MLB = Major League Boring
So it is pretty much consensus that this year’s World Series is ridiculously lame. Bud Selig may think that “the sport has never been more popular” but the reality is this: The 2006 World Series is on its way to becoming the lowest-rated Fall Classic of all time. Game3 recorded a 10.2 rating, down 7% from Game 3 of last season's White Sox-Astros matchup. The three-game ratings average of 9.9 is down 7% from the first three games of last year's Series. The 2005 World Series was the lowest-rated (11.1 average for Chicago's four-game sweep) Fall Classic in history. 
So how low has baseball sunk? So low that people would rather watch A.C. Slater battle Jerry Springer in dance-off than tune in to the baseball world championships. I mean this is the World Series, it’s the big dance for the whole enchilada and yet fans are turning away left and right. So what is the reason that people just aren’t interested in viewing baseball anymore? I’ll give you three reason why I think people just aren't interested in baseball.
1) Baseball is sooooo drawn out. The regular season is drawn out to 162 games. Sorry but with that many games, it’s hard for every game to count. Teams can go on 10 game losing streaks and be perfectly fine. Even now we have the World Series which is drawn out to seven more games. Suspense can only build so long. After a week of a “championship” it’s excitement wears off. Then there’s the games themselves. Most last well over 3 hours and they simply are not exciting. During that 3+ hours the majority of the game is in a lull with not much going on. MLB, you gotta figure out a way to make the games count more.
2) Lack of superstars. Baseball players must be happy with their guaranteed, ridiculously large salaries because MLB does absolutely nothing to market it’s players. I mean think about how many commercials you see during the NFL season with Peyton Manning or Donovan McNabb. Even first year players like Reggie Bush have a commercial on almost every hour. During the NBA season you can’t watch a show without seeing a Lebron or K.G. commercial. Not only that but football and basketball stars are funny and entertaining in their commercials. Now compare that to MLB. Not counting an actual advertisement for a baseball game, when is the last time you have seen a commercial or ad with a baseball player in it? Who is the most well-know MLB star? Barry Bonds and he is know for being hated! Baseball is a league of “average joes”. The majority of baseball players could walk down the street and you wouldn’t think twice that they were a professional athlete. Baseball if you wanna build a fan base for your sport, build a fan base for your players first.
3) Baseball needs to get rid of the intentional walk. What is the most exciting play in baseball? Hands down it’s the home-run and the more men on base when the homer is hit, the better. Fans love nothing more than to see the games biggest stars do what they do best. But what happens in baseball when there are two men on base and one of the games biggest stars comes to bat? They intentionally walk them so that they can’t make the big, exciting play. Can you imagine if other sports did this? What if Kobe wasn’t allowed to take game-winning shots because he was “too good”. What if the NFL took Mike Vick out of games on third down? It just doesn’t make sense for your sports biggest stars to not be allowed to make your sports biggest plays. I know people will say it’s “strategy” but it’s just another way to make the game more borrrrrrrrring…..
In conclusion, those are just a few of the reasons that I thought of why baseball is so lame to watch on TV. Selig may be happy right now because the money is rolling in, but he needs to wake up and see that he is losing a fan base in a hurry. Sorry baseball, I wish I could tell you that I am going to watch the rest of the World Series but the reality is I will probably find something better to watch. Maybe Emmitt Smith will be on TV dancing again.
Ratings take classic fall (New York Daily News)
Dancers beat baseball stars in ratings (Reuters)
So how low has baseball sunk? So low that people would rather watch A.C. Slater battle Jerry Springer in dance-off than tune in to the baseball world championships. I mean this is the World Series, it’s the big dance for the whole enchilada and yet fans are turning away left and right. So what is the reason that people just aren’t interested in viewing baseball anymore? I’ll give you three reason why I think people just aren't interested in baseball. 1) Baseball is sooooo drawn out. The regular season is drawn out to 162 games. Sorry but with that many games, it’s hard for every game to count. Teams can go on 10 game losing streaks and be perfectly fine. Even now we have the World Series which is drawn out to seven more games. Suspense can only build so long. After a week of a “championship” it’s excitement wears off. Then there’s the games themselves. Most last well over 3 hours and they simply are not exciting. During that 3+ hours the majority of the game is in a lull with not much going on. MLB, you gotta figure out a way to make the games count more.
2) Lack of superstars. Baseball players must be happy with their guaranteed, ridiculously large salaries because MLB does absolutely nothing to market it’s players. I mean think about how many commercials you see during the NFL season with Peyton Manning or Donovan McNabb. Even first year players like Reggie Bush have a commercial on almost every hour. During the NBA season you can’t watch a show without seeing a Lebron or K.G. commercial. Not only that but football and basketball stars are funny and entertaining in their commercials. Now compare that to MLB. Not counting an actual advertisement for a baseball game, when is the last time you have seen a commercial or ad with a baseball player in it? Who is the most well-know MLB star? Barry Bonds and he is know for being hated! Baseball is a league of “average joes”. The majority of baseball players could walk down the street and you wouldn’t think twice that they were a professional athlete. Baseball if you wanna build a fan base for your sport, build a fan base for your players first.
3) Baseball needs to get rid of the intentional walk. What is the most exciting play in baseball? Hands down it’s the home-run and the more men on base when the homer is hit, the better. Fans love nothing more than to see the games biggest stars do what they do best. But what happens in baseball when there are two men on base and one of the games biggest stars comes to bat? They intentionally walk them so that they can’t make the big, exciting play. Can you imagine if other sports did this? What if Kobe wasn’t allowed to take game-winning shots because he was “too good”. What if the NFL took Mike Vick out of games on third down? It just doesn’t make sense for your sports biggest stars to not be allowed to make your sports biggest plays. I know people will say it’s “strategy” but it’s just another way to make the game more borrrrrrrrring…..
In conclusion, those are just a few of the reasons that I thought of why baseball is so lame to watch on TV. Selig may be happy right now because the money is rolling in, but he needs to wake up and see that he is losing a fan base in a hurry. Sorry baseball, I wish I could tell you that I am going to watch the rest of the World Series but the reality is I will probably find something better to watch. Maybe Emmitt Smith will be on TV dancing again. Ratings take classic fall (New York Daily News)
Dancers beat baseball stars in ratings (Reuters)
posted by Andrew at 3:54 AM
1 Comments:
Baseball is soooo gay! Especially when you have like five channels, and on of those is TBN, unless that all star cast movie is on, not watching TBN, and I swear gay baseball is always on. It's so boring to watch on TV. Yes, I've been to one game, but the nachos and Rangerita made it fun as did seeing that retarded person get hit with a bat. You're right too, they don't endorse products. I do remember Derek Jeter on a like credit card commercial a few years back but that's it.
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