MLB Off-Topic

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Definitely agree there. It has to have something to do with their cable deals.

[steelerfan]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

As someone with absolutely no social media accounts, I LOVE it when morons have their lives destroyed or disrupted by it. Makes me laugh at how stupid people are.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Right. I get that Trout isn't doing the extra stuff.

But my point is MLB doesn't even do their own stuff to push Trout. Meanwhile, the NBA and its networks do for their players.

I disagree that guys need to be on Twitter or Instagram to be known. Maybe they won't be global icons without it, but we can't even talk global when these guys are barely national.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

My gripe is that, when given a platform to unequivocally support his league's best player (other than Mookie Betts), and maybe continue working on Trout behind the scenes to implement these great marketing "ideas," Manfred chooses to discuss marketing strategies and ways Trout is slacking instead of being so very thankful for how awesome Mike Trout is for baseball and baseball fans. People say oh he's so secretive or so vanilla or he just wants to play baseball and go to Eagles games; well, so what? Doesn't a large swath of the country want its athletes to "stick to sports," avoid any kind of notoriety, and just stay out of trouble? What the heck, man? What do you people want!?!

This kind of stuff goes way back, though. It's not specific to Trout. Ted Williams was cantankerous and unlikable. In the end, nobody gave a damn because he's a war hero and a heckuva great player. I have a feeling that, in the end most everyone will clamor for the next Mike Trout once he's done. And he'll be getting his number retired with just as much ceremony as Bonds' this August 11th against the Pirates.

[Jr.]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

And he'll be getting his number retired with just as much ceremony as Bonds' this August 11th against the Pirates.

Wait, what? Why hasn't this been posted about more?

[SPTO]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

How has the MLBPA not fired back over those comments?



Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Tony Clark is running the union that's all you need to know. It's like the blind leading the blind.

Oh and I dunno if anyone missed it in the last couple days but Clark and the union are making noises about a work stoppage.

yay

[CBoller1331]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Tony Clark is running the union that's all you need to know. It's like the blind leading the blind.

Oh and I dunno if anyone missed it in the last couple days but Clark and the union are making noises about a work stoppage.

yay

I don't think I'd survive a strike that shortened a baseball season.

[DamnYanks2]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Spoiler

Yea... It's hard to defend that.

Sent from my SM-J327VPP using Tapatalk

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Eat it, Manfred...I will fight you!

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24133276/los-angeles-angels-commend-mike-trout-wake-rob-manfred-player-marketing-comments

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Right. I get that Trout isn't doing the extra stuff.

But my point is MLB doesn't even do their own stuff to push Trout. Meanwhile, the NBA and its networks do for their players.

I disagree that guys need to be on Twitter or Instagram to be known. Maybe they won't be global icons without it, but we can't even talk global when these guys are barely national.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

When you talk about what the NBA and it's networks do for its players, what do you mean? Trout is all over MLB Network and I'm sure pretty well known among baseball fans, that's not the issue. It's trying to break into the mainstream.

When we talk about marketing players, what are we even referring to? Do we want more commercials? TV is dying, Netflix doesn't have commercials. I think it's like Manfred said, there is no passive marketing anymore. You can't just put a guy on a Wheaties box and call it a day. To go back to the Kawhi example, NBA fans know who he is but do non-fans?

I also just think his comments are being taken out of context because people don't like Manfred, something I've seen more and more as he's been commissioner. The original quote was posted without even the question being asked, people are acting like he's criticizing Trout when that's really not what he was doing.

[slickdtc]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Yea... It's hard to defend that.

Sent from my SM-J327VPP using Tapatalk

It’s very blatant isn’t it?

I don’t know if I buy that he doesn’t feel that way to this day. You can be a racist and still work with and be friends with people of color. But when the doors close, what do you say, how do you feel?

I mean, you can’t jump inside someone’s head or heart, but when they broadcast it to the world, do we need to? He told us. 6 years ago or not, he felt that way... strongly enough to post it to a public forum.

But what exactly is there to do about this? Hey, stop feeling racist. It’ll only matter if players band together and refuse to play on the same team as this guy. I don’t think you can ban someone for their beliefs, but you can force the issue by making it an “us or him” thing.

I don’t see that happening. Some players, including teammates have already addressed the remarks and it looks like it’ll just blow over.

[CMH]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

When you talk about what the NBA and it's networks do for its players, what do you mean? Trout is all over MLB Network and I'm sure pretty well known among baseball fans, that's not the issue. It's trying to break into the mainstream.

