Boras proving he's an idiot

[Flip217]

Well,maybe not an idiot -- clearly he's doing something right,since he's a bazillionaire. Anyway, in the latest New Yorker, there's a good article on him, including his plan to improve the World Series. In a nutshell, he would:

* make it 9 games

* the 2 extra games would be at a neutral site, which cities all over the world would bid for.

* more "corporate hospitality"

* a gala awards show, like the Oscars, where the MVP, CY Young, etc. would be given out.

He says it will give baseball more "marketable content".

How can somebody so intimately involved be so far out of touch with the things that make baseball so good?

[square634]

Well,maybe not an idiot -- clearly he's doing something right,since he's a bazillionaire. Anyway, in the latest New Yorker, there's a good article on him, including his plan to improve the World Series. In a nutshell, he would:

* make it 9 games

* the 2 extra games would be at a neutral site, which cities all over the world would bid for.

* more "corporate hospitality"

* a gala awards show, like the Oscars, where the MVP, CY Young, etc. would be given out.

He says it will give baseball more "marketable content".

How can somebody so intimately involved be so far out of touch with the things that make baseball so good?

He's only looking at it from a business standpoint. And from a business standpoint those ideas might be pretty good.

[longflyball]

This is old news, BTW.

It's exactly what baseball needs. More attention paid to making every last dollar that can be made.

[NewMarketSean]

Maybe then they can cover baseball in Entertainment Weekly.

[Flip217]

This is old news, BTW.

It's exactly what baseball needs. More attention paid to making every last dollar that can be made.

Whoops, sorry didn't know it was old news.

And I like the sarcastic tone -- "Exactly what baseball needs"!

(you are being sarcastic, right? )

[ElToro75]

He's only looking at it from a business standpoint. And from a business standpoint those ideas might be pretty good.

Yes, it definitely does make a good case from a business standpoint.

I really think that it's coming from Boras trying to prove to others that he's not just about negotiating huge mega-million dollar multi-year contracts, and that he does really care about the game.

I do think that he does care about the game overall (ESPN The Magazine wrote a pretty neat article on him a few issues back), but I think this particular scenario is different. 40 years from now I think Boras wants to be remembered for something other than just an uber-agent. I think he want to be looked as the man behind "The New World Series", much of the way that Pete Rozelle, and to a smaller extent Lamar Hunt, is looked at as being the mastermind of the Superbowl.

[Flip217]

Wow, I guess I'm in the minority here. I think the idea sucks all the way around.

I love football, but all the hype around the Super Bowl is absolutley absurd, IMO. And to actually seek to add more "corporate hospitality" makes me want to retch. The game is enough; why do we need gala affairs, games being played in a third city, more more more? Oh well, I guess I'm old and cranky.

[GeorgiaBird]

Baseball is entertainment. It is competing against movies, television shows along with against the NFL and NBA for eyeballs and attention. You might not like the overhype of the Super Bowl. Heck, I don't know anyone who does like it. But yet there it is, going on for weeks with everyone involved from ESPN to the network covering it to the ones who wish they were running specials and talking about it. And the reason for that is simple: they all make money on it, and are happy to hand over some of that money to the NFL. The Super Bowl, despite itself, is the biggest single event on our collective sport calendar. Heck, I have argued for years that if they moved it to a Saturday night (where most no one has to get up for work the next day), it would become bigger than New Years Eve.

I am as old and cranky as anyone, but the past is the past and the present is the present. And I think Boras' ideas make a lot of sense in terms of trying to get baseball to the level of attention that the NFL enjoys.

As for the baseball, most would argue (and I would agree) that the longer the series, the more likely the better team wins out. So perhaps if they went to 9 games you would see a true champion crowned more often. Of course without other changes it would also mean the Series would end on Thanksgiving.

[Mackus]

All of these ideas would undoubtedly make more money for MLB, which is what Boras' goal is because that leads to players and ultimately him making more money.

[ElToro75]

Wow, I guess I'm in the minority here. I think the idea sucks all the way around.

I love football, but all the hype around the Super Bowl is absolutley absurd, IMO. And to actually seek to add more "corporate hospitality" makes me want to retch. The game is enough; why do we need gala affairs, games being played in a third city, more more more? Oh well, I guess I'm old and cranky.

Unfortunately sports are becoming more and more money driven, unlike back in the day when they were played as a game and not an entertainment event/venue.

[Flosman]

I think they should add scantily dressed young ladies carrying numbered signs around the bases between innings. Then add a halftime show with some singer like prince and a bunch of people running around on the field and a light show, probably fireworks at halftime also. Never mind that the game does not have a halftime just add it and think of all of the commercials you could sell.

[ElToro75]

I think they should add scantily dressed young ladies carrying numbered signs around the bases between innings. Then add a halftime show with some singer like prince and a bunch of people running around on the field and a light show, probably fireworks at halftime also. Never mind that the game does not have a halftime just add it and think of all of the commercials you could sell.

And for the seventh inning stretch a random fan is picked to sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame", they can call it the "7th Inning Carey-okie Contest" brought to you by "insert any company willing to shell out millions of dollars here"

[Flip217]

I think they should add scantily dressed young ladies carrying numbered signs around the bases between innings

Hmmm, maybe I'm starting to come around on this whole idea....

[longflyball]

And I think Boras' ideas make a lot of sense in terms of trying to get baseball to the level of attention that the NFL enjoys.

Of course baseball can be altered in ways that increase its mass appeal. Increasing its mass appeal and creating more opportunities for revenue are the forces that drive most of the changes in baseball. But that doesn't mean you should expect the people who like baseball the way it is to not be upset over these changes. It's like a band that alienates its small but hardcore group of fans by "selling out", smoothing its image and recording pop singles.

[GeorgiaBird]

Of course baseball can be altered in ways that increase its mass appeal. Increasing its mass appeal and creating more opportunitites for revenue are the forces that drive most of the changes in baseball. But that doesn't mean you should expect the people who like baseball the way it is to not be upset over these changes. It's like a band that alienates its small but hardcore group of fans by "selling out", smoothing its image and recording pop singles.

I don't think we will see eye to eye on this, which is all the better because it makes for good talk over a beer at a sports bar. But a couple of thoughts...

- Different strokes for different folks, of course, but I have no patience for folks who get angered by bands 'selling out.' Most musicians (admittedly unlike baseball owners) are trying to pay the bills and make a living. I can't begrudge anyone for trying to get as far in their profession as they can, and to turn a talent they have into financial security.

- But back to baseball, this is entertainment and not art. I don't think it is a good idea for any entertainment business to turn its back on the mainstream. Put another way, if Boras is correct that such a scheme would create more interest and more fans, I think MLB should weigh that pretty heavily against tradition. Don't overlook the wisdom of crowds.

I don't buy the idea of the good old days, and I don't buy into the idea that change is bad. Interesting to note that many of the disruptive changes of baseball past that traditionalists worried would ruin baseball forever, things like the DH (personally I am still not a big fan, but hard to say it has been a disaster) and the wild card, have seemingly succeeded in generating interest and growing the sport. Who is to say that Boras' ideas won't turn out the same way.