Bryce Harper

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by Filthy

as the game needs a MAJOR shot of adrenalin.

I agree in part, but think baseball made a lot of mistakes that go above and beyond the "style" of the game. I think it's poorly marketed itself for years, not fully capitalizing on its star power, and it's historical importance. I think things like interleague, though maybe temporarily raising interest levels for a week or two during the regular season (it barely tips the scale anymore) really undercut the overall interest/novelty/anticipation of the AS game and WS. In the past, these were the ONLY times the two leagues' players faced each other. I think baseball also fell victim to ESPN's every other Sunday Yankees v Red Sox hype machine, which lasted over a decade, and which turned a 3 hour game into a 4 hour game.. with extended commercial breaks, in game interviews, and players milking camera time. This in turn also lessened national interest in anything not NY, or Boston, which was nuts because there were always so many other potentially compelling match ups each year.

I think a shot of adrenalin may come in form of better marketing the game/players (Harper, Trout, Correa) especially those in mid/smaller markets, shortened commercial breaks... and very possibly also a growing interest in gambling related things like fantasy, and daily fantasy (if they survive). The NBA immediately jumped on board with daily fantasy and the NFL, however unpopular/hated the league itself is becoming, seems will be carried for years by growing interest in fantasy football. If baseball can latch onto something like that (sucks in lots of casual fans in office leagues, etc), maybe coupled with fewer parents allowing their kids to play football, perhaps its relevance regrows steadily. Even if not, local cable deals and per game ratings during the regular season are better than ever, and making owners more money than ever. It seems it's just the national audience for the postseason that's been hurting.