Baseball’s Postseason Conundrum: Parity or Ratings?
Spot-on column this weekend from Sean McAdam, who asked the perfect MLB postseason question: Which is more important for baseball – parity that it appears to be achieving this season, or sports fans actually watching the postseason? McAdam sums it up more eloquently than anyone else has (and many have tried):
Though it gets little credit for it, MLB has achieved the parity it long sought.
But that parity comes with a price, and the bill will come due when the national TV ratings are released for the two League Championship Series and, later, the World Series.
Already, the Division Series’ numbers were down about 15 percent. And remember: The Yanks and Phils, which typically attract big ratings, were involved.
It was a rough weekend for MLB, though the drama was compelling: Two 1-run game fives were played on Friday (ratings were good, but can you imagine what they might been on a Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday night?), a rain-delayed game on Saturday night, and a rainout Sunday night. All weekend, the sport took a backseat to football (and the college football games were non-competitive Saturday). Back to McAdam …
And that’s where baseball has a major problem. They don’t want the same, familiar teams — Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies — in the LCS and World Series every year, because people complain that, well, they’re the same familiar teams and that’s no room for underdogs in baseball.
But when those underdog clubs like the Brewers or Tigers play deep into October, people don’t watch. Or, more to the point, not as many watch as when the Sox, Yanks or Phils are involved.
And now, the line you’ve all been repeating: Why should baseball care fans about ratings? Maybe they shouldn’t. Bud Selig? That’s another story:
As baseball gets closer to negotiate new TV deals, it finds itself in a no-win situation: If the most popular teams dominate October (and ratings), the sport has to listen about the uneven playing field. Meanwhile, if some different clubs reach the Series, not enough people are interested.
Back in 2000, FOX outbid NBC/ESPN for ”Saturday baseball, the All-Star Game, selected Division Series games and exclusive coverage of both League Championship Series and the World Series.” In 2006, that contract was renewed, and it runs through 2013. If Bud Selig is looking for leverage, will he be able to use this October’s postseason ratings? [CSNNE.com]
Previously: The Yankees Losing Won’t Be Bad for Postseason Baseball Ratings, But a Non-Competitive World Series Would
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October 10th, 2011 at 11:24 AM
You know I always complain about TV and ratings and East Coast and Big Markets. Actually, I’m not that unreasonable. My only point is that the world would not end and baseball and television’s infrastructure wouldn’t collapse if the Yankees didn’t play in primetime ONE LOUSY FREAKING TIME. One out of five. That’s a start. Then maybe the self-fulfilling prophecy wouldn’t happen. They’ll bitch “nobody knows the Brewers,” but maybe if they had ONE LOUSY FREAKING SHOT AT PRIMETIME IN FIVE FREAKING GAMES, people would know them and maybe like them.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:25 AM
Oh boy.
the sport took a backseat to football
EVERYTHING takes a backseat to football in October.
My question is: is MLB better served by parity and success for teams like Milwaukee and Detroit or would it be better if it skewed things like the NBA does to favor the teams from big markets?
Cause no one speaks ill of MLB refs. Everyone thinks the NBA refs favor the stars.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:26 AM
so they should only play games tuesday-thursday? December baseball would be awesome!
October 10th, 2011 at 11:26 AM
that’s what McAdam asked.
That’s the conundrum.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:26 AM
Two 1-run game fives were played on Friday (ratings were good, but can you imagine what they might been on a Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday night?)
Seriously? Friday is the worst night of the week for ratings. That’s why networks push their least desirable programming to Fridays.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:28 AM
ESPN would love to have the contract, baseball will make a buncha money selling the rights to whoever wins.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:28 AM
Which business model seems to be working better? There’s your answer.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:30 AM
So what do you suggest baseball does, TBL? You seem so eager to point out the problems, yet rarely offer solutions.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:31 AM
Why do people go through so much mental masterbation with baseball ratings, market sizes, etc, but this is all irrelevant in football? Are people going to freak out about ratings if the Lions play Buffalo in the superbowl?
As a baseball fan, I’ll take exciting baseball over ratings regardless of the teams playing.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:31 AM
St. Bear- i’m still trying to identify the problem.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:31 AM
Cause no one speaks ill of MLB refs.
what the hell is a MLB ref?
/umpire
October 10th, 2011 at 11:31 AM
OK seriously this needs to stop. There is no conundrum for MLB with this ratings BS. Does MLB solely make all of their money from ad revenue during the playoffs? NO. In fact, I’d guess it doesn’t even make up 10% of their revenue base. You can’t do anything about ratings unless you fix the playoffs so that only the 4 most popular teams from each league make it every year. That’s never going to happen so please shut up already.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:31 AM
Yep, that’s a head scratcher of a conundrum.
