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Grading Every MLB Team’s 2024 Offseason (10-1): Part I

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Matt Chapman Still Needs A Place To Play

Caption: New San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman swinging

By Sam Morris

Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own raps for the music industry club at BGSU.

March 15, 2024

10. Detroit Tigers   (B+)

File:DetroitTigersCapInsignia.png - Wikipedia

Major Additions

  • SP Kenta Maeda
  • OF Mark Cahna
  • SP Jack Flaherty
  • RP Shelby Miller
  • RP Andrew Chafin

Starting off the top 10 is the Detroit Tigers, who did something that they haven’t done in a while, they had by far the best offseason of any AL Central team. The Royals and White Sox overhauled much of their rosters to build for the future, the Guardians made minimal changes to a mediocre roster, and the 2023 divisional champion Twins lost major pieces from their playoff team. Detroit added 4 quality veteran pitchers to an extremely young but talented staff. They took Maeda from Minnesota who will likely slide in behind Tarik Skubal as the number 2 guy in the rotation. They also signed Jack Flaherty from Baltimore. Flaherty will likely be the 3rd or 4th starting pitcher in the rotation; he has major upside as he was an all-star and consistent Cy Young candidate just a few years ago with St Louis before his rough 2023 campaign with the Orioles. If Flaherty can return to his previous form he will be a steal to a much improved Detroit rotation from 2023. Both Chafin and Miller will provide veteran leadership in a young bullpen that includes breakout stars from last season, set-up man Jason Foley, and closer Alex Lange. This will help them contend with the Twins’ and Guardians’ bullpens that have been some of the best in the league the last couple of years. Cahna is also a decent signing from Milwaukee who will likely play left field as a need fit opposite young outfield stars Riley Greene and Parker Meadows. Detroit will also likely bring up Colt Keith and Jace Jung, two top 100 MLB prospects, to bolster their weaker infield offense. The downside to the Tigers’ offseason is that they lost their ace Eduardo Rodriguez to Arizona, but it was unlikely he would resign after he declined his player option last season.

9. San Diego Padres   (B+)

File:San Diego Padres (2020) cap logo.svg - Wikipedia

Major Additions

  • SP Dylan Cease
  • SP Michael King
  • C Kyle Higashioka
  • CP Woo-Suk Go
  • SP Randy Vasquez
  • RP Johny Brito

After paying massive contracts to a ton of players last season, San Diego has decided to use the Golden State Warriors’ strategy of moving on from a few stars in hopes of contending now while simultaneously building for the future. San Diego was involved in the biggest off-season trade as they sent OF Juan Soto and OF Trent Grisham to the Yankees in return for three quality young pitchers and catcher Kyle Higashioka. Although they lost two stars in the trade, Michael King and Randy Vasquez should make for a good 4 and 5 combo in the back end of their rotation, and Johnny Brito is one of the most promising young relief pitching prospects in the game. Higashioka is also a calculated signing as he becomes a bridge and mentor for 17-year-old catching phenom Ethan Salas who is quickly making his way through San Diego’s farm system. San Diego also lost Hader to the Astros and Lugo to the Royals but signed Korean pitcher Woo-Suk Go which will significantly help their bullpen. Ace pitcher Blake Snell is also gone to free agency but the Padres signed ex-White Sox ace Dylan Cease at the end of the offseason which will be a top-tier replacement in what will be a monster three-star rotation of Darvish, Musgrove, and Cease. If San Diego did not lose so many stars they would easily be in the top 3 off-seasons on this list.

8. Chicago Cubs   (B+)

Chicago Cubs Logo - Jersey Logo - National League (NL) - Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net

Major Additions

  • SP Shota Imanaga
  • RP Hector Neris

The Cubs’ main priority this offseason was to resign Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger. They did half of this goal by signing Bellinger last week. Bellinger pulled an inverse of Tim Anderson and had a career renaissance last year by having the 7th best average in MLB (.307), hitting 26 homers, and having 97 RBI’s. He hadn’t hit over .300 since his 47 home run 2019 MVP campaign. In fact, in the three seasons since his MVP season, he didn’t even hit over .240. This shocking resurgence with the Cubs should make Chicago fans excited for a potential repeat performance this year. On the other hand, ace pitcher Marcus Stroman has left for the Big Apple, but the Cubs pivoted in a big way by adding the 3rd best Japanese free-agent pitcher, Shota Imanaga who played for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. For the last 8 seasons he had over 1,000 strikeouts with a 3.18 ERA in that span. He should easily slot in as the opening day ace and will be a pivotal player in how this offseason is viewed by the end of the year.

