion issue is raised. Bettman notes the NHL led the way on concussion safety. Culture is changing to allow players to admit concussions.

Update: Tisch says players now sit out on average six days instead of three with concussions. The injury is down this year. NFL working with military as they have the same issues.

This was a very interesting panel, although I would have loved to see the panel challenged on the structure of the leagues.

May 23, 2011 June 23, 2010

What’s Up With That?

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Jerry Seinfeld will be in the broadcast booth during the Mets game at Citi Field while the team hold a “Mets Fans Go Gaga for Wright” night. Sounds like a bad romance to me. 🙂

By the way, this video is right up there with Legs as one of my favorite videos of all time. ZZ Top always gave you the three staples of great music videos, cars, guitars and chicks. Sharp Dressed Man is a better song, but Legs is the better video.

Update: Of course, Seinfeld might have inspired the Lady Gaga look with his episode, The Caddy:

(Scene: Elaine’s office at J Peterman)

Receptionist on Intercom: Sue Ellen Mishke to see you.

Elaine: Sue Ellen Mishke? Ah, alright, send her in.

(Sue Ellen enters, wearing the brazier as a top, with a black blazer)

Sue Ellen: Hi Elaine.

Elaine: Hellllloo.

Sue Ellen: I happened to be in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d stop
in, and thank you for your lovely gift.

Elaine: Ohhhhh. You’re….welcome.

Sue Ellen: Is anything wrong?

Elaine: Well, Sue Ellen, it’s a, it’s not a top, it’s a bra.

Sue Ellen: Oh, I know. Thanks again.

The episode also contains this great exchange about the Yankees:

George: Assistant to the General Manager!! You know what means?!?
He’d could be askin’ my advice on trades! Trades, Jerry, I’m a
heartbeat away!

Jerry: That’s a hell of an organization they’re running up there. I
can’t understand why they haven’t won a pennant in 15 years.

March 11, 2010

Hunter Kerfuffle

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I somehow missed Torii Hunter’s ill chosen words yesterday:

“People see dark faces out there, and the perception is that they’re African American. They’re not us. They’re impostors.

“Even people I know come up and say, ‘Hey, what color is Vladimir Guerrero? Is he a black player?’ I say, ‘Come on, he’s Dominican. He’s not black.’ “

Hunter clarified his comments today:

What troubles me most was the word “impostors” appearing in reference to Latin American players not being black players. It was the wrong word choice, and it definitely doesn’t accurately reflect how I feel and who I am.

What I meant was they’re not black players; they’re Latin American players. There is a difference culturally. But on the field, we’re all brothers, no matter where we come from, and that’s something I’ve always taken pride in: treating everybody the same, whether he’s a superstar or a young kid breaking into the game. Where he was born and raised makes no difference.

I know that African-American and Latin American players see themselves as different, but segregation in baseball wasn’t based on where you were from, it was on how you look. The commonality between African and Latin American players who were not allowed in the majors before Jackie Robinson was the color of their skin. No one bothered to find out where they came from. If their skin was too dark, they didn’t play in the majors. Since the western hemisphere is pretty much all the Americas, African-American should really apply to every one there of African descent.

Hunter, however, gets at the heart of the problem, although I don’t agree with the reasoning:

“As African-American players, we have a theory that baseball can go get an imitator and pass them off as us,” Hunter says. “It’s like they had to get some kind of dark faces, so they go to the Dominican or Venezuela because you can get them cheaper. It’s like, ‘Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?’

“I’m telling you, it’s sad.”

Yes, MLB goes to Latin America because on average players are cheaper. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, those cheap players were black players from the United States. The draft, however, took care of that. Once players realized they could leverage their draft position into big money, the majors looked elsewhere for cheap talent. Maybe there is racism involved in that, but that hasn’t stopped Hunter, Sabathia, Jeter, Crisp, Matthews Jr., Griffey Jr., Belle, etc. from making millions playing the game. Eliminate the draft, and poor black Americans would once again be a source of cheap players for MLB teams.

As for Hunter, he chose his words poorly, and his image took a hit. He apologized as he should. I suspect that leveling the signing money between players covered by the draft and those not will bring more black Americans into the game. I suspect, however, it will be through the implementation of an international draft than the elimination of the institution.