/no it’s not
//scratches balls instead
October 10th, 2011 at 11:32 AM
not sure if there is one. i like Bud adding a playoff team – helps the big spenders/big market teams.
my GUESS is the next one might be making the first round series 7 games.
personally, i’d trim the regular season, but i know that’ll never happen.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:33 AM
what the hell is a MLB ref?
/umpire
Pft, same thing. Just like a manager and a coach.
/TBL
October 10th, 2011 at 11:33 AM
/hands ms621 a bottle of gold bond
October 10th, 2011 at 11:33 AM
I’ve said this before… MLB has year-to-year parity, but not long-term parity. They are able to have a system in which rich/big-market teams not named the Cubs can compete most every year, while a smaller market or lower spending ‘underdog’ (Tampa, Arizona, Florida, Milwaukee, Detroit, Colorado, SD) can compete for a couple years, then fade away. If you look at MLB long-term, a team like Colorado can have a few good years, but likely can’t consistently compete every year.
It’s really not a bad model, and a great blend of parity and market appeal, because the times are rare where a NY/Chicago/Boston/Philly/LA team won’t make the final four.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:33 AM
My question is: is MLB better served by parity and success for teams like Milwaukee and Detroit
that’s what McAdam asked.
That’s the conundrum.
I mis-typed. I get McAdam’s point.
My question is: is MLB better served by letting the chips fall where they may (sometimes the Yanks and Phils win; other times it’s the Brewers and Tigers) or do they risk their sport in a vain attempt to keep only the big market teams involved?
Because any attempts at messing with the model may backfire on MLB if their fans think that they only care about the top 2-3 teams. And that may not be important to TV execs, but for MLB it’s everything.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:34 AM
I think someone on here wrote something that suggested that the Yankees wouldn’t get as good of ratings if they won the World Series every year, showing what the ratings were, and suggesting that it is better for baseball, even ratings, if the Yankees don’t win every year.
In other news, steak is really, really tasty. The tasty ratings suggest it is tastier than potatoes, veggies, and salad. If someone ate nothing but steak all the time, they would get tired of steak, and their shit might not smell to great.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:34 AM
Superbowl ratings won’t drop. Its an event at this point. Background noise for mass consumption of beer and grilled meats.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:35 AM
Here’s a question. Why are ratings such a big deal?
Do they tell the full story?
Two and A Half Men gets high ratings. Does that mean it’s a great show?? NO!!!
I don’t understand the obsession with ratings. I don’t care what rating the game gets. If it’s a great game I don’t care if it’s a 1.5 !!!
Let the action on the field speak for how great the game was!
October 10th, 2011 at 11:36 AM
/hands ms621 a bottle of gold bond
Yuck. That’s the worst tasting powdered sugar I’ve ever had.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:36 AM
I think TBL was suggesting that the ratings would have been higher if they were played on a Tues/Wed/Thurs night. At least that’s how I read it.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:36 AM
Thank you! I wish more people would think like you
October 10th, 2011 at 11:36 AM
my GUESS is the next one might be making the first round series 7 games.
that would be dumb. that was one of the worst things Stern ever did to the NBA playoffs.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:36 AM
The national tv deal is almost an afterthought at this point, with the rise of importance of the RSNs. Especially as long as merchandise sales, attendance and media revenue (both traditional and digital) are at record levels.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:37 AM
What kind of ads go on during MLB playoffs?
I would bet not same as Monday Night WWF,
October 10th, 2011 at 11:37 AM
In other news, steak is really, really tasty. The tasty ratings suggest it is tastier than potatoes, veggies, and salad. If someone ate nothing but steak all the time, they would get tired of steak, and their shit might not smell to great.
Lisk with the boom.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:38 AM
The lice, they hate the powdered sugar.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:38 AM
In other news, steak is really, really tasty. The tasty ratings suggest it is tastier than potatoes, veggies, and salad. If someone ate nothing but steak all the time, they would get tired of steak, and their shit might not smell to great.
They would also be more likely to have gout.
I work with someone who has gout. He’s a fatass.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:39 AM
What’s the problem? NY and Boston will have a chance every year, they just came up short this year. Milwaukee will have a nice run, but they won’t have a 10-year run of success and consistent playoff appearances.
Since 1997: only ONE year (2006) has had an ALCS without a NY/Boston/LA/Chicago team. And that assumes that Boston’s popularity is enough to make it a top 4 TV market, which it normally is not.
If you look at the top 4 NL markets (Houston, Philly, Chicago, NY… I think Houston is a #4 market?)