7. Washington Nationals   (A-)

File:Washington Nationals Cap Insig.svg - Wikipedia

Major Additions

  • OF Jesse Winker
  • 1B/OF Joey Gallo
  • OF Eddie Rosario
  • 3B Nick Senzel
  • CP Dylan Floro

The most underrated off-season has to be the Washington Nationals, who lost nobody and added a ton of talent. Washington won’t be able to contend this year, but don’t be surprised if in the next few seasons they become a sleeper team in the NL East. After winning the World Series in 2019, Washington shipped most of their expensive stars to other teams and they have been at the bottom of the National League for the past few seasons. However, they have done a great job drafting and will now likely bring up to the majors 2 top 15 prospects, outfielders Dylan Crews and James Wood. Along with these rookies, they added high-quality offensive talent this offseason with power hitters like Joey Gallo and Eddie Rosario as well as consistent contact hitter Jesse Winker. Nick Senzel will also slide in nicely at third base which has been their weakest position the past few seasons. Adding Dylan Floro from Miami also gives the Nationals another option for closer, which has been a very inconsistent role the past few years as well.

6. Seattle Mariners   (A-)

Seattle Mariners Logo

Major Additions

  • 2B Jorge Polanco
  • OF Mitch Haniger
  • C/DH Mitch Garver
  • 1B/OF Luke Raley
  • 3B Luis Urias

Seattle went all-in on offense and it could pay dividends for them in a division that had generally weak offseason transactions. Seattle was just 2 games behind the Astros and World Series Champion Rangers for first in the AL West but didn’t even make the playoffs, falling one game short of the Blue Jays for the final Wild Card spot. To get over this small hurdle they added talent throughout their lineup to combat their many free agent losses. Seattle lost two of their biggest power hitters in Eugenio Suarez and Teoscar Hernandez, so they resigned former Mariner Mitch Haniger from the Giants to be a power-hitting outfielder and signed rising star Luke Raley from Tampa to help the infield offense. Jorge Polanco is also a huge signing for Seattle because it will give them more consistent contact in a lineup that had the most strikeouts in the league last season and will also give them a good defensive middle infield opposite J.P Crawford. I could see Seattle in the top 3 or 4 of this list if they would have signed a pitcher as they lost Robbie Ray in the Mitch Haniger trade.

5. San Francisco Giants   (A-)

File:San Francisco Giants Cap Insignia.svg - Wikipedia

Major Additions

  • 3B Matt Chapman
  • CP Jordan Hicks
  • SP Robbie Ray
  • OF Jung-Hoo Lee
  • OF/DH Jorge Soler

After years of barely missing out on stars like Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, San Francisco finally hit on big-name free agents. 3B Matt Chapman was one of the biggest offensive signings of the offseason and paired with Miami pickup Jorge Soler in the middle of this order is going to be a scary sight for opposing pitchers and could leave a lot of balls in the bay. The Giants also signed Japanese star Jung-Hoo Lee who they are hoping will become their everyday Center Fielder for years to come. Lee is one of the youngest Japanese free agents this season at 25 and he has the 5-tool ability to become their franchise player. Robbie Ray and triple-digit hitting Jordan Hicks are also massive signings for San Francisco as they try to compete with the Dodgers, Padres, and Diamondbacks, who all have phenomenal rotations. Despite these big moves, the Giants also lost quite a lot compared to the Dodgers and Diamondbacks as they lost 5 of their 6 starting pitchers in the offseason to free agency and trades. Simply adding Robbie Ray won’t fix their pitching depth issue.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks   (A)

File:Arizona Diamondbacks cap logo.svg - Wikipedia

Major Additions

  • SP Eduardo Rodriguez
  • 3B Eugenio Suarez
  • OF Joc Pederson

Fresh off an insanely surprising National League Championship, the Diamondbacks went into the offseason with a few goals. First of all, they wanted to re-sign many of their players from their World Series roster, which they did. Second, they wanted to improve upon their offense in free agency, which they did by adding Suarez and Pederson. And lastly, they wanted to add another starting pitcher to compete with the top-tier NL West pitching staffs, which they did by getting ex-Detroit ace Eduardo Rodriguez. Completing all three of these lofty goals earns Arizona the first straight A on this list. So why aren’t the Diamondbacks in the top 3? Because the teams in the top 3 had one move each that defined the 2024 offseason.

