Who is the Face of MLB?

[SnottieDrippen]

As VoR mentioned, we didn't even have a World Series thread, which speaks to the waning popularity of the league in some form or fashion. A two part question:

1) Why is there no one face like every other league seems to have?

2) If you had to name one, who would it be?

[gchs_uk9]

1. Baseball has become extremely regional. It is very popular in every region, but only the specific team for the region. For instance, tons of BGP folks love the Reds but have no interest in the other 29 teams. Opposite that, tons of BGP folks love the Bengals but there are distinct rooting populations for the Browns, Steelers, and Titans here, not to mention the Cowboys, Giants, Buccaneers, etc.

2. MLB would say Mike Trout is the face but that isn't true. If Mike Trout walked into 100 random homes across the country, how many people would recognize him? However, that isn't Trout's fault. MLB has had almost no nationwide marketing push. I'm sure part of that is there are so many top players who speak Spanish (and that makes communication difficult), but that doesn't seem to be a problem for the NBA, which is full of international stars.

[nkypete]

All the recognizable ones have retired (Jeter, A-Rod, Ortiz, etc).

[MJAlltheWay24]

MLB needs to start riding the young and fun stars on the Braves and Padres pronto!

[nkypete]

29 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

MLB needs to start riding the young and fun stars on the Braves and Padres pronto!

Thanks for not saying the Dodgers.

Signed,

Dodger Hater

[gchs_uk9]

31 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

MLB needs to start riding the young and fun stars on the Braves and Padres pronto!

The problem MLB has is their almost fanaticism for shutting down anything fun. For YEARS, MLB wouldn't allow highlights to be posted on YouTube. If a player flips a bat after a home run, the morality police immediately start saying how that's "bad for the game." The world has passed MLB by and they are clinging to the scraps of the past instead of trying to move with it.

[mcpapa]

Great topic.  

[mcpapa]

1 hour ago, nkypete said:

Thanks for not saying the Dodgers.

Signed,

Dodger Hater

Well, it ain’t gonna be Justin Turner.  

[nkypete]

1 hour ago, mcpapa said:

Well, it ain’t gonna be Justin Turner.  

Not if he has to wear a mask!  (drum roll)

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

I think @gchs_uk9 hit the nail on the head as far as the answer to #1, although I would also say there's some likelihood that the far swing to NFL football as the top professional sport in the US being responsible for that as well.

As far as guys who you could say are "the face of MLB," I'd probably have to say it's Bryce Harper or maybe Miggy Cabrera. (Ughh...that felt dirty just even saying that.)

Votto. I meant Votto...he's the face of MLB. Yeah.

[SnottieDrippen]

9 hours ago, gchs_uk9 said:

1. Baseball has become extremely regional. It is very popular in every region, but only the specific team for the region. For instance, tons of BGP folks love the Reds but have no interest in the other 29 teams. Opposite that, tons of BGP folks love the Bengals but there are distinct rooting populations for the Browns, Steelers, and Titans here, not to mention the Cowboys, Giants, Buccaneers, etc.

2. MLB would say Mike Trout is the face but that isn't true. If Mike Trout walked into 100 random homes across the country, how many people would recognize him? However, that isn't Trout's fault. MLB has had almost no nationwide marketing push. I'm sure part of that is there are so many top players who speak Spanish (and that makes communication difficult), but that doesn't seem to be a problem for the NBA, which is full of international stars.

If the face of your league has never won a playoff game, you got problems. You’re spot on with the first point.

 

 

9 hours ago, nkypete said:

All the recognizable ones have retired (Jeter, A-Rod, Ortiz, etc).

Jeter was my first thought. 

8 hours ago, nkypete said:

Thanks for not saying the Dodgers.

Signed,

Dodger Hater

Could it be Kershaw? Not that he’s young. 

[MJAlltheWay24]

Fantasy Football has done a ton for the NFL and getting young fans to pay attention to their game.

Fantasy Baseball is just a pain.  I think that is a factor in the younger generation not following baseball anywhere near as much as the neve.  It feels like work to play fantasy baseball.

[SnottieDrippen]

7 hours ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

Fantasy Football has done a ton for the NFL and getting young fans to pay attention to their game.

Fantasy Baseball is just a pain.  I think that is a factor in the younger generation not following baseball anywhere near as much as the neve.  It feels like work to play fantasy baseball.

That's a really great point, except that the NBA has a face, and you could argue a couple of them, and fantasy basketball is a hassle too. 

Unrelated to this post, but would Altuve have had a claim if he weren't a cheater, or at least associated with cheaters?

[The Raven]

If the Angels could put anything around him, it would easily be Mike Trout.    In the near future, I think it could be Fernando Tatis, Jr.

[Voice of Reason]

On 10/30/2020 at 8:32 AM, MJAlltheWay24 said:

Fantasy Football has done a ton for the NFL and getting young fans to pay attention to their game.

Fantasy Baseball is just a pain.  I think that is a factor in the younger generation not following baseball anywhere near as much as the neve.  It feels like work to play fantasy baseball.

That is funny to me. Fantasy baseball is so much better than fantasy football for me - mainly because baseball is a deep dive, daily management activity. You have to do a lot of homework and stay with it all season if you are in the baseball league I am in. Fantasy football - I do no prep, on draft day I use the online site we are on to feed me picks, make a few free agent pickups during the season and I make the playoffs every year. I would finish last every year in my baseball league if I managed it like I do my football league.