Since 1997, there have been 4 years without one of those teams in it, and two of them had the popular/dominating Braves.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:39 AM
joey chestnut at 2 gallons of chili in 6 mins.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:39 AM
I’ll repeat what I said in the roundup: Sportscenter led this morning with over 5 minutes (an eternity on TV) of NLCS talk and highlights.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:39 AM
ate*
October 10th, 2011 at 11:40 AM
I would suggest this for the NBA and NHL, but not baseball. There’s too much variance with pitching matchups, and 162 games is necessary to even it out. Basketball and hockey are the same people (excepting injuries) playing each other over and over.
But it’s not worth bring up because it’s not an option for anyone. I agree with most people that baseball doesn’t have a ratings issue.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:40 AM
If you look at the top 4 NL markets (Houston, Philly, Chicago, NY… I think Houston is a #4 market?)
Houston is the fourth largest city by population, but I’m not sure as a media market that it ranks that high.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:40 AM
Would this Red Sox guy be writing this article if his team were still in the playoffs? This article reeks of a guy whose team is out of it and so to make himself useful, he writes an article about how ratings are better when the larger market teams are it in.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:41 AM
As much as I like to prod TBL sometimes, I don’t think I can fully skewer him on the ratings idea. If ratings = money and money is important for league success, then ratings matter to the sport (just not to the consumers).
Friday Night Lights was a great show with crappy ratings, and got cancelled despite being superior to almost any network show on during those years. I’m sort of glad it ended because it had potential to go downhill fast, but for those who wanted another season, better ratings would have made that happen.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:41 AM
I agree, there isn’t one. I’m seeking to understand TBLs point.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:41 AM
Quade, this is what McAdam wrote. Read between the lines: TBS/TNT today, a more obscure channel tomorrow?
October 10th, 2011 at 11:42 AM
If you look at the top 4 NL markets (Houston, Philly, Chicago, NY… I think Houston is a #4 market?)
It is. The problem is that Houston doesn’t have the regional pull that the Red Sox has over New England. Even in Houston, you can find Yankees fans, Cubs fans, Dodgers fans, etc.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:42 AM
PKI makes a good point. McAdam covers the Sox.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:42 AM
Putting the ratings argument aside for a moment, it’s worth mentioning again that baseball has achieved such parity while simultaneously being the only major professional sports league without a salary cap.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:43 AM
What about the other ways to monetize the sport in the 21st century? MLB has by far the best online presence of the major sports, and the most comprehensive channel.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:43 AM
If you look at the top 4 NL markets (Houston, Philly, Chicago, NY… I think Houston is a #4 market?)
2005 WS lowest viewed WS ever.
/meth-Sox’d
October 10th, 2011 at 11:43 AM
Yes, BFF, this is a good point. Last year at Texas/NYY, you had LOTS of Yankee fans in Arlington.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:43 AM
+1 asterisk for the 15 or whatever World Series the Yankees won in a 154 game season
/needs more “fuck Sean McAdam”
October 10th, 2011 at 11:43 AM
I would suggest this for the NBA and NHL, but not baseball. There’s too much variance with pitching matchups, and 162 games is necessary to even it out. Basketball and hockey are the same people (excepting injuries) playing each other over and over.
I would agree.
Playing baseball in November > Playing basketball/hockey in June
TBS/TNT today, a more obscure channel tomorrow?
It isn’t hurting the NCAA tournament. Not even being on TruTV hurt it.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:44 AM
but we aren’t talking NHL type ratings. they aren’t falling off a cliff. sure, certain matchups will always provide better ratings, but they are still putting up what is expected of them. it won’t cost them money. the deal will be lucrative.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:44 AM
Meanwhile, if some different clubs reach the Series, not enough people are interested.
The problem with this statement, TBL, is that it is a blanket statement that fails to take into account the variances in audience interest from one year to the next. It’s a fallacy to assume that because ratings decrease when a Boston and/or New York team that it’s because public interest has declined. Correlation does not equal causation.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:46 AM
I believe it’s the tenth largest market.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:46 AM
As a baseball fan, my problem isn’t the teams involved (once mine is out) but rather the 4 hours of mind-numbing delays. Baseball’s ratings have to be just as much a result of the product, as of the teams involved.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:46 AM
This. How much is the MLB making on MLB AT Bat for iphone or android, or the MLB subscription on computer, Roku, etc.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:46 AM
Going to 154 games IF tehy have the opening round be 7 games wouldn’t be bad. Season would just be shortened a week. I don’t want a 7 game series though
October 10th, 2011 at 11:46 AM
You want to do something productive? Turn off that fucking Vick’s autoplay ad like you did with that bullshit Fox pregame show ad.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:47 AM
Baseball does not need to be a national TV juggernaut like the NFL to be successful. It proves that every season.