3. Baltimore Orioles   (A)

Other Birds as the Orioles Logo (@SmilingBirdLogo) / X

Major Additions

  • SP Corbin Burnes
  • CP Craig Kimbrel

Baltimore made an enormous splash this offseason on February 1st when they traded for former Cy Young Award-winning ace Corbin Burnes. After years of building up their farm system but having subpar MLB seasons, all the player development paid off last year when a young homegrown core lineup of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Ryan Mountcastle led Baltimore to an AL East title and an overall 1 seed. Baltimore has even more top prospects coming through the system in the near future like Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, and Colton Cowser, but these are position players. Burnes should be a solidified number 1 for Baltimore to help balance their team out and adding Craig Kimbrel as a closer will give Baltimore a complete team with very few holes for the upcoming season.

2. New York Yankees   (A)

NY Yankees Logo / Sport / Logonoid.com

Major Additions

  • OF Juan Soto
  • SP Marcus Stroman
  • OF Trent Grisham
  • OF Alex Verdugo

It’s no surprise that New York used their outrageously high payroll and marketability to attract free agents and trade pieces this offseason, but it’s who they got and for what cost that ranks them this high on the list. First, they landed the top offensive player on the trade market in Juan Soto while only giving up a few young pitchers that haven’t performed remarkably well for the Yankees. In the same trade, they got Trent Grisham and then later got Alex Verdugo from the arch-rival Red Sox. All of these signings will pair well with Aaron Judge and should create the top outfield/DH quartet in baseball. Because New York gave up 3 pitchers in the Soto/Grisham trade as well as Luis Severino, they needed a bona fide number 2 pitcher to go behind Gerrit Cole who will be out one to two months with a right elbow injury. They found their guy in Marcus Stroman who had a career year in Chicago last season. All in all, the Yankees had the best off-season in the American League, in my opinion, and should compete with Baltimore for an AL East crown this season, but it still was not enough to nab the top spot on this list.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers   (A+)

File:LA Dodgers.svg - Wikipedia

Advanced

Major Additions

  • SP/DH Shohei Ohtani
  • SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
  • SP Tyler Glasnow
  • OF/DH Teoscar Hernandez
  • SP James Paxton
  • OF Manuel Margot

This wasn’t really a question. The top offseason belongs to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and it’s not even remotely close. The Dodgers won the Ohtani sweepstakes and didn’t have to give up anything to get him through free agency. While this alone might have put them at #1 on this list, they also signed Japanese all-star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a long-term deal. Yamamoto would be an ace on half the teams in MLB, and coupling him with Ohtani is just unfair. If this wasn’t enough, the Dodgers then got more pitching by acquiring James Paxton from Boston. After that, they executed a massive trade to get another top-tier pitcher from Tampa Bay: Tyler Glasnow, while also adding Manuel Margot from Tampa to gain outfield depth. Even with Ohtani not being able to pitch this season as he recovers from an elbow injury, the starting pitching staff will include a plethora of options including Yamamoto, Glasnow, Paxton, Bobby Miller, Walker Buehler, and Clayton Kershaw. Additionally, after losing J.D Martinez and Kiki Hernandez to free agency, they shored up the outfield by adding power-hitting Teoscar Hernandez from Seattle. This offseason is a classic example of the rich getting richer, much richer in the Dodgers case. However, baseball is a 162-game season and anything can happen in the playoffs. Dodgers fans have become way too familiar with this in the recent seasons since their 2020 World Series Championship. We’ll see if these blockbuster moves finally push the Dodgers over the championship hump.

Which team do you think had the best off-season, and which moves will help teams contend for the 2024 World Series title?

Mental Health and Professional Athletes

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By Griffin Olah

Griffin is a third-year undergraduate BGSU student from North Ridgeville, Ohio. He is a Sport Management major and a Journalism minor. His primary sports interests are baseball and football, both collegiate and professional, but he is also interested in basketball, MMA, boxing and hockey.

February 17, 2021

This entry contains material and descriptions of depression and suicide. If you or a loved one are experiencing depression, emotional distress or thoughts of harming your/themselves, you/they are not alone. Help is available. Contact a mental health professional or the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or suicidepreventionlifeline.org to get the help you/they deserve and need.

