Falls Count Anywhere: Expanding the game

 

In this new series, BSN Rockies reporters Drew Creasman and Patrick Lyons battle for supremacy discussing various hot topics in-and-around the game of baseball.

Creasman vs Lyons… who you got?

Extending the game of baseball across the globe

Topic #1: Should MLB concern itself with holding games in smaller venues or in other countries?

Lyons:  As much as season ticket holders and diehards alike would prefer to not give up one of the 81 games scheduled for their respective home ballpark, expanding and sharing baseball is an important part of the game itself.

During the late 1800s, visionaries like A.G. Spalding traveled the globe in an effort to spread America’s Pastime, albeit for financial gain, of course. While throwing a baseball over the Sphinx may not have resonated with Egyptians, the world tour did help spark the concept of growing the game across the globe. Japan witnessed visits from Negro Leaguers and stars like Babe Ruth in numerous offseasons and MLB still schedules exhibition games somewhat infrequently as part of the Japan All-Star Series, the last of which took place in 2018; Justin Morneau participated in 2014 as a member of the Rockies.

Between the NHL’s Winter Classic and the NFL hosting games annually in London, it’s fairly obvious that the world is becoming a smaller place and our neighbors on other continents might also enjoy a firsthand experience of the game we love so much.

It’s a stroke of genius for MLB to host a game in Dyersville, IA on the site where Field of Dreams was filmed. After successes in Fort Bragg Game (NC) in 2014, the Little League Classic and this year’s London Series and a game in Omaha, NE to kick off the College World Series, expect more small-scale games with immediate impact for years to come.

Creasman: That’s all good and well, and undoubtedly charming. No one loves a good game of sandlot baseball more than me.

But as you’ve pointed out, we’ve tamed that frontier in many ways. The game has grown thanks to these exhibitions and while you can see some version of baseball in most small towns across America and throughout plenty of other countries, there is no replacement for Big League baseball.

As nice as these moments are, they serve a relatively small audience and just for pragmatic reasons need to happen infrequently.

All of this while MLB has struggled mightily to provide their product to as many potential fans as possible throughout the globe via the one modern method that clearly works: the internet.

There is nothing wrong with these games, but if the point of them is to open up access to baseball for those who have previously not had it, then they are remarkably inefficient. It’s tough to celebrate them wholeheartedly when a game that’s best followed on a daily basis is extremely difficult for most audiences to do so.

In a way, it would be like Netflix sponsoring a stage play. It’s cool, but it’s not the best way to get inside the homes of your potential audience.

Topic #2: Is it necessary for the New York Yankees or other high profile teams to be included in these specialty games?

Lyons: On the heels of the London Series, the Yankees will also be featured in the Field of Dream Game. In both cases, if you’re going to devote countless hours of man-power towards a spectacle of this magnitude, you want the best product to be on the field. As the most recognizable baseball team in the world, the original pinstripes and other big market clubs should always be considered.

In the case of the College World Series Game, the nearest team in proximity – not to mention the parent club of the Omaha Storm Chasers – was included and the same can actually be said of the London Series, too. Once these events become a staple of the baseball calendar, it will most certainly be opened to the rest of the teams as we’ve seen in games occurring in Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Creasman: You’re right that it’s probably smart to begin with the most famous franchises, but it is also the case that a huge part of baseball fandom is finding your own team to choose to root for through the grind of the regular season.

Plus, it can be near impossible to predict how quickly that can change. Imagine going back and telling the both of us as kids in the 80s and 90s that the Boston Red Sox would become an elite baseball team to export. It would have been more believable that someone traveled back in time than to process that information.

Go back six years and look at the Houston Astros. Sure, they had a plan in place to rebuild, but not every team that tanks is guaranteed a championship. So much of the fun in baseball is that you can’t predict it and every team feels like they are in the race starting on Opening Day.

We have also seen international fans embrace those middle-market teams such as Seattle during the Ichiro years.

Ultimately, it is best to grow the game in those places that could use the boost in fans a bit more than New York or Los Angeles.

Topic #3: Where would you like to see a regular-season MLB game played?

Lyons: While MLB has been able to check off three continents – Asia (Japan), Oceania (Australia) and Europe (London) – it seems doubtful a visit to South America or even Africa will come any time soon. A focused effort on expanding the game across the eastern part of Europe may come next once the sizzle of the London Series subsides. Germany, via US military bases, has produced some notable players throughout the years and though Netherlands can claim one Hall of Famer (Bert Blyleven), it’s their constituent countries such as Curaçao and Aruba that could draw some appeal to a game in Amsterdam.

As for something unique in United States, a game in Alaska would certainly be interesting. Perhaps as a kickoff to the famed Midnight Sun Game when collegiate teams from the Alaska Baseball League play in Fairbanks on June 21 starting late in the evening as the sun stays above the horizon through most of the night. In the past, such greats as Tom Seaver, Dave Winfield and former Rockies first baseman Jason Giambi played in the Midnight Sun Game as amateur players.

Creasman: Phenomenal answer, but thanks for leaving me the low-hanging fruit and ultimately correct answer.

The game of baseball has a rich history, present, and future in Latin America. You needn’t look farther than the record books and the makeup of any current MLB roster to see that.

Major League Baseball not only could and should, but almost needs to expand south as much and as quickly as possible. And it could start with individual games in Mexico City and Monterrey in Mexico that could easily sell out and become the party of the summer.

Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic would be rockin’ as well. Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico has hosted several MLB games and every game of the Caribbean Series is the most important one of all-time to fans in Latin America. You can’t match that furvor.

(Side note: We should sing more in American baseball.)

It may be the case that other places like the ones you mentioned would be more starved for baseball, but no one would appreciate it more than these Latin American cities and countries.

It would be great for the game and great for the people in those places.

Voice your opinion on Twitter and vote for the winner of this battle with @BSNRockies.