* MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is in a tough marketing position.
The nature of his game is to be relatively pedestrian paced–and video replay (more on that later) hasn’t helped. Baseball isn’t perceived by younger demographics to be as “cool” as basketball and football, although modern players have been injecting more personality and publicity of late.
It has to do with “bat flips” and various, emotional on-field gestures that have prompted some older fans and Hall of Famers to criticize some modern players. As in “disgrace to the game.”
Manfred stood by his younger players. “I suspect that you will see more exuberance from our players on the field,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing.”
Manfred said what he had to say–given baseball’s challenge to market to a younger, more diverse audience that doesn’t relate to how the game used to be played. But he also needs to differentiate between “exuberance” for the game and respect for the game. Call it the difference between self-confidence and “swagger,” or among showing animation, showing off and showing up your opponent. We know it when we see it. Regardless of generational lens.
* Brian Anderson does color for the Rays, and is one of the best in the business. He knows the game, has a sense of humor and enjoys great chemistry with play-by-play partner Dewayne Staats. He also has a way of candidly channeling viewers thoughts and comments. To wit: “You’re destroying this ball game.”
He said that during a recent Rays-Red Sox game that involved multiple, lengthy video-replay delays. The kind that ironically reminds you that baseball, of all games, truly needs speeding up–not slowing down. And in the end, in this instance, it wasn’t clear whether the call on the field was right or not. There was no MLB political correctness on Anderson’s part. He explained what the video showed–and didn’t show–and dialed directly into the fan frustration. He did his job; I kept watching.
* Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel has made embarrassing headlines, been cut by the Cleveland Browns and been indicted for misdemeanor assault. But arguably, he just hit a new low. He was officially dropped by agent Drew Rosenhaus.
Rosenhaus is one of the top agents in the game. He chooses clients carefully and goes to the mattresses for them in hard bargaining with management. He’s been doing this for 27 years and had never terminated a contract with a player–until Manziel.
* Is there a better custom in professional sports than the formal handshake line at the end of a best-of-seven NHL series?