“I hate myself” (Passan, 2021, para. 94). 

These were the words that San Francisco Giants outfielder Drew Robinson spoke to paramedics as they arrived at his house on April 17, 2020. Three simple words. Apparently, they were enough to make sense of everything he had been feeling.

Drew Robinson might not be a name that you know. He’s played 100 career games at the major league level over the past three years, the first two with the Texas Rangers and the third with the St. Louis Cardinals (“Drew Robinson,” 2021b). He was signed by the San Francisco Giants to convert from infield to outfield before the 2020 season, but he never saw the field in the pandemic shortened season – and April 16, 2020 is the main reason for that (Passan, 2021).

Andrelton Simmons, on the other hand, is a name you might know. Simmons, a four-time Gold Glove winner with a Platinum Glove also in his trophy case, has spent nine years in the big leagues with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels with great success. He is regarded as one of the best defenders in MLB and has received MVP votes three times in his career (2013, 2017 and 2018), with an eighth place finish as his highest (“Andrelton Simmons,” 2021a). 

So, what connects one of the top defenders in the game to a utility player bouncing between the majors and AAA? The answer: depression and thoughts of suicide.

A day before Drew Robinson called the paramedics, he sat at his kitchen table and wrote. To anyone gazing in, this seems like a normal event. Sure, most baseball players don’t write on the side, but it seems like a simple task. Robinson finished whatever it was he was writing and moved throughout the house, cleaning as he went. He set about making the house as clean as possible. Then, he sat on the couch (Passan, 2021).

Andrelton Simmons was reaching the end of his age-30 season in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Angels were on the outside of the playoffs looking in, and with one week left in the season, there was a small chance that they could make the postseason. Simmons was enjoying an offensive resurgence in the 30 games he played – he had a .297 batting average and a .702 OPS that were his highest since finishing 15th in the 2018 MVP voting (“Andrelton Simmons,” 2021a). In September, Simmons shocked the Angels and opted out of that final week. He didn’t speak to the media until January 31 at his introductory press conference after signing a one year, $10.5 million deal to be the shortstop of the Minnesota Twins. He declined to answer any questions about his opt-out (Fletcher, 2021).

As with the writing, everything that Robinson did leading up to sitting on the couch was normal. People write everyday. Cleaning is not something that should raise red flags. Everything on the outside was normal and peaceful. Simmons was playing the sport he loved and playing it well. Everything seemed okay on the outside until his opt-out raised eyebrows across the league. Each one of these players had one of the toughest decisions in human life to make, and they made it.

Simmons’ decision was much less dramatic, but produced more stories at the time. He initially cited “COVID-19 concerns” for his opt-out, which caught manager Joe Maddon off guard (Torres, 2020, para. 1). Simmons then released a statement to the local media thanking the Angels organization for his time in Los Angeles, and then rode off into the sunset, not to be heard from until his Twins press conference (Torres, 2020).

Robinson’s decision, however, was complex and had multiple parts to it. The first was on that couch. Before looking at that, however, we need to look back at what Drew Robinson wrote at his kitchen table. A normally mundane activity like writing took massive meaning here. Robinson wrote a suicide note (Passan, 2021).

Back on the couch, Drew Robinson, at 8 p.m. on April 16, 2020, pressed a handgun to his head and pulled the trigger (Passan, 2021).

A few hours later, Robinson woke up, a hole in his head from the bullet. For the next 20 hours, Robinson sat alone in his house, trying to cope with the idea that he was still alive. Once those 20 hours came to a close, he sat down on his couch, the gun in one hand and a phone dialed to 911 in the other. He had a choice to make: life or death. Drew Robinson chose life (Passan, 2021).

Until recently, depression and mental illness were taboo subjects. Even now, stereotypes and misinformation about mental illness run rampant while facts stay in the dark. There was no reason for any athlete to suffer from mental illness, let alone mention it publicly. Success was supposed to make people happy. Money was supposed to solve problems. So, why would someone that successful and with that much money playing the game they love suffer from mental illness? 

The ‘Superman mentality’ of athletes took a sharp change when stars like Jerry West, Brandon Marshall and Michael Phelps went public with their struggles with depression (Gleeson & Brady, 2017). If athletes of their caliber could suffer from the same mental health problems that affect one in five American adults, then how many other athletes are affected (“Mental illness,” 2021)? The only problem here is that retired athletes were the ones coming out. What about those that are playing now?

