A few weeks back the initial All-Star voting for Major League Baseball was released and one player in particular was not happy about the results. Tommy Pham, who is having a magnificent year, griped “We won’t get credit, man,” Rays outfielder told The Athletic in a story published Wednesday. “It’s always unfair. Big market vs. small market. It’s never going to be fair.” Pham could not have been more spot on in his assessment of the realities of a small market team in Major League Baseball. The large national TV spots are handed down to the sure bets for viewership while small-market teams are held back from national TV exposure for varied reasons. Most notably is the risk to lose out on precious dollars. The All-Star fan vote showed a glaring advantage to the large markets with 12 out of the 19 representatives. Atlanta is a strong baseball town in its own right, and if added in would make the number 14 out of 19 players. This is an underlying problem to a much larger issue the league is facing in expanding marketability.
“The major markets include Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston. More baseball-specific major markets are St. Louis, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. “
MLB All-Star Fan Vote (bold text represents players playing in favorable markets)
National League Starters
C — Willson Contreras, Chicago Cubs
1B — Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
2B — Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
SS — Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs
3B — Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies
OF — Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
OF — Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
OF — Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
American League Starters
C — Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees
1B — Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
2B — DJ LeMahieu, New York Yankees
SS — Jorge Polanco, Minnesota Twins
3B — Alex Bregman, Houston Astros / Matt Olson?
OF — Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
OF — George Springer, Houston Astros / Eddie Rosario?
OF — Michael Brantley, Houston Astros / Austin Meadows? Tommy Pham?
DH — Hunter Pence, Texas Rangers
Baseball is a diverse game with stars at every corner. This puts the league in an optimal position to develop a strong marketing plan with such a large pool of marketable players. Other leagues can be much more star-driven and top heavy. This can limit overall marketability yet the NFL/NBA make it work incredibly effectively. In comparison, Baseball lacks innovative marketing strategies and fall into the easy way out where viewers are stuck with the same 5 teams on National TV every week. The top 5 markets are the golden-egg for the league and owner alike to make more money and as a result be able to pay players unprecedented amounts of money. The golden egg becomes a double-edged sword for the bottom 10 markets as they fight for any sort of comparable exposure. In representing these small-market clubs, you offer fans the complete baseball experience. This experience is unique in the sense that the game brings light to many different top-level players with different skill sets hailing from different backgrounds. How many people reading this have watched Domingo Santana of the Seattle Mariners or Luis Castillo of the Cincinnati Reds play this season? As of June 24th, Santana is leading the American League in RBIs and represents the modern day all-or-nothing approach that is becoming the norm. Castillo touts one of the game’s best changeups to go along with an electric 95-98 MPH fastball. He is one of the most exciting young Latin American pitchers in the game. These are the types of the players that need to be well-known in a league with the largest and most diverse player pool.
Marketing starts with the player and it is clear MLB can make improvements to help ensure baseball is at the forefront for the next generation of sports fans. Behind the player is the market they play in. The major markets include Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston. More baseball-specific major markets are St. Louis, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. In contrast, small-markets are the majority of the league, despite receiving much less air time in front of the casual fan. It is a necessity for Major League to maximize their profitability. They must seek to make as money as possible in TV revenues. Viewership is heavily dependent on market size. The way the league can guarantee dollar signs is to show teams with the largest amounts of fans. There are currently 8 teams who are averaging under 20,000 in attendance with the Orioles, Rays, and Marlins bottoming out at the list. The Miami Marlins average under 10,000 per game and the Tampa Bay Rays have to be inflating their numbers. This brings us full circle to the issue pointed out by Tommy Pham in the beginning of this article. Marketing the game in this manner becomes extremely difficult. A media mogul such as ESPN and Major League Baseball does not want the game to be displayed in that matter. It is all about perception for both parties. The atmosphere at a Rays game would be an embarrassment for a nationally televised game. More seats are empty than filled and fandom has been historically lackluster around the expansion team. Fan All-star voting is a microcosm of the disadvantages small-market teams face in marketing, generating competitive revenues/profits, and signing free agents.
Is there a solution to this issue? Some would point out that there is no issue and that baseball is thriving in more cities than not. Others would point out that the coaches and players get strong input in getting deserved players in the coveted All-Star game and this whole article is BS. The bottom line is that economic issues will always rear their ugly head in smaller baseball markets more so than in large ones. The reality is that the league overall has to be more creative and diverse in its marketing strategy. Each city must also develop a unique plan to stay relevant in its limited market space. It starts with the simplest of metrics – winning.
Sources
–https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26967269/pham-all-star-process-never-going-fair/