Baseball isn’t Broken but we can Make it Better
By Nick Lee
There may be a way to gain more interest in major league baseball, without messing with the time of game.
To start off, I am 25 years old. That puts me under the category of the “Millennial” generation. Now sometimes us Millennials get a bad rap for being selfish, having the attention span of a hungry squirrel and glued to our phones. That all might be true.
However for me personally, I have no problem with how slow or fast baseball is today. I grew up going to San Diego Padres games with my dad at Qualcomm Stadium and the early stages of Petco Park. I like the timeless aspect of it.
Our lives are controlled by clocks. The workday. Getting enough sleep. How much time we have on earth to live. Bills that come monthly. Watching the microwave countdown so I can eat my day-old pizza. It’s all by clocks. Can’t we just enjoy something that doesn’t have a clock?
But this isn’t why I am here. There may be a way to gain more interest in baseball without messing with the time of game. The subject came to light after the famous home run by Jose Bautista two postseasons ago:
The fact that we are still talking about it is my point exactly. I am talking about the batflip. Not the batflip exclusively, but the idea of things like that.
Baseball is old-fashioned with old-fashioned rules and customs. For the most part, that is what I like about it. But I have come to a realization while watching baseball the last few years:
The MLB needs to stop smothering personalities.
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“Kids these days” are drawn to personalities. To expressions of emotion. Celebrations and angry fits. Any 16-year-old with a Snapchat or Instagram can tell you that this generation likes it to be about “them.” So they are drawn to athletes with that same mentality.
I’m not saying baseball players need to be selfish, self-centered jerks. But let them have some personality.
Let Bryce Harper admire his handywork as a ball sails into the night, then take off his helmet and flip his hair after touching home plate. Let Bautista throw his bat halfway down the first base line after a huge home run. Let Noah Syndergaard stare down a hitter, pumping his fist after striking him out in a big situation.
Doesn’t the older generation remember Ozzie Smith for his acrobatic trips to his shortstop position? What about Reggie Jacksons‘ antics? This isn’t a new thing. We just need to stop throwing water on the fire and perhaps feed it more kindling.
This isn’t a call to make baseball the next WWE or XFL. I love the game of baseball. Most current rules have been around for about a century.
Let’s not mess with the timeless aspect of it. Let’s just make the game from the first pitch to the last out an exciting game, celebrating these great athletes and their personalities.
Why do we all love Bartolo Colon so much? Because he breaks the mold. Because he has a lovable personality. Baseball needs more Bartolo Colons.
We fix this by stopping pitchers from throwing at hitters if they even hint at admiring their home run. The home run is the ultimate “I got you!” moment for hitters. It’s exhilarating. As is a huge strikeout for pitchers. Let’s stop ejecting players at first eye-roll from a bad call.
What were two of the bigger splashes on social media from last year? Rougned Odor decking Bautista and the Ageless Wonder himself, Colon going yard in San Diego. I have never seen social media explode over baseball like I did with those two instances (except, perhaps the Cubs ending a very, very long curse).
Baseball is not in a shortage of talent nor personality. Major League Baseball just needs to do a better job at promoting these stars and letting their personalities blossom.
I like Tim Tebow, but it’s kind of sad that his just showing up to Spring Training is a bigger story than MLB’s stars like Harper, Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw or Kris Bryant. There is something missing here.
Market the stars. Let them be fun. I wholeheartedly agree with Harper when, speaking to ESPN’S Jayson Stark, he said:
"“… game on the line, huge moment, you never know what you’re going to do. It’s something that just happens. And that’s what makes the game fun. It’s that emotion. It’s that fire. It’s that competitiveness.”"
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There is a lot to work with. Baseball doesn’t have to be “tired” as Harper says in that same article. Let these guys express themselves. People are drawn to personalities. It’s not just my generation. It’s everyone. It’s what puts butts in seats and eyes on the field.
Baseball isn’t broken, but it sure can use a little more pizzazz.