Should MLB Promote Its Players?

[Max Power]

Who promotes the players? The NBA, the PGA, please,.............

It's Nike etc. that promotes these guys, not the leagues.

To me, this is A-Rod trying again to deflect the attention away from his pay. Personally, I'm getting a little tired of hearing from him. I used to love the guy - - even have his autograhed picture on the wall in my study - - but, lately, everything he says sounds like whining. Maybe he doesn't know what Shaq makes because it's not a quarter of a billion dollars?

Anyway, the question here is - - should baseball be "promoting" its players?

A-Rod: MLB Needs to Market Players
.c The Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - With a new labor agreement in place, Texas Rangers star Alex Rodriguez believes baseball should have some new marketing ideas.

``It's time for the owners and players to come together like the NBA does and start promoting their players,'' Rodriguez said before the Rangers played at Tampa Bay on Friday night. ``Nobody ever said anything about Michael (Jordan) making $40 million. All you talk about is (NBA commissioner) David Stern marketing the game.''

The NBA is not alone, either. The PGA Tour promotes Tiger Woods extensively.

``For some reason, when people talk about baseball players they say, this guy is good but not for that money,'' Rodriguez said. ``What I'm saying, let's take a page out of David Stern's book. I have no idea how much Kobe or Shaq makes. All I know is that they win championships. They're great for the game. They're fun.''

Rodriguez feels baseball has an impressive list of marketable players.

``You have players like Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, Ichiro,'' Rodriguez said. ``The incredible adjustments he (Ichiro) had to make to come to our culture and win a batting title. This is an unbelievable story. But we haven't had a chance to promote it because they've been trying to find a remedy between owners and players.''

Rodriguez said the strained relationship between owners and players has had a negative effect on the game.

``We've been enemies so long that we're losing all wars,'' Rodriguez said.

09/06/02 19:55 EDT

[poorme]

A-Rod should shut his hole.

I'd rather see MLB promote the GAME of baseball. It's such a great game and there are great ad agencies out there.....

[RichG]

Should MLB promote its players?

Yes, and it should promote the game itself. But history shows MLB doesn't talk up the players or the game. I guess they don't want to speak well of the players since it can come back to bite them during arbitration.

I wouldn't take it out on Arod, though. He's only the messenger. The way I look at it, he's going to be the most quoted ballplayer every time he comes to a new town on a road trip or a team's reporters come into Arlington. I'm not blaming the media. All I know is if I was continually asked questions, maybe most of them mundane or repetitive, I'd eventually veer from a stock answer. And if he just gives the same old answer all of the time it doesn't make an AP story.

[Skip]

Promote the game. Promote the players. Hell, promote the owners. Just stop all the badmouthing all the time.

[VNV Nation]

A-Rod got everything he wanted -- a lot of money and park that won't kill his numbers. Sometimes it doesn't work out like you thought it would.

[spitball]

There are so many great stories having to do with baseball.
The 30 something rookies, the international angle,the hilarity(there are some genuinely funny guys playing and managing baseball).
Baseball has to start marketing the players that wear their hats sideways to show it has "street cred". That's the state of our society at the moment and baseball has to glom onto it .

[Duque]

Well, he does have a point - though I agree with Max, it's not really the leagues that promote their players, but unlike baseball, they don't villainize them either.

I was watching the huge NFL party the league threw in Times Square - now that is something MLB should try to do. Okay, avoid Bon Jovi, but the whole idea - a hip party for the game - would do a lot to attract the more casual fans.

[RichG]

Originally posted by Duque
I was watching the huge NFL party the league threw in Times Square - now that is something MLB should try to do. Okay, avoid Bon Jovi, but the whole idea - a hip party for the game - would do a lot to attract the more casual fans.

It'd be interesting to see who they'd consider being "hip". Come to think of it, it's a scary thought

[Duque]

Performing live in Miller Park - Lawrence Welk!

[tortured angel]

I would like to see MLB promote the game. Something besides home runs and diving catches. When and why do you pitch out, bunt, steal, etc.

[Skip]

Performing dead in Miller Park - Lawrence Welk!

[Duque]

A fact that would be lost upon Selig until the last moment.

[sweaver]

Originally posted by poorme
A-Rod should shut his hole.

What do you have against free speech, friend?

How about the agency that does the A's commercials? Those are way cool.

[LeGrandOrange]

I think it would make sense for MLB to promote players. Hell, even if you're promoting it with a guy who can't hit worth much at the plate but is a matinee idol, that's alright.
I mean, if you have no players, you have no baseball obviously. So why not promote them? There are so many good ideas that can be pitched out for promoting the parts of the game that matter. Okay, yes, the fans do matter, but by promoting the players you get the fans. I personally have this idea of something of a "Do You Know Me?" ad with the Brian Giles' of the world, the superstars you ain't heard of. Selig would like it because Sexson would have to be part of it.
But anything to draw interest.

[SmedIndy]

You need to promote players. Promote players, promote the game.