The end.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:47 AM
Is baseball just a stale product? What can they do to draw in “sports” fans and not just fans of a certain team?
October 10th, 2011 at 11:48 AM
I believe it’s the tenth largest market.
That sounds about right. Houston is a large city that sprawls in all directions, but there are no other major population centers within 100 miles of it. It’s not like the east coast where you have large cities, like Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York (amongst others) all within relatively short car trip or train ride of one another.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:48 AM
so I watched I am Number 4 last night. what a piece of shit.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:50 AM
I really do think baseball has a good level of parity, with big market favorites and a rotation of smaller market contenders. I find it hard to believe that the Yankees/Phillies/RedSox being in the WS every year would increase the ratings a whole lot in the long-term. They need to do a better job making the product more easily consumed.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:50 AM
sportsgal116 made a really good point earlier. MLB has banked most of the revenue for the season before postseason TV contracts even come into play. Regular season attendance, digital media subscriptions, merchandise, and regional network contracts are far bigger drivers of revenue. As long as those revenue streams are healthy, MLB could air postseason games on Lifetime and be ok.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:52 AM
MLB will do the same thing the PGA did…they’ll get a very similar deal that looks great on paper as a trial period to see where it stands in another decade.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:52 AM
FWIW: Dallas is fifth, Detroit eleventh, St. Louis 21st and Milwaukee 35th. I guess in theory the ALCS should have considerably higher ratings than the NLCS…We’ll see.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:52 AM
You can access any MLB game featuring any team over the course of an entire season, regardless of what market you live in or who your cable/satellite provider is. Same can’t be said for other pro leagues.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:52 AM
The problem with this statement, TBL, is that it is a blanket statement that fails to take into account the variances in audience interest from one year to the next. It’s a fallacy to assume that because ratings decrease when a Boston and/or New York team that it’s because public interest has declined. Correlation does not equal causation.
Looks like the bear patrol is working as I don’t see any bears.
That’s some specious reasoning.
Thank You.
So by your account, this rock is keeping all the Tigers away
Oooh where can buy that rock?
/but what MS said sums it up quite nicely.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:53 AM
Ad spots and their price points are negotiated and agreed upon before the commercial airs. This is a moot point.
Sean McAdam would be well served to e-mail MLB PR and ask what kind of ratings the online viewership received and just how much MLB is making off the advertisements placed on their website (where people have to go in order to get to the broadcast) and the advertisements contained within those online broadcasts.
Actually, they are. They’re just watching through a different medium that your Nielson ratings aren’t measuring.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:54 AM
more helmet to helmet collisions.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:54 AM
Much more important to television than MLB ratings is the fact that Heisenberg has returned with a vengeance.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:54 AM
Yes, and I’d like to see cost decreased so I can afford it.
I’m more referring to shortening the games, maybe adding more replay, shortening mound visits/throws to first, etc. Bill Simmons (ptooey) has some good points on this, that watching a baseball game is just too big a commitment considering the ratio of sitting around doing nothing to watching 10 seconds of action.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:55 AM
And I’m sure ratings wont affect the price points in future negotiations.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:56 AM
I wonder if you could argue that the Chicago market folds into Milwaukee’s, due to the proximity.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:56 AM
that’s McAdam’s line. i tend to agree with it.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:58 AM
I wonder if you could argue that the Chicago market folds into Milwaukee’s, due to the proximity.
I was wondering that myself. Aren’t they less than two hours apart?
October 10th, 2011 at 11:58 AM
maybe the MLB Postseason will draw more viewers if they can eliminate viewing choices for the audience.
“Do i want to watch game 3 of the Brewers – Cardinals NLCS or one of the other 230 channels + DVR shows I’ve been meaning to watch?”
if only MLB could go back to the days when their postseason was 1 of 4 options of programming for people to watch.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:59 AM
Someone get working on the pie chart and break down the revenue streams for MLB. I want to see how much revenue the post season brings in for the league.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:59 AM
Fuck that. Baseball is our last barrier to the total Jersey Shore/Idiocracy-ification of professional sports. We don’t need to dumb it down to please the plebians.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:59 AM
that’s McAdam’s line. i tend to agree with it.
If you agree with my statement on McAdam’s statement, then would you also agree that looking at ratings by themselves this year is not looking at a big enough picture?
October 10th, 2011 at 12:01 PM
You know what else works in baseball’s favor? The NBC Sports Group. Seeing as how NBC has only Sunday Night Football and hockey currently on their airwaves, you would think that when this “no win situation” arises that pitting FOX and NBC against each other just might work out in baseball’s favor.