August 28, 2009 June 18, 2009

Civil Rights Weekend

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Baseball moved the Civil Rights Game to the regular season this year. It takes place Saturday in Cincinnati, amid a weekend of events.

Ali, Aaron and Cosby will be honored at a Saturday luncheon with Clinton as the keynote speaker and Leonard, Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson and Commissioner Bud Selig presenting them with baseball’s Beacon Awards.

Frank Robinson, who was the major leagues’ first black manager, will throw out the first pitch Saturday night. Another former Reds star and Hall of Famer, Tony Perez, and Robertson will participate in a round-table discussion Friday at the Freedom Center.

Current Reds Brandon Phillips and Jerry Hairston Jr. and former All-Stars Eric Davis and Harold Reynolds will take part Saturday afternoon in baseball demonstrations and activities called “Wanna Play?,” MLB’s latest initiative to revitalize black participation that had been on the decline over the past two decades.

That’s Bill Cosby, not Bobby Crosby, who’s being honored.

July 30, 2007 July 23, 2007 May 12, 2007 March 28, 2007

Promoting Players?

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The 2007 Media Information Directory arrived in the mail today. This is a handy guide to everyone involved in Major League baseball from the commissioner to the local beat writer. What caught my attention this year is the cover. In the past, the cover used a drawing of a generic baseball player. This year, pictures of the NL and AL pennant winners, MVPs and Cy Young winners grace the front. I wonder if this is due to the new harmony between management and the union?

January 15, 2006

Royals Caravan

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A Kansas City Star reporter travels with the Royals caravan through the state of Kansas. On the trip, he hears some good stories and finds a lot of support for the team in the heartland:

It?s a nice night and a good meal, and everyone seems to feel good. There is a lot of laughter. There?s something about the Royals caravan that makes you feel good. Sure, the Royals are a city team, with talk radio and Internet chatboards and all that.
But they are also a country team, and some of the deepest Royals passion is out in the wheat and corn and milo of the red states.
The passion is not gone. It?s still out here. Every Royals player should go on the caravan and see it. The food is hit and miss, the hotels are not the Ritz, the roads are bumpy, the kids don?t always say thank you. But every so often, there will be a moment like this: A family of five walked through the line in a mall in Hutchinson. All of them were wearing Royals jerseys.
?We think you?re going to win it all this year,? the father said.
?We?ll try,? Emil Brown said. ?We?ll play hard.?
?That?s all anyone can ask,? the man said. ?You play. We?ll hope.?

November 2, 2005

Poker Face

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I missed this story when it first came out, but Alex Rodriguez frequents poker clubs in Manhattan. It’s appropriate that it’s raised a red flag in the commissioner’s office:

Baseball bosses know players frequently play cards for money in the clubhouse, on the team plane and in hotels. Some gamble in casinos.
But officials aren’t happy that the man considered by many to be the greatest active player is rubbing elbows with gamblers – some who presumably wager on baseball games.
With clubs being raided by cops and sometimes robbed by gunmen, the 30-year-old star’s flirtation with controversy or possible danger is seen as odd for a player known for his perfectly scripted public image.
“What in the world is he thinking?” a high-ranking MLB official said. “He can do what he wants in the off-season and he isn’t breaking the law – we checked – but why do it?”

I always thought there was a rule against consorting with gamblers, but rule 21 appears to be strictly about betting on games and bribing players and umpires.
And of course, Selig has to make it about the young people:

But sources said Selig is “very unhappy,” in part because of the message the poker playing sends to young fans.
“Kids look up to [Rodriguez],” a source said. “It isn’t good for anybody.”

Maybe Congress can ban poker shows from television in an amendment to the steroid bill.

December 10, 2004

Regal Journey

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Willie Henderson describes the Royals Caravan visit to Maryville.

The Royals Caravan is an annual promotion where Royals players, announcers, Royals legends and team mascot Sluggerrr climb in a small bus and visit over 30 midwestern cities, covering more than 2,000 miles across five states. Cynics will say it is an effort to win back fans who feel disenfranchised by the present state of the national pastime.
True fans, like Matt McClarnon, Shambaugh, Iowa, see it differently.
“It’s great that the players will come to a town like Maryville,” McClarnon said. “It gives us a chance to see them up close.”

I have to agree with Mr. McClarnon. Providing a personal connection to players is a great way to develop a fan base. There are going to be a lot of David DeJesus fans after this trip.

February 3, 2004