by Dan Salem and Todd Salem (10-21-13)
TODD:
Game One of the 2013 MLB World Series is Wednesday night. The Boston Red Sox will be facing the St. Louis Cardinals. Woo? Not quite a surprise match-up this season; no one really came out of nowhere. Even both LCS match-ups were between powerful franchises. Unless you count the Red Sox going from worst to first as surprising, this year's playoffs was pretty bland. And even Boston's uprising was semi-faulty. They shouldn't have been that bad last year. They had the same roster but with some of the Dodgers' players. And look how far LA got with Adrian Gonzalez being arguably their best hitter all year.
We all know MLB struggles for TV ratings. Is it better that they've gotten a World Series between two country-wide teams? Everyone says they love the underdog stories of the Rays and Athletics and Pirates but then the public doesn't show up to watch these teams when it counts. Baseball has, even without a salary cap, one of the most parity-filled sports in this country. The Red Sox going from worst to first in the regular season isn't even a story because it has happened multiple times before. Parity is not an issue here as far as fair and balanced play. But is parity an issue for league popularity?
The NBA gets ratings when the Lakers, Celtics, Heat, etc. are playing for a title. Luckily for them, this happens nearly every season. You know when the last time neither the Lakers, Celtics or LeBron were in the NBA Finals? It hasn't happened since 2006. And if you throw the Spurs in this group, 2006 doubles as the only NBA Finals since Jordan's Bulls that didn't have one of those teams.
Where are these teams for MLB? Instead of "boring" match-ups between the same teams every year, baseball gets new blood in the World Series nearly every season. And yet this ends up badly for their viewership.
What can be done to save the Fall Classic?
DAN:
I'm not quite sure how it happened, but baseball became a sport where it is harder and harder to watch any old team compete for a championship. The NFL has parity, loves parity, and as a fan I'll watch most of the playoff games and certainly the Super Bowl, no matter who is playing. The NBA needs its powerhouses, has them, and I'll watch the finals when the powerhouses are in it. They usually are. MLB is different. It has parity, a lot of it, but I do NOT enjoy watching random teams play for a title. It was not fun for anyone outside of San Francisco to see the Giants win it all last season. MLB also has powerhouses, teams that are good year after year. But I did NOT enjoy watching them compete in the League Championship Series' this season. Its hard to watch and enjoy the Red Sox, as a Yankee fan, but the NLCS between the Dodgers and Cardinals should have been awesome. On paper it reads like two great franchises battling for a shot at the World Series, but you're spot on with your MLB analysis. The Fall Classic is broken and the Red Sox vs. Cardinals is lacking cache that would surely be there in both the NFL and NBA.
I actually think parity has hurt the popularity of MLB. I love watching my Yankees and will watch them in every playoff game if possible. But outside of my home team, I don't need to watch the games. Checking the scores is just as much fun. The games are long, so why not tune in for an hour? Well there's no guarantee anything at all will happen during those three innings. Watch one quarter of an NFL game or an NBA game and you're practically guaranteed scoring. Baseball doesn't work that way, so its needs matchups to make it exciting. A great hitter vs. a great pitcher. But outside of the Dodgers lineup, there's only a few hitters that make me take notice. The Red Sox have one in David Ortiz. The Tigers have one in Miguel Cabrera, but they're now out. The Cardinals don't have anyone who quite reaches this level. Where does this leave us? With a Fall Classic that's sorely lacking.
I like the NBA Finals because one of the teams you mentioned, or more importantly one of the Super Stars of the league, has been playing for the title nearly every season in the last decade. I love the Super Bowl because its always exciting and football never lacks for story lines. But I'm at a loss for the World Series. They usually get fresh blood in the Fall Classic, which is ultimately great for regular season baseball but kills October excitement once your team is out of the running. This year is different, or at least it should be with two classic franchises holding strong in October.
The Red Sox move from worst to first should be a huge story. I actually think its pretty amazing. They stunk last season, basically ran out the same roster with a new manager this year and are now the best of the American League. Sure, sure, they weren't bad in 2011. But they STUNK last year in 2012. I actually picked them to follow things up with a bleak 2013, barely squeaking into the playoffs. So I don't get why this isn't a bigger story. Probably because its the Red Sox, they've been great for a decade more or less and ho hum.
Ultimately it comes down to Star Power. Baseball doesn't have enough. Its lacking, missing, non existent for me outside of David Ortiz who doesn't even play in the field. Teams need stars to draw fans outside their home market. MLB has a marketing problem. We need more KIA car commercials with baseball players. Come on!
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