Televising something like the World Series just might be beneficial to a network that is trying to be a competitor of ESPN’s. Just maybe.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:01 PM
There’s a difference between dumbing it down and not using up my entire evening/night.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:01 PM
More like 45 minutes to an hour.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:03 PM
/Clown jacks off to Vin Scully
October 10th, 2011 at 12:03 PM
Even if that were the case that would only solve the problem that is people who write pieces who can only handle the most shallow analysis of a subject available. MLB as a successful pro sports league has a complex revenue model. If you can’t understand it, don’t write about it.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:04 PM
Sure at 3am with no traffic and an average speed of 80mph even in the 55mph zones.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:04 PM
there’s too many choices and games take too long. it’s worth it to wonder if 5 games in the DS and 7 in the CS are too long.
maybe go to a best of 3, 5, 7 format.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:04 PM
The games do need to be shortened. I’m a baseball fan, but it is god damn ridiculous how long they take.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:04 PM
And now, I will watch Andy Reid’s press conference while jabbing myself with a fork.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:05 PM
There’s a difference between dumbing it down and not using up my entire evening/night.
And yet the NFL is going the way of MLB with all their stop-starts, their timeouts, their extra reviews, etc. Watch how tonight’s MNF game takes the better part of 4 hours.
Yet no complaints about the NFL making their games go longer…
October 10th, 2011 at 12:05 PM
Thank you… that was my only point. Though I’m not fully sure what makes baseball so much more intellectual than any other sport, unless you count Joe Buck croaking out another ode to Derek Jeter.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:05 PM
Of note: Arthur Neilsen, the man responsible for the Neilsen ratings, died last week.
Perhaps it’s time that the stock folks put into his ratings system pass silently with Mr. Neilsen.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:06 PM
And I will never apologize for doing so.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:06 PM
The games do need to be shortened. I’m a baseball fan, but it is god damn ridiculous how long they take.
/makes third double switch of game
//LaRussa’d
October 10th, 2011 at 12:07 PM
I’ll volunteer myself for this experiment.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Oh, I think complaining about that is just fine, too. The primetime games usually take forever. It sucks.
MLB actually has a rule on the books about time between pitches and the batter’s box, right? Just not ever enforced?
October 10th, 2011 at 12:07 PM
1) I complain about everything
2) I don’t watch every second of NFL games because I think they go too long with too many commercials, but the action-to-nothing ratio is still far better in football. Somehow, have a play clock and huddles and movement before the snap at least makes it feel like something is happening even when it’s not.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Of note: Arthur Neilsen, the man responsible for the Neilsen ratings, died last week.
I bet his funeral isn’t even being broadcast. So how relevant can it be?
October 10th, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Shortening the series causes the teams that play in them to lose money. You’re solving a revenue problem (that doesn’t exist) with ratings by taking away gate, merchandise and concession money from a game. This will also affect revenue sharing in MLB.
You will not see MLB shorten the postseason or the regular season in order to fix a money problem (again, one that doesn’t exist) or this supposed ratings issue. It’s counter-intuitive.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:08 PM
Exciting sport is exciting.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:08 PM
Ratings are important because if rating suck, there is less TV revenue, meaning less overall money. And if ratings stink then they put playoff games on TBS in the middle of the day instead of on a network in prime time (the NHL’s problem), theres less of a chance of young/casual fans watching and becoming bigger fans. All baseball has is hardcore fans, with an occasional casual Northeast bump with the right teams.
/probably Duckworth’d, but I dont read comments on baseball threads
October 10th, 2011 at 12:08 PM
right, it’s not simple and can’t be understood with just ratings.
most people who right about this and show declining ratings don’t take into the account that people can do much more with their TV and cable services now than they used to.
oh, want to watch past seasons of 30 Rock? Get Hulu on your internet capable TV. Interested in the baseball game, but don’t really have your heart in it? Don’t worry, you can keep up on the score and real time progress on your tablet while you play madden.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:09 PM
I think it’s like 25-30 seconds or something from receiving the ball from your catcher to the next pitch. It’s never enforced. Ever.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:09 PM
Yeah. MLB needs to learn that the only way to fix something is to start in low A ball with it, and enforce it strictly, so that players are used to it by the time they get to the big leagues.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:10 PM
Expand the strike zone slightly (higher?) and cut down the rosters. Fewer pitching changes with a smaller roster….
/I’m a traditionalist and don’t want any changes, but wonder what affect that would have.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:11 PM
The strongest union in the country will not allow this to happen.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:12 PM
I think even just calling the strike zone as it is written, would be enough. Lower pitch counts will result in fewer pitching changes… I don’t think you’d have to change any fundamental rules of baseball, to get the games more consumable.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:12 PM
You’ve made a spelling gaffe: it’s postseason, not “post season”
October 10th, 2011 at 12:13 PM
and cut down the rosters.