When we talk about marketing players, what are we even referring to? Do we want more commercials? TV is dying, Netflix doesn't have commercials. I think it's like Manfred said, there is no passive marketing anymore. You can't just put a guy on a Wheaties box and call it a day. To go back to the Kawhi example, NBA fans know who he is but do non-fans?

I also just think his comments are being taken out of context because people don't like Manfred, something I've seen more and more as he's been commissioner. The original quote was posted without even the question being asked, people are acting like he's criticizing Trout when that's really not what he was doing.

Part of the issue, and this may be the main one, is the national network package.

Basketball feels like it is everywhere. Theres the great NBA on TNT and ESPNs coverage feels so much deeper than their baseball coverage.

Those networks spend time talking about the players as individuals, highlighting how they perform, where they come from. There are always interviews and a lot of pre-game coverage showing their face.

Baseball coverage tends to be very team specific. Nature of the game surely has a lot to do with it, but MLB could always tell ESPN and Network or Fox and FS to change things up a bit.

That's why I really like the Ortiz and ARod thing they have going on. I think if done right they not only help their own brands but can focus on the players. Unfortunately, much like everyone else that covers baseball nationally, they like to focus on the team. Players are viewed as cogs rather than stars. It's very NFL-like without the QB.

This past All Star Game covered some stars in ways I felt hasn't been done before. The mics were a great addition. I don't care how purists feel about it, but that stuff needs to be in national games more often.

Basketball takes advantage of breaks by interviewing guys. Baseball has more breaks and yet only interviews a manager. The only reason it sounds crazy to interview a player in between an inning is because no one has done it.

Baseball can do much more.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Spoiler

I agree they could do much more if they disregarded what purists say, but that's not baseball. The easiest thing in basketball is shoes and shoe deals. D Rose didn't have to say anything, you just watch him sky for a dunk and look at his shoes, boom, 10 years, 200 mil or something like that.What is the equivalent in baseball? You get fined for overly customized cleats, can't wear accessories that aren't approved or match up to team colors, etc.

I just don't expect them to move past their core fanbase. We talk about it all the time with pace of play, and people say, why would they change the game to appeal to people who don't watch for risk of alienating the fans they have? I feel like the same applies here. The culture of the game is in the way, I feel like they're trying to improve that now with Players Day and things like that.

I feel like the closest we'll get to Inside the NBA is the episodes FS1 did with A-Rod, Pete Rose, and Frank Thomas. It was entertaining, but not nearly in the same way as Inside the NBA. The entire culture of the NBA is different, it's hard to compare. Then there's the issue of fandom being mostly team based as opposed to league wide. Then if you finally do get someone interested enough in Mike Trout to tune into a game, he might go 0-4 and there you go. I don't want to make it seem like it's a problem that the fans want what they want, just that it's a factor.

Just reading on Reddit (as now Trout has responded, basically saying he just wants to move on), I saw a quick example of what's happened:

Someone asked what this whole situation was. A person replied that Manfred said that Trout needs to better market himself, and someone else corrected them that what he said was that Trout could better market himself if he chose to, but that that isn't what he wants. It's just wild how the headline is taken. It's a shame how few people seem to have seen the actual conversation that led to it.

[BigOscar]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Tony Clark is running the union that's all you need to know. It's like the blind leading the blind.

Oh and I dunno if anyone missed it in the last couple days but Clark and the union are making noises about a work stoppage.

yay

He's too busy making grandstanding complaints about the A's and the Rays winning without paying enough money

[CBoller1331]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

Eat it, Manfred...I will fight you!

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...eting-comments

Kind of ironic how this, in a way, proves Manfred right. Trout has no desire to get in a petty fight and would much rather just play baseball

[CMH]

Re: MLB Off-Topic

I just checked and Trout has a pretty active Instagram account. He has 1.4 mm followers.

Mookie barely cracks 500,000. The lovable Judge can't even reach one million.

Meanwhile Curry has over 20 million followers. Tom Brady by comparison has 4 million.

Not sure what MLB is asking Trout to do.

Companies don't see baseball players as marketable. But there has to be a reason why. It's hard to sell a product with a spokesman that people don't recognize because the commissioner spends his time talking negatively about the sport or its players.

Meanwhile a guy like Adam Silver always finds a way to push the NBA is great agenda. Even with fans concerned about a single team dominanting, he wiggles his way around it to remind people that the product is amazing.

Manfred in that same position would support the media / fan narrative of the games being meaningless.



Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk