Part I
Baseball should continue forever. The pleasure it has given to its fans in the past should continue to be given to its fans in the future. It is this continuum that creates a history and frames of reference which are the essence of the game. All of this results in the game being passed on from generation to generation.
My earliest memory of baseball was the wondrous catch (and throw) Willie Mays made in the 1954 World Series. Some memory, huh? It is a memory of some 40+ years ago but one that sparked my initial interest in the sport. Memories began to build up which included great feats, tragedies, humor and all those little things that only a child would be attracted to like Ted Kluszewski's muscles or Don Mossi's ears.
I sometimes wonder if kids today could have the same memories that led to my love of, and loyalty to, the game.
Devon White of the Blue Jays made an equally wondrous catch in the 1993 World Series. It occurred, and was televised, when it was after midnight on the East Coast. How many young kids saw that catch? Furthermore, how much of an opportunity did baseball lose to attract new, young fans that would have been impressed enough to follow the sport for the rest of their lives?
Television dictates the times baseball is on. They dictate commercial time and make judgements based on what is beneficial to them and not to the game. They believe they can attract a larger audience if they put the games on during prime-time. After all, television gives baseball a ton of money for this privilege and baseball is, after all is said and done, a business.
But this does not make any long-term business sense at all. What audience will TV and baseball have in the future when the then-grown kids are more interested in football, basketball, hockey and even soccer?
It's damaging enough that a family of four cannot afford to attend a game. A good friend of mine invited me to a Yankee-Orioles game a couple of weeks ago. He mailed me my ticket and we agreed to meet at the Stadium. I looked at the ticket as I entered the park and noticed that my seat cost $62.50. It hit me immediately that a family of four would have to pay $250 just to enter the Stadium. This doesn't include parking, food and drink, programs and souvenirs, which are all grossly overpriced.
What we're seeing this year is that baseball attendance is up and, yet, we see some serious danger signs. Attendance is up in Minnesota due to the early success of the Twins. It is up in Pittsburgh because of the Pirates' new home, PNC Park. Those are two of the positive examples. But Cleveland had its first non-sellout about three years. The Braves attendance has dropped significantly and to the point where team president, Stan Kasten, has said it would adversely affect the budget for players if it continued.
Television viewership is significantly up. Who can blame a fan for wanting to relax at home, for free, than to pay an exorbitant price to sit at the ballpark? But this translates into a greater role and responsibility for television. Baseball and Television need to cooperate in a way that includes the understanding of the need to adapt to the youngest of prospective fans.
Part II
The sportscards industry has become a mammoth enterprise. The card companies owe a debt of gratitude to my generation's moms as it was they who threw away the cards we had as kids, creating a card scarcity, resulting in a significant value based on supply and demand.
I was about 12 years old when I used to go over to my friends' homes to spend Saturday afternoons playing a game we created that utilized baseball cards. We had thousands of cards and I don't recall which of our moms threw them out.
That's just one common example of how our moms created a future industry!
Many years later I returned to what I always thought was a good hobby. I learned that the older cards had real value but that overproduction had devalued the cards presently produced. Also, the cards had become flashier and flashier. I realized that the card companies were using the dazzle of the cards to get youngsters to buy them. That's fine as any business should utilize what they can to spur customers to buy their product.
I utilized cards as visual aids in the book I wrote. I'm thankful to the card companies for creating a hobby where I was able to get so many ways to exhibit the theme of that book.
A couple of things do trouble me a bit.
-- The newest marketing concept is to have a piece of a player's actual jersey or bat on the card. What's next? Will future cards have actual skin, hair or waste of the player you found in the pack? Or will we revert back to the beauty that was the simplicity of the older cards, where the pure focus would be on the player and his performance?
-- Then there is the exorbitant cost of some of these cards. I've visited a few card stores and noticed that there are packs of cards, just 4-6 in a pack, that cost over 30 dollars each! What children can afford these cards? What parents will allow their children to buy them? How many parents will be angry if they find that their children are spending this kind of money?
These are genuine concerns because it is the young kids who are the future of baseball and the answers to all of the above may determine "where the children play."
» Michael Rapaport is a freelance writer who has just written a book called, "Dem Braves...A Brooklyn Boy's Odyssey With His Chosen Team," which recounts the history of the team since he became a fan in 1957. The book is currently under consideration at a major publishing company. You can contact Michael at mmr11_2000@yahoo.com.
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Copyright © 2001 by Michael Rapaport. Posted July 17, 2001.
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