Major League Baseball can and should be aiming to expand their audience by appealing to a broader variety of potential new fans. Their latest endeavor shows that they don’t seem particularly interested in doing so.
Ah, what a joyful weekend of baseball we just had. Really makes you remember why you love this game. It would be a shame if someone were to ruin that feeling.
That’s basically what I imagine Rob Manfred says every morning when he wakes up. “How can I make this sport worse today?” he ponders, staring into a mirror that has no reflection.
Meanwhile, baseball fans wake up each morning wondering what fresh horror is in store for them from a league that seems to hate its own product and a lot of its fans. Yesterday’s news was no exception!
NEWS: MLB & Barstool Sports in significant talks to broadcast games, The Post has learned.https://t.co/vdvjOQ5Kkv
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) August 9, 2021
A league that is recently and currently mired in multiple sexual assault, domestic violence, and racism investigations apparently thought that the best public relations move would be to partner with a media company that is…openly and proudly bigoted. Reportedly in order to broadcast games centered around gambling.
Now, the gambling thing is its own topic and I’m not getting into that at the moment. I know there is a large and ever growing population of sports fans for whom that is why they watch sports. Do you. Gamble responsibly. Have fun. Not my cup of tea, but it’s not particularly harmful and the concept of that kind of coverage probably has a broad appeal.
That said, it seems like there are probably better partnerships to accomplish it than B@rst00l sports. And if you’re wondering why I spelled it like that, well, that’s a big part of the problem. They have a history of sending their most rabid fans to attack and harass female journalists and even just female sports fans who criticize them.
Feel free to Google “Why is B@rst00l bad?” and see the plethora of articles detailing a toxic work environment, a history of rampant misogyny, racism and harassment, an unapologetically racist founder, etc. They’re so notoriously bigoted that ESPN cut ties with them after one episode of a television version of one of their popular podcasts, and some athletes now refuse to work with them.
For a league that really needs to grow its fanbase and appeal to a broader audience before the cash grab broadcasting money runs out, MLB doesn’t seem to actually have any desire to do so. For a league that purports to decry racism and misogyny, they sure were quick to double back and partner with a company that proudly peddles in both. The bar is practically on the ground at this point and yet they still can’t clear it.
Old, random MCC article for you to read
The Giants are collapsing in a way that baseball has never seen (September 20, 2016 – Grant Brisbee)
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants are back in San Francisco tonight as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks (yet again), with tonight’s game starting at 6:45pm.