The strongest union in the country will not allow this to happen.
I wouldn’t be for it either. Part of the reason rosters expand from 25 to 40 in September is because the length of the season takes a toll on regular players. You have to have roster flexibility to allow for substitution of injured players.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:13 PM
the thing is, you lose gate and concessions, but if you’re creating a more exciting series that draws more viewers you’ll have interest from the networks to carry those games and pay more money for that right.
unless it’s the WS you’ll be hard pressed to find networks who want to carve out the large portion of programming required to carry the other postseason series in the current format.
except NBC, carrying October baseball might help their shitty programing.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:14 PM
Expand the strike zone slightly
/pours out cup of lard for Eric Gregg.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:14 PM
Yep. Even with the ridiculous commercial breaks, the NFL is the best TV product.
And with only 16 games in a season, they need it to be.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:14 PM
I don’t like adding a Wildcard team but I do like the 1st round going to 7 games. For a 162-game season it’s not fair that any team — yes, that includes the Pirates if they were to be granted an at-large bid — can win a 5-game series.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:15 PM
posts-eason.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:15 PM
The gate and concessions go to the individual teams. There is no way they’re going to give that up.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:17 PM
How is that different than the NFL. Fuck fairness… if you want to win a title, don’t lose to the fucking Pirates. They should have the Pirates and Royals play in every postseason, just so there’s a rule “if you lose to these shitty teams, we don’t want you in the World Series”
October 10th, 2011 at 12:17 PM
it’s hard to compare the two sports, but a big draw is that it’s easier for casual fans to watch the NFL b/c it’s 1 game, winner of the game wins the playoff round. You don’t need to show up tomorrow, the next night and the night after to find out who will move to the next round when you’ve got a lot of shit you need to do during that time frame.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:18 PM
no, it’s playoffs.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:19 PM
Considering all of the new stadiums that have lots of debt to be paid off, there’s no way teams are going to give up the 162 season. MLB Teams (outside of the Mets) aren’t getting Metlife money for stadium naming rights.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:19 PM
Wasn’t even talking post-season. Just talking about football versus any other major American sport as a television show. It’s just better, for a lot of reasons.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:19 PM
Your mouth is quite foul today.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:20 PM
And that fact has little bearing on whether other major sports are or will be successful.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Yet no complaints about the NFL making their games go longer…
Exciting sport is exciting.
My point is that complaining about MLB’s game length is futile. If you care about baseball or the team playing, you sit and you watch.
With more fans moving from the stadia to their Hi-Def TVs to watch most sporting events, leagues are making sure to get the most out of that time they have you watching their product.
Games are going to get longer, not shorter.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:21 PM
There’s no way they’d give that up under any circumstances, but sadly, it would make a big difference. 162 games is really stupid.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:22 PM
they split between the two teams playing in on the field, aren’t they?
October 10th, 2011 at 12:22 PM
That’s ‘you’ in the second person singular sense, since there is only one person left in the world who will sit through an entire MLB game
October 10th, 2011 at 12:27 PM
Chuck in Omaha? Heard that dude beats his wife, too.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:27 PM
Yes. I believe road teams get 30%.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:33 PM
Been a pretty big baseball fan since ’69, and I have the answers. I understand that none will be implemented.
1. Shorten the regular season. Postseason baseball while snow flurries fly doesn’t make sense.
2. Do not add more teams to the playoff mix. If people aren’t watching now, how will adding more teams make the product better? If you game it so the Sawx/Yanks get in every year, now you have a pro wrestling-style scenario (pre-determined outcomes).
3. Start games early enough so kids can grow up watching MLB. You gotta grow lifelong fans.
4. Get rid of Bud Selig. His self-serving attitude and general cluelessness have hurt the game.
5. Enforce present rules about timing of the game, i.e., seconds between pitches, etc. Takes too dang long to watch/televise a game.
6. Develop a NFL Films-style propaganda machine. The NFL rules because their marketing is best. One must help the baseball fan relate more to the player on field.
7. Figure out a way to satisfy sponsors without taking so many dang breaks for commercials.
8. Figure out a way to capture the at-the-ballpark experience for the fan at home, without the pesky drunks mugging for the camera.
/gets back on high horse
/rides off into the sunset
October 10th, 2011 at 12:33 PM
And doesn’t even miss a pitch.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:35 PM
He’s far from clueless considering the revenue gains baseball has seen during his tenure. Also being the leader among all of the four major sports in online is pretty visionary. But keep repeating those lies.
