MLB Needs to Grow the Game
Shohei Ohtani via NBC News
The game of baseball is known as America’s Pastime. With all generations and nationalities following the game, it’s no secret that baseball is lacking in the younger kids. The younger generation is following football and basketball more than baseball. This is a problem and needs to be addressed. There are many ways of promoting and using baseball to draw in the younger generation.
Using today’s stars
Major League Baseball is lucky enough to have gifted players. Players such as Fernando Tatis Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Jacob DeGrom, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, etc. These are the players that attract the big audience. MLB needs to use these players to their advantage when trying to grow the game. MLB’s social media uses Fernando Tatis as their biggest asset. Continuing to use Tatis as well as other players, give baseball a huge boost to growing the game. These are the type of players that have fun with the game. With baseball being stereotyped as a boring game, these players are the front line to eliminating that narrative. Using social media is today’s number one main source of getting information out there as quick as possible to every audience imaginable.
All-Star Weekend
Major League Baseball’s All-Star Weekend is a fun way to grow the game, however, there is many ways to attract more of an audience. Right now, MLB has the All-Star game as well as the Home Run Derby. Both events are great as they are but, they are not enough. Back in 1990, before being cancelled due to Barry Larkin getting injured, MLB did have a skills competition. This is something MLB should strongly consider bringing back. NHL, NFL, and the NBA all have skills competitions and its draws in some of the largest ratings all year. Extended MLB’s All-Star Weekend to a week or at least a few days longer, would attract a much larger audience.
At the skills competition, we could see a catcher’s competition to see pick off accuracy. Some of the catchers we could see would be J.T. Realmuto, Yasmani Grandal, Will Smith, etc.
Another competition we could witness would be a stolen base competition to see who could swipe the most bags. Players we could see would be Trea Turner, Starling Marte, Billy Hamilton, Fernando Tatis Jr., etc.
Having a skills competition would be fun for the game. These types of events are more of a way to give the audience a few laughs and to give more examples of how the game isn’t the stereotypical boring sport. These small competitions are to appeal to the younger generation as they are the ones who would benefit the most out of it.
Implementing Memories to Ballparks
Baseball stadiums are a staple to Major League Baseball. Stadiums such as Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and Yankee Stadium are considered the holy grail of baseball venues. People even go as far and label them as landmarks in America. However, most stadiums lack fan interactions. By adding activities for kids to connect to the game more would go a long way. Activities such as batting practice as well as quick games would allow the kids to learn and enjoy the game at the ballpark.
Some stadium interactions that do a great job at this are Tropicana Field, Comerica Park, Yankee Stadium, and Citizens Bank Park. Tropicana has the rays touch tank that gives fans a chance to touch rays that are swimming in the tank. Comerica has amusement park rides such as a Ferris wheel and carousel among the options for fans in attendance. Yankee Stadium has Monument Park which shows the history of the team with plaques and monuments of some of baseball’s greatest players. Citizens Bank Park has a section specifically for kids where they can hit balls in a mini replica of the park. More fan interaction like this in other ball parks would go a long way in growing the game.
Activities as such at NFL games and NASCAR races are a popular tactic. When you walk into Metlife Stadium for a Giants/Jets game, there are kids out front playing flag football on a smaller field that the stadium provided. At some NASCAR races, they have a fan zone which gives fans a chance to see the cars they race as well as countless activities. Implementing these more child-friendly interactions would give children and their families more of a memory of their time at one of these world-known ballparks. Experiences such as these interactions, will give kids a fun memory causing them to link those memories with the game of baseball.
The Game Needs Work
There is no denying that baseball is the least watched sport out of America’s top four. As stated before, the game is dying and needs to be resurrected by the younger generation. There always will be the large group of individuals whose heart will always belong to baseball, but the game needs to be passed on. Kids need to be taught about baseball and not to look at it as boring or the least watched sport. By implementing some of the ideas stated above, the younger generation would see the fun part of the game. By watching these young studs of players, who make the game exciting, they become role models for the youth. Players stated before give the game that electric feeling when they make great defensive plays, diving catches, and hit no-doubt home runs. Baseball is an indescribable game and needs to be shown before the game truly starts to die out.