I was listening to San Francisco Giants broadcaster, Dave Flemming, talk about the state of broadcasting in baseball on The Jonah Keri Podcast, when I was reminded of one my favorite mental exercises: why isn’t baseball ‘America’s Pastime’ anymore? I’ve written about this before, but I have new ideas.
I’ll start by paraphrasing Flemming. He asserts that too many broadcasters are trying to be Vin Scully – seamlessly weave in these personal stories and amusing anecdotes during the broadcast – and that by doing this, they are inadvertently telling the audience, what you are watching is not that interesting. This notion is fucking brilliant. I was immediately mad I hadn’t thought of it myself. It makes so much sense. Is this why some people say the best way to watch baseball is to listen to it on the radio? They have to describe what is happening because the visual medium isn’t there to fill in the gaps.
“Can you imagine a football broadcast where snaps are being taken and we’re not talking about the snaps? It would never happen… And that’s what we’ve let happen in baseball broadcasting. It’s the equivalent of: third down and five, and Tom Brady’s throwing a pass, and we’re talking to somebody about something else.”
This specific quote from Flemming is taken from when they are discussing in-game interviews with managers or celebrities.
Ironically, these in-game interviews and Vin Scully copycats are attempting to reach the audience and make the broadcast ‘interesting.’ According to Flemming, it’s having the opposite effect. I’m not sure what the best analogy is here. It’s like… a tour guide at the MET walking you through the museum and saying “here’s one of our current exhibits, The Old Ball Game; New York Baseball, 1887-1977, anyway, I was walking my dog the other day and…” or a zookeeper telling you “this is the tiger enclosure, and here with me to comment is Ryan Gosling. Ryan, your thoughts?” What you are watching is not that interesting.
The thing is, the people who are tuning in to watch the game, ARE INTERESTED IN THE GAME. They want it to be called like Tom Brady on third and five. They want in-game analysis of what a pitcher might be thinking, or what a hitter’s approach is in a given situation. To be fair, Flemming doesn’t say this is a problem across the board. I haven’t done the legwork to say whether or not his account is entirely accurate, but I’ll take Dave’s word that this theory is, at least, a problem in some instances.
This isn’t the only problem that plagues Major League Baseball in 2016. Last year, rules were implemented to keep a players foot in the batter’s box during their at bats. I would take that rule even further, and make it so batter’s must keep two feet in the box for the duration of their at bat. Because as soon as that one foot ducks out of the chalk rectangle, and the batting gloves get adjusted, my hands reach for the small electronic rectangle in my pocket. What you are watching is not that interesting.
I’m not proud of that fact, but what am I supposed to be watching during that time? Besides, when I’m refreshing Snapchat, I can still listen to whatever the broadcasters are talking about, right?
If a batter has to keep both feet in the box, he needs to be engaged in the at bat. If he is engaged in the at bat for the duration, pitch by pitch, the audience also has to be engaged, as do the broadcasters. Right now the flow of an at bat goes something like:
- Pitch/Swing (1 sec… approx.)
- Adjust gloves (years… approx.)
- Pitch/Swing (1 sec… approx)
- Etc.
Every time there is that dead time, I’m grabbing the Iphone. Then I’m snapping my head up from Reddit or Instagram, and I have to wait for the replay to see the home run I just missed. This, obviously, isn’t entirely baseball’s fault. How are they supposed to combat a paradigmatic shift in culture and technology? Do they give each ball club a Designated Snapchatter? (IN BOTH LEAGUES!) Someone whose sole responsibility is to create a snap story of each of their team’s at bats? Do they make players keep both feet in the box? Do they have broadcasters interview cultural figures during the game? More replays? What you are watching is not that interesting.
I’m not sure. I’d give the two feet in the box thing a try though. If it does engage the batter for a longer period of time, hopefully fans will naturally keep their attention on the bigger rectangle in the center of their living room, instead of the tiny one in their hand. It should also cut down on the opportunities for broadcasters go on tangents, since they would also need to be focused on the at bat.
I hope this isn’t coming off as too narrow minded. There is always a chance that I’m the only one who has this problem. I could be the only person whose attention wanes when they switch out the baseball after every pitch – you can’t let that Mississippi Mud get dirty… But, on the off chance I’m not the only one, and the teachers are all correct when they say, “chances are, if you have a question about it, someone else has the same question.” Well, then baseball is in an interesting place.
The last time I wrote about this, I referenced two things: Mad Men, and an article about embracing the pace of baseball as a “good thing.” I’m going to finish with both of those again.
The idea that baseball should embrace this length/boring “thing” they have going for them, is akin to Pete Campbell in Mad Men’s pilot episode, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” pushing for a campaign based on research that suggests cigarette smokers have a ‘death wish,’ and smoking being dangerous could be a good thing for these daredevils. Pete almost gets fired. Don saves the day by coming up with the Lucky Strike ad campaign, It’s Toasted.
Is there a baseball equivalent to this? Am I ignoring the fact that in this analogy baseball equals cigarettes? Baseball doesn’t give people cancer, so they have that going for them. But what is it that people need to be reminded of when they think of baseball? Lucky Strike, It’s Toasted… Baseball, It’s… ? That’s the question that needs to be answered. I don’t have anything right now. But it’s one of my favorite things to think about. I’m sure I’ll come up with a few ideas. What you’re watching is interesting, it just needs to be framed correctly.
Lemmen's Nursery 