Oh and he’s retiring next year. GWB is going to be commissioner after Selig.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:36 PM
so where’s the Jets post?
October 10th, 2011 at 12:36 PM
Football is a weekly event, while other sports are daily occurences. It’s why ratings aren’t really a fair comparison between the sports.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:36 PM
Oh and he’s retiring next year. GWB is going to be commissioner after Selig.
Link?
October 10th, 2011 at 12:37 PM
Just some general speculation there. The MLB owners club is very very conservative.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:39 PM
He has suffered from bad PR and having to deal with the remnants of Fay Vincent media friends more than anything. He’s been the best Commissioner of the 4 major sports during his run.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:39 PM
Just some general speculation there. The MLB owners club is very very conservative.
Yes they are, but I think W is keeping pretty busy. Can’t see him becoming commissioner.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:39 PM
If MLB wants to increase it’s viewership, show the playoff games at the same time on different networks. It’s like the Coke and Pepsi model to growth. Create new products and sell them side by side. Some profits may be skimmed off your top seller, but overall profits increase with new customers. Today’s schedule is a perfect example. Game time is 4:19 pm EST. Those in the east can catch the last few innings at home, assuming other duties don’t get in the way, while everyone else is basically screwed. Not a good way to build viewership. Stupid, in fact.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:41 PM
That’s true, but not really what I was getting at. I’m simply saying football is better as a television show. Weekly, daily, monthly, whatever.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:42 PM
regular season’s been 162 games long for 50 years, why is this suddenly a problem?
October 10th, 2011 at 12:46 PM
Philly, not a lie really. Watched “your Bud” do things like move Milwaukee to the NL and other things to enhance his own franchise’s value at the expense of others. Also, the whole Jeffrey Loria/Montreal Expos debacle happened on Bud’s watch/with his acquiesence. Sure, Montreal didn’t draw well towards the end, but have you watched a Miami Marlins game recently?
But, don’t let those facts get in the way of a pithy statement.
I’d hazard a guess that Tagliabue has actually been the best commissoner of the four major sports the last generation.
If “your Bud” has been so great, and the game has reached unparalleled success under his watch, why the complaints about ratings, length of games, revenue equity, etc? Why the need to change things that are “working”?
/”why the two transfer orders?”
October 10th, 2011 at 12:51 PM
So if you multiply MLB ratings by 10 (or add up the number of viewers, not sure how the ratings work), or even multiply by 6 games per week, what would it look like? Are there more ‘views’ for 6 Phillies games, or 1 eagles game?
Not sure how to work it with the idea that the seasons don’t overlap, but there must be a way to manipulate numbers.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:57 PM
If the most popular teams dominate October (and ratings)
Umm, when NFL pregame shows beat playoff baseball, it’s pure fantasy to suggest MLB would dominate in the ratings. It’s indicative of a much larger problem. As the article states, the division series ratings were down 15% and they included Philly and New York, meaning this is a much larger trend of people tuning out and not attending games. Baseball has a huge problem on its hands. With the NBA locked out for the foreseeable future, and hockey being, well hockey, you’d think baseball would be in perfect position to cut into some of King Football’s iron-grip ratings domination.
October 10th, 2011 at 12:58 PM
The only people complaining about baseball are those that don’t understand it. Baseball has been out in front of the changing viewership habits. Montreal wasn’t drawing, the need to move the Brewers to the NL was due to the fact that the expansion would have put 15 teams in each division.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:06 PM
Baseball doesn’t really compete with these two sports. And in that sense, it doesn’t even overlap with football much (just during the playoffs, which is why this thread exists). Baseball mostly competes with itself, and it’s product. Which is why I think the on-field product would have more of an effect than which teams make it. Yankees-RedSox may represent the peak number of viewers, but that same peak should be attainable for any matchup, if the product is consumable and the games are compelling.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:09 PM
paying hefty income tax* on all the money they’re making?
*the mccourts notwithstanding of course
October 10th, 2011 at 1:12 PM
/Corporations are people’d
October 10th, 2011 at 1:15 PM
Philly, I understand baseball fairly well. Played it for years (admittedly not well), watched it closely for decades on TV and in various major and minor league ballparks, read a bit about it.
Montreal isn’t the only team that wasn’t/isn’t drawing in the last 40 years or so. Teams don’t draw for a variety of reasons, but it usually falls back to the local fans feeling the home team has no chance (except for Cubs fans, I guess). And, as we have learned, strong-arming a city into building a new ballpark doesn’t generate an immediate, consistent increase in ticket sales and attendance. A competitive, winning team increases attendance.
