Bristol game in long rain delay

[Mort Gage]

It is summertime at the ballpark - with a dog and a brew.

wow... just..wow

NASCAR fans? They'll be too drunk to notice.

[sikeston bulldog2]

Another completley idiotic marketing stunt by MLB.
Utterly, laughably ridiculous.
Complete insult to the game.
MLB could not be more ignorant of its own product.

Agreed. The game itself is never good enough for Manfred.

Maybe manfred is blinded by the light; wrapped up like a [ablution]; you know, the rumor in the night.

That's how it sounds. But Bruce wrote it as "revved up like a deuce". I thought you of all people would know. Sigh.

I’d guess he might

You all are of course correct. I too know the original writing. This was the Sikeston cover.

[ramfandan]

Some tend to think that only baseball connects with the history for their fans. If you do , I think you have never been to Green Bay and taken in the Packers history and Lambeau Field.
The Dawg Pound in Cleveland .
Each sport can have their diehard fans and plenty of history . Ask some old Packer fan who attended the Ice Bowl game .

[Mort Gage]

Another completley idiotic marketing stunt by MLB.
Utterly, laughably ridiculous.
Complete insult to the game.
MLB could not be more ignorant of its own product.

Agreed. The game itself is never good enough for Manfred.

Maybe manfred is blinded by the light; wrapped up like a [ablution]; you know, the rumor in the night.

That's how it sounds. But Bruce wrote it as "revved up like a deuce". I thought you of all people would know. Sigh.

I’d guess he might

You all are of course correct. I too know the original writing. This was the Sikeston cover.

I was worried about you. If you did mix up 70s music I'd call 911.

[Melville]

It is summertime at the ballpark - with a dog and a brew.

wow... just..wow

But...it is new...it is different....it is the evolution of the game...perhaps no buns and no cheese was by design....attracting the lactose intolerant and gluten free crowd.....

[desertrat23]

You result players kill me, always certain of the best move after the hand is over.

You say since it rained a lot last night, shame on MLB for even trying to promote the game.

If it had gone off as scheduled it would have been in front of a record crowd and would have been a seasonal highlight for MLB. Didn't work out, too bad, but I didn't hear any complaints from anyone when the game was scheduled about the threat of rain.

Gimmicks like this are not what MLB needs to thrive.

Absolutely correct.
MLB does not understand their product nor their market.

Go on — what’s their market?

It is distinct from all other sports in multiple ways.
It' is iconic.
It is America's past time.
It is summertime at the ballpark - with a dog and a brew.
It is traditional rivalries.
It is winning a road series to get into the playoffs.
It is Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, Mantle, Mays, Musial, Koufax, and Jackie.
It is Kirby in Minnesota, Tony in San Diego, Randy in Seattle, Hammerin' Hank in Atlanta, Bidson in STL, George in KC.
It is the 27 Yankees, The Gas House Gang, da Bums, the Curse, Harvey's Wallbangers, MV3.
It is Vin, and Harry, and Mel, and Red, and Jack.
It is legging out a triple, stealing second base on a curve ball, a sac fly on a 2-strike count driving in the lead run, striking out the last man with the tying run in scoring position, a walk off homerun.
THAT is the market.
THAT is the product.
It is NOT playing an exhibition game on a racetrack.

None of the people you mentioned still play baseball. All but a couple of them are dead.

If baseball remains that focused on the past it will continue to shrivel into irrelevance and ultimately die. The market must be younger. The product must be new players, new ideas. Not every change is great (ghost runners), but change is a must in order for the game to survive.

Anyone who remembers fondly all the people you mentioned are not the target audience anymore. I only remember fondly about a third of them, and I’m not the target audience anymore. That’s part of life.

Before I was ten years old, I knew of the history of the game and it's early players - Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Cy Young, etc. My father talked about these players, and I read many books and magazine articles. You do not have to be focused on the past, but it is important to recognize the great history and evolution of the game. I consider it sad that you only remember a "third" of the players and legends mentioned in Melville's post.

Allow me to clarify: I remember a “third” of those folks firsthand. Like you, I am well-versed in the others through books and magazine articles read before I was 10.

Unlike you (and many others here), I am capable of recognizing that experiences, culture, and the world is different today than it was when I was 10. Kids today consume information through two-minute YouTube clips and social media. And whether or not you think that’s the wrong way to live is irrelevant — it’s what IS. A young baseball fan isn’t going to read a book about Babe Ruth, or watch a documentary about the history of their favorite team. They’re going to watch a YouTube clip of Ohtani and Judge hitting tanks or a countdown of the coolest closer entrances. They have more choices in entertainment, and a more diverse world surrounding them.

To stay relevant baseball has to recognize and honor its past but not live in it. Other sports are doing this well, and some baseball teams are doing the same, with exciting, charismatic players who play with joy and passion. Some of the rule changes work better than others but the intention is admirable — create new fans that will follow the game for decades to come, not cater to those who have only a few years or decades left. Did I like the DH coming to the NL? Heck no. Do I like the ghost runner? Of course not. Do I think many of these City Connect uniforms are gaudy? Of course. But it’s not about ME. I’m always going to love baseball, and I’m always going to love the Cardinals. They’ve got me. To create a sustainable business they’ve got to worry about who comes after me and cater to them.

If baseball feels old, slow, and stuffy it will not survive. And that means they’ve got to honor history but not dwell on it, embrace what’s next and create new traditions.

I suppose we will just have to agree to disagree. I have two grandsons who love baseball. One is 21 and played college baseball for 4 years. He follows the game and has read about the history of the game extensively - not so much on books, but online. The other is 18, and he was not much of a baseball player, he only played football and wrestled in high school. However he does follow the game and enjoys it. He does not read many books, but he is familiar with the old players, partly because I have informed him of them.

We don’t actually disagree, except maybe to a certain degree. The past is important, the game’s history is amazing. But it has to evolve to survive.

The DH did not make the game better.
Nor did creating intentional walks without pitches.
Nor did free baserunners in extra-inning games.
Nor did limiting throws to 1b to just 2 tosses.
Nor did limiting the infield shifts.
Nor did juiced baseballs and juiced players.
All this and more specifically designed to shorten games, increase "action", add offense - with the stated purpose of "relevance" and "attracting younger fans".
All mistakes.
All failed.
Marketing stunts will as well.
It is not about evolution.
It is about understanding the product and the market.
MLB does not.

Everything you described did not fail. The DH has been around for over 50 years — think it failed? If universal DH brings out more people to the ballpark because they like offense, did it fail? YOU don’t like it, but that doesn’t mean it failed.

Learn to see things from a perspective other than your own.