The next year, in 2018, NBA stars Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan went public with their mental health struggles: DeRozan with depression and Love with anxiety. Kevin Love even went as far as saying “everyone is going through something we can’t see” when talking about his own struggles with asking for help and his panic attacks (2018, para. 30). More stars followed, including Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys (Epstein, 2020). Finally, mental illness in professional athletes was in the public eye. It was okay to not be okay. Or, so it seemed.

Even though all of those athletes went public with their struggles, nothing changed. They still played at a high level on the field. They still engaged with the media at the same level they did before. Commercials, TV spots and other ads never halted. Even though they bared their minds and their souls, nothing changed. Enter two baseball players of different playing levels: Drew Robinson and Andrelton Simmons.

Simmons opted out of the season because of his depression, as he later told the Southern California News Group through Twitter Direct Messages (Fletcher, 2021). For the first time, depression was visibly impacting an athlete’s performance. Drew Robinson is still struggling with the aftermath of what happened to him in April. He lost his right eye in the attempt. After countless surgeries to repair the eye socket and ensure his brain was fully intact and functioning, Robinson is attempting a comeback to baseball’s highest level. The San Francisco Giants, his employer at the time in April, signed him to a contract extension to give him a full chance at returning to baseball (Passan, 2021). These effects on both players’ careers may be the next turning point.

As for the media, this is an incredibly hard topic to cover. Even writing this entry, I’ve had some difficulties on how to say things and how to represent what happened. But, the media has been doing a great job leading the charge to destroy the stigma of mental health. ESPN ran the Drew Robinson story as their feature in early February. Andrelton Simmons’ story garnered headlines across the nation as he revealed his struggles with mental health last season. This attention, while it may lead to triggers to some viewers, is erasing the stigma of mental illness. It’s okay not to be okay, and these athletes are reinforcing that idea by sharing their own stories for all to hear.

Even more important than that exposure, though, is the content of these articles and stories. None of the articles that I’ve come across in my own time and in the research for this entry have expressed the athlete’s mental health in a negative light. In fact, any negative views disappeared after Dak Prescott revealed his struggles with mental illness, which Skip Bayless called a sign of weakness and said he “ha[d] no sympathy” for Prescott (Gardner, 2020, para. 6). Bayless’s comments were denounced by his employer, Fox Sports, as well as athletes and media members across the nation, and the stigma surrounding mental illness became something the sports world looked to erase (Gardner, 2020). Jeff Passan’s recounting of Drew Robinson’s story, while graphic, is an important step to humanizing the problem. The in-depth look at Robinson’s experience, how it affected his family, and how he felt leading up to April 16 may open the eyes of some viewers. It may even encourage them to seek help. It may help readers pick up on signs that a friend, colleague or family member is also struggling. That is what needs to happen to get everyone the help they need.

Most importantly, though, was how Passan ended his piece; with hope. Hope that Robinson can make his way back to the majors. Hope that the stigma is being erased. Hope that Robinson’s story can affect others positively. Hope that everyone can come together and help each other, so everyone knows that no matter what they’re going through, they’re not alone.

After all, in the words of Drew Robinson, “I’m meant to be alive” (Passan, 2021, para. 114). You are, too!

References

Andrelton Simmons. (2021a). Baseball Reference. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/simmoan01.shtml

Drew Robinson. (2021b). Baseball Reference. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/robindr01.shtml

Epstein, J. (2020, September 10). Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott on why he opened up on depression, brother’s suicide: ‘Being a leader is about being genuine.’ USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2020/09/10/dak-prescott-dallas-cowboys-depression-brother-jace/3460645001/ 

Fletcher, J. (2021. February 2). Andrelton Simmons opens up about depression and thoughts of suicide. The Orange County Register. https://www.ocregister.com/2021/02/02/andrelton-simmons-opens-up-about-depression-and-thoughts-of-suicide/ 

Gardner, S. (2020, September 10). Fox Sports calls out Skip Bayless for ‘insensitive comments’ about Dak Prescott.’ USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2020/09/10/skip-bayless-fox-sports-criticizes-cowboys-dak-prescott-revealing-depression/3461207001/ 

Gleeson, S. & Brady, E. (2017, August 30). When athletes share their battles with mental illness. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2017/08/30/michael-phelps-brandon-marshall-mental-health-battles-royce-white-jerry-west/596857001/ 

