World series MVP really is....

[Sammy Sofa]

And most of the people who would tune out are still going to choose something else over the ASB (or most of it) despite the change; anyone should have realized that, set Selig and co. stubbornly and stupidly went ahead. The ASB already had it's built audience. Changing it like they did wasn't going to bring in anyone new (at least not of long term significance).

 

i'm not sure this is correct. when the cubs were really good (2008), the ASG game thread was 112 pages. that's ridiculous. if it were just an exhibition game, even with a number of cubs playing, the game thread would not have been nearly that long. we cared about it because we (foolishly) thought it could matter to the cubs.

 

now i still think it's a dumbass way to decide HFA, but i'd argue that it definitely builds interest among fans of the handful of teams that are serious world series contenders.

 

It's true that they often (but not always) draw more when big market teams are good are have at least several AS players and a stake in winning, but overall the ratings are still typically abysmal (this year's was the worst ever); making it "count" made little difference in that regard.

Edited October 30, 2011 by Sammy Sofa

[rocket]

everything would have been fine it people didn't give selig crap for (rightly) declaring that one all star game a tie.

[Guest]

I always thought "This Time it Counts" was as much for the players as it was for the fans. They wanted the players to take it seriously again in the wake of less League identity/pride, and I think it worked to a degree - for many, C.J. Wilson is directly culpable for the Rangers playing Game 7 in St. Louis instead of the Dallas 'burbs.

 

Blame assigned in July

 

Of course, we now have lots of prominent players declining to show up, and I agree that it makes no sense to seed the League tournaments but take the World Series out of the hands of the teams concerned.

 

Selig routinely says the logistics of setting up hospitality and hotel rooms for the World Series are too complicated to deploy on short notice, but I find that notion to be absolutely ridiculous.

 

Agreed, that's ridiculous when the NBA and NHL can do it on short notice for their championship series and MLB itself can do it for their Championship Series.

[davearm2]

And most of the people who would tune out are still going to choose something else over the ASB (or most of it) despite the change; anyone should have realized that, set Selig and co. stubbornly and stupidly went ahead. The ASB already had it's built audience. Changing it like they did wasn't going to bring in anyone new (at least not of long term significance).

IMO you're grossly understating the size of MLB's casual fan pool... that group that will tune in if their interest is sparked a bit, but will flip to something else otherwise.

 

Now whether the whole HFA thing provides that spark is certainly debateable, but MLB has a huge "undecided" audience they're trying to capture.

[Sammy Sofa]

And most of the people who would tune out are still going to choose something else over the ASB (or most of it) despite the change; anyone should have realized that, set Selig and co. stubbornly and stupidly went ahead. The ASB already had it's built audience. Changing it like they did wasn't going to bring in anyone new (at least not of long term significance).

IMO you're grossly understating the size of MLB's casual fan pool... that group that will tune in if their interest is sparked a bit, but will flip to something else otherwise.

 

Now whether the whole HFA thing provides that spark is certainly debateable, but MLB has a huge "undecided" audience they're trying to capture.

 

And they're not going to capture it with most of the ASG's. It's a fool's errand.