MLB and Union talk major rule changes

[Matt]

5 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

On some levels, like in-game analytics, I think baseball is pretty cutting edge.  On business ops and long-term strategic planning... I don't know.  For example, I'd expect a lot of things to be going on with dynamic pricing of both tickets and concessions, but I don't know if the Orioles' ticket prices are very much different from 10 or 15 years ago, with maybe a little inflation tacked on.

If they're doing advanced biomarker reasearch... where is that reflected in the game?  I kind of doubt that people's prefrontal cortex lights up when they hear the jingle for the Pohanka Honda-Toyota-Edsel dealer for the 11th time during the 6th pitching change.

I don't doubt for a second that the various analytics/marketing departments have a bunch of cool information, which the CEOs/decision-makers end up not really using -- which would explain why the Orioles have been behind the curve in various areas for years.
Hard to say what MLB knows or has been doing, but if they were at an all-time-high, say, 10 years ago in attendance and are at a current all-time-high in revenue, my guess is they're going to be pretty conservative with their changes, rather than wondering "how do we get back to how it was in 1979." Much to our chagrin. But anyway, maybe there really is something about the modern game, or, say, the game as it was in 2009 (e.g.) that really spoke to people.

[Aglets]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

They certainly do a terrible job marketing the players.  I know Trout isn't much interested in being marketed but I'm sure other young players would be willing.  I think to a large extent they market locally without the league having much of a plan to market at the national and international level..

Not a Subway fan?  

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, Aglets said:

Not a Subway fan?  

The one I rode in Germany was very nice.  I'm in more of a rural area right now so we have to drive or take the bus.

[Aglets]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

The one I rode in Germany was very nice.  I'm in more of a rural area right now so we have to drive or take the bus.

Makes sense.  I am more of a Quiznos guy myself too.

[DrungoHazewood]

15 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

They certainly do a terrible job marketing the players.  I know Trout isn't much interested in being marketed but I'm sure other young players would be willing.  I think to a large extent they market locally without the league having much of a plan to market at the national and international level..

Trout/Harper/Machado should be baseball's answer to Brady, Ovechkin, LeBron, Messi, Ronaldo.  I don't think they're remotely close in recognition, popularity, or brand value.

Maybe it's demographics.  Your average baseball fan is 63 and doens't understand what those darned kids are up to.  Why can't Manny just smile and nod and endorse Esskay hotdogs like Brooks?  If your own fans don't like the players what chance do you have of making them into global ambassadors?

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Aglets said:

Makes sense.  I am more of a Quiznos guy myself too.

Quiznos near me closed down.  I do have a Publix and a Wawa within five minutes, also a Firehouse sub which does hot pastrami which is nice.

[DrungoHazewood]

 

12 minutes ago, Matt said:

I don't doubt for a second that the various analytics/marketing departments have a bunch of cool information, which the CEOs/decision-makers end up not really using -- which would explain why the Orioles have been behind the curve in various areas for years.
Hard to say what MLB knows or has been doing, but if they were at an all-time-high, say, 10 years ago in attendance and are at a current all-time-high in revenue, my guess is they're going to be pretty conservative with their changes, rather than wondering "how do we get back to how it was in 1979." Much to our chagrin. But anyway, maybe there really is something about the modern game, or, say, the game as it was in 2009 (e.g.) that really spoke to people.

Large corporations rarely reorient themselves adapt to changing customer preferences.  You might have thought Sears was perfectly placed to become an online shopping giant, just transitioning from being one of the companies that perfected the catalog mail-order business.  But they never saw it coming, or if they did they were waaaay too little too late.

Baseball is pretty fat, dumb and happy with their older, fairly well-off fanbase pouring record revenues into their coffers.  They don't want to do anything to upset that.  But what happens when it's 2030 and the fanbase is 74 and 30% smaller and the kids only know Mike Trout as that old guy on the copy of MLB 2K29 grandpa gave them for Christmas?

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

 

Large corporations rarely reorient themselves adapt to changing customer preferences.  You might have thought Sears was perfectly placed to become an online shopping giant, just transitioning from being one of the companies that perfected the catalog mail-order business.  But they never saw it coming, or if they did they were waaaay too little too late.

Baseball is pretty fat, dumb and happy with their older, fairly well-off fanbase pouring record revenues into their coffers.  They don't want to do anything to upset that.  But what happens when it's 2030 and the fanbase is 74 and 30% smaller and the kids only know Mike Trout as that old guy on the copy of MLB 2K29 grandpa gave them for Christmas?

It seems to me that Manfred’s proposals belie your point that MLB is content to just rest on the status quo.   And if he’s making these proposals, surely he must have some research suggesting that fans aren’t happy with certain aspects of the game.    

I’ve been a fan for 53 years.   I’ve seen a lot of trends come and go.    I can’t really say what my favorite era was from an overall MLB style of play point of view.    But I do think that games have gotten too long, for no good reason, and that in very recent years the strikeouts have gotten out of control.   I enjoy seeing a really dominant pitcher strike out 15 guys occasionally, but double digit strikeouts on a nightly basis is boring to watch IMO.

[weams]

4 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Quiznos near me closed down.  I do have a Publix and a Wawa within five minutes, also a Firehouse sub which does hot pastrami which is nice.

Publix makes a nice sandwich.

[weams]

Wawa makes an authentic Philly Steak.

[atomic]

6 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

Trout/Harper/Machado should be baseball's answer to Brady, Ovechkin, LeBron, Messi, Ronaldo.  I don't think they're remotely close in recognition, popularity, or brand value.

Maybe it's demographics.  Your average baseball fan is 63 and doens't understand what those darned kids are up to.  Why can't Manny just smile and nod and endorse Esskay hotdogs like Brooks?  If your own fans don't like the players what chance do you have of making them into global ambassadors?

Trout has never won a playoff series.  And has only been in the playoffs once.  Lebron and Brady have won many championships.  Ronaldo's team has won 4 of the last 5 champions league.  All the guys from other sports you listed have charisma.  Trout doesn't have that.

Machado isnt a top 10 player in baseball. 

[Frobby]

18 minutes ago, atomic said:

Machado isnt a top 10 player in baseball. 

Who are your top 10?

[Satyr3206]

You can tell people are bored when a thread about rules morphs into a sandwich discussion.

[Beef Supreme]

On 2/6/2019 at 8:51 PM, Frobby said:

I think it would be fun to see a field where the fence was, say, 425 feet down the line and 500 feet in center.  You’d very rarely see a traditional home run, and it would take a titanic blast to do it.    But you’d see inside the park homers, doubles and triples increase very dramatically, and speed would become a much bigger element on both offense and defense.    

Similar to my idea of an enormous centerfield -- 500' sounds about right -- but with two Monster-esque walls staring @ 300' at the foul poles and jutting out sharply from both foul lines. Balls smashed to RF or LF bang around in a pinball-like fashion while balls to center that find grass keep on rolling. Puts more of a premium on centerfield speed while increasing offensive excitement by keeping more balls in play that would have been homers.

[MMussina35]

Wonder if MLB realizes millennials watch less sports than older generations and there is no way they are interested in 3:30 hour games x 162. These rule changes do nothing to help their appeal to that demographic. NFL is probably first major sports league to fall because of CTE but baseball won’t be far behind because the season is too long, games take forever, and the same couple of teams are good every year.