Love, K. (2018, March 6). Everyone is going through something. The Players’ Tribune. https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/kevin-love-everyone-is-going-through-something

Mental illness. (2021). National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml#:~:text=Mental%20illnesses%20are%20common%20in,mild%20to%20moderate%20to%20severe

Passan, J. (2021, February 2). San Francisco Giants outfielder Drew Robinson’s remarkable second act. ESPN. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30800732/san-francisco-giants-outfielder-drew-robinson-remarkable-second-act 

Torres, M. (2020, September 22). Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons opts out of playing the rest of the season. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2020-09-22/angels-shortstop-andrelton-simmons-opts-out-of-playing-rest-of-season

World Series TV Ratings Boom in Game 7

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By Nick Muhl

On October 29th, the San Francisco Giants took home their third World Series title in five years. The Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-2, in a back and forth Game 7, behind their ace Madison Bumgarner. The pitcher threw a scoreless five-inning save on only two days rest.

Game 7 of the World Series drew huge ratings on Fox, averaging 23.5 million viewers and a 13.7 TV rating for the entire series. The viewership was over five million more than last years World Series final game between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.

The ratings for the final game came as a relief for Fox, Game 1 of this years World Series drew a 7.1 TV rating, the lowest ever for a Game 1 of the World Series. The rating came as a shock considering the highly covered run to the world series by the Kansas City Royals.

Despite Kansas City not being a major market team, many members of the media and fans believed the great story behind the team, including this being the first time since 1985 that the Royals have reached the World Series, would help to boost the TV ratings. Jacob Shafer, a writer for the Bleacher Report, tagged the Royals with the “Cinderella” term attributing the name to their small market-status and playoff drought.

After Game 1 of the series, it was looking grim despite the optimism by the media and Fox. However, both teams would prove to downplay the Game 1 series ratings as each game gained more viewers. The largest factor in swinging the tide in Fox’s favor? This year’s world series came down to a deciding Game 7, and nothing screams drama more than a Game 7 pitching duel between Bumgarner and the Royals.

The game 7 provided Kansas City with a 58.3 TV rating, the highest rating for any one city for one MLB game. The Giants hometown, San Francisco logged a rating of 38.8. Despite the beginning of the NHL and NBA seasons and mid-season of the NFL and college football, the MLB remains as one of the “Big 3” alongside the NFL and NBA.

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World Series Goes Unnoticed

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By McKenzie Whiteman

You don’t have to be an avid baseball or even sports fan to know about the highs and lows of the World Series. However, this year it seems as if there’s literally no interest in the battle between the San Francisco and Kansas City.

Low ratings prove that the 2014 World Series may be the worst ratings in World Series history since it’s been made a regular television feature. Some attribute this to the competition the Series faces with the always increasingly popular NFL games. Others seem to think the lack of big name teams (such as the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox) limit the audience of the MLB. Some simply think that because the long baseball season is ending during the high point of the NFL and sometimes opening nights for the NBA, that the timing is becoming the cause of the ratings.

Whatever the reason may be, the World Series is gaining less viewers than some NFL match-ups receive in one night. FOX executives and MLB commissioners need to find some way to increase the popularity of the historical Series and preserve the loyal fans that it does have during the regular season.

Possibly the best solution is the Game 7 that ultimately did result from Kansas City’s 10-0 win. The Royals, who haven’t seen the World Series playoffs in 29 years, have earned the advantage of playing the deciding game on their home turf. This could be the answer FOX executives have dreamed for. A Game 7, on the underdog’s home turf, on a night that hosts no football…there couldn’t be a better setting.

This season’s series needs to be an example for the future. FOX needs to be prepared for future series where the two competitors don’t include big name teams. Marketing and public relations strategies need to be reexamined so that regular season baseball fans see the importance of watching the post season, even when their favorite team may have not clinched. In addition, MLB executives need to constantly be evaluating the fluctuating audience. Baseball’s beginning to take a backseat to the hype of the NFL’s increase in criminal interests and even NCAA rivalries.

Ratings have the potential to completely change with Game 7 tomorrow night. However, involved parties with the World Series, no matter how big or small, need to examine their strengths and weaknesses in the series’ previous games. Whether it be a marketing or promotion effort, alterations in broadcasting, or simply the way the Series is advertised, the World Series has to find some way to compete with conflicting pro-sport schedules. If adjustments are not made, ratings will continue to struggle even with the luxury of big name teams competing.

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