And, aren’t we on the way to 15 teams in each “division” when Houston moves to the AL? Milwaukee has some history in each league. Selig, I speculate, helped influence that move to aid the team his daughter was running at the time. Interesting that a major pro sports commissioner can boost the prospect of one team over others when, at least ostensibly, he is looking out the for the best interests of all teams in his league.
I’m not complaining about these issues as much as making observations, but I acknowledge the fact that postseason baseball pales in comparison to regular season NFL.
Also, for HawkEye, the 162-game season wasn’t a problem when the World Series ended in mid-October. Now, with even more playoff teams looming on the horizon, November baseball may very well become the norm rather than the exception. Will November baseball draw higher ratings than November NFL games? Will November baseball draw enough to achieve the big-money TV rights payouts Selig wants in the future? I speculate/guess November World Series games are gonna get smoked by the NFL.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:23 PM
Just got back from lunch, and I want to pile on. Most of the changes that I would suggest to improve baseball are small tweaks. I don’t think there is anything major that needs to be fixed.
Agree. 7:30pm EST first pitch at the absolute latest.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:37 PM
St. Bear, let me follow up on your point regarding MLB’S digital presence.
With the massive success of fantasy/rotisserie baseball, it’s obvious millions of folk online are following baseball. If one could tap into that online attention to drive a hunger to know a bit more about the players, managers, games and events that provide those stats and results, baseball could grow even more. (And no, I am not talking about stalking people.)
I have loved baseball since I was nine (now 51 years young). I understand why football has overtaken baseball in the nation’s awareness. However, baseball has always had qualities that can appeal to everyone. Lately it appears some of that effort to increase appeal has either dropped off or has been mis-aimed.
Two other points, however. One, there is already a lot of online attention towards individual teams. I can get all kinds of data about my beloved Nationals whenever I want. Two, millions of folk are already attending major league and minor league games. Your point is absolutely spot-on – maybe there isn’t anything major that needs fixing.
I do acknowledge that unless my Nationals are in the World Series, and I have a choice between watching baseball and NFL in late October/early November, I will probably choose football.
/heading to Wal-Mart
October 10th, 2011 at 1:38 PM
i like using the remote and flipping between football/baseball games…it doesn’t have to be an either/or thing
October 10th, 2011 at 1:53 PM
Since 2001, there have been 11 SBs…Pats won three, Steelers two and six other winners. Eight different teams.
Since 2001, there have been 10 World Series…Red Sox have won two with eight other winners. Nine different teams in total. With the Cards, Tigers, Rangers, and Brewers left, there’s a good chance for a tenth different team.
As for postseason ratings, I’d imagine the owners care more about their own team’s media rights deals. McCourt was going to get basically a third of what CBS pays for AFC rights for the Dodgers. Pretty good, imho.
Not to mention–while not directly tied to ratings–the MLBPA has little to complain about right now. The top 20 or so big 4 contracts of all time are MLB ones. And NFL contracts are still non-guaranteed, so Vick’s top contract has to be taken with a grain of salt. I’m convinced that within 5 years the NFLPA will strike. I’m very much pro-capitalism and think there are far more bad unions than good unions…but, I think the NFLPA falls into the bad. For all the money they generate, they get relatively squat and they’ll eventually wake up to the fact. Point being, I think the NFL’s ratings will eventually level off due to some cataclysmic event related to labor.
I would continue to ride the NFL hot streak, but I’m more bullish on MLB’s business in the long run.
October 10th, 2011 at 1:54 PM
In other news, steak is really, really tasty. The tasty ratings suggest it is tastier than potatoes, veggies, and salad. If someone ate nothing but steak all the time, they would get tired of steak, and their shit might not smell to great.
Not a good idea. Ask Brock Lesnar
October 10th, 2011 at 1:57 PM
I wouldn’t confuse, necessarily, “what’s good for baseball” with high television ratings. It’s 2011, not 1980, and the entertainment options are unlimited. That doesn’t mean people aren’t paying attention, aren’t following the games or the teams. Ratings are increasingly an anachronistic way of looking at what’s popular (God forbid actually “good.”)
Selig has been a good commissioner, as much as I hate to say it. The wildcard addition, and the new divisions, have been a fantastic success. Where baseball fails, I think, is in its understanding of social media and the way people use the interwebs. Their youtube policies, in specific, probably have the same effect as team officials standing outside the stadium and driving away fans with baseball bats.
October 10th, 2011 at 2:21 PM
I agree 100%
October 10th, 2011 at 3:00 PM
Back from Wal-Mart. Bought steak, potatoes, veggies and salad.
Love this exchange of ideas on this topic. Who says no one reads the comments?
/indentured to ratings