Got to embrace the viral once in a while, guys
Baseball should still reflect what is great about America, but they don't. Girl throws baseball back, a precious moment is created. What's so hard to understand, MLB? (Photo: flickr.com)
By now, you’ve probably heard about the “girl throws baseball back” video that made the viral rounds of the Web and television. If not, here’s the only place that’s sure to have the clip available now: MLB.com. In short, a family is sitting in the stands at a Philadelphia Phillies game. The batter, Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth, fouls off a fastball in the direction of Steve Monforto, who catches the ball. After a moment of celebration over his new rare souvenir, Monforto’s three-year-old daughter Emily asks daddy for the ball. And the rest, as they say, is history. The girl throws the baseball back onto the field. No payday lender could have put a value on that priceless moment.
Monforto was shocked at first, but he quickly realized that Emily did what she thought was right. They shared a happy hug. It was a classic father-and-child moment at the ball yard, and the video quickly went viral, spreading like wildfire. Video of the television broadcast and fan-made videos gave Major League Baseball a golden opportunity to enjoy some positive advertising.
With steroids and game pace alienating ADD Americans, the game needed it
But what did they decide to do? Major League Baseball has gone to great pains to pull down most if not all of the instances of the video. Legally yes, they have every right to do that; you’ve heard the “without the express written consent of the commissioner” jargon, I’m sure. It’s intended to protect what Major League Baseball considers to be their property. But let’s step away from the law for a moment and think about what baseball could have done for itself here, aside from lowering ticket prices so that the average fan wouldn’t have to go to a payday lender in order to be able to afford to attend.
Part of the reason kids don’t flock to the game is the lack of exposure
By this, I mean during hours when they’re awake and able to take in a game, particularly during the postseason. Games air at night (typically beginning around 6 or 7 p.m.). If you’re talking the Pacific Time zone, that means it airs on the east coast at 9 or 10 p.m. Young children who would otherwise have the chance to grow up with an appreciation for “America’s pastime” are left out of the equation because advertisers want to put their ads in television programs that air during prime time. The grab for money decreases the overall fan base, and I’m not even touching on player salaries. They have little need of a payday lender, that’s for sure.
The image of father and daughter was precious
It was Norman Rockwell-esque, the way baseball used to be. As Mashable describes it, it was a “touching baseball moment.” It was funny and heart-warming – and it promoted Major League Baseball in a way that those who are responsible for marketing the sport have lost touch with. Some would say that the dwindling, video-gaming, Twittering attention span of the public has been largely responsible for the decline in attention paid to baseball, but I’d call that a cop-out. People rise to the level of expectations. I believe that parents and educators can start the shift back toward rebuilding attention spans. It all starts with rejecting some of the over-stimulating flow of information and technical gadgets. Use tools to improve life, not to replace healthy human communication with fragmented, illiterate avatars that appear to be human (I’m no longer sure, myself). Is that texting meat sack of a person actually a person once they’ve lost all ability to sensibly communicate or interact socially? I ask that question from a philosophical point of view, of course.
Baseball is “hosting” the video in its stranglehold grip
And they’re forcing people to come to MLB.com in order to partake, but they are not allowing viewers to embed or share the video. This would be good brand control if not for the isolationist attitude held by baseball. You have to be able to reach out in order to grow your fan base, and people enjoy viral videos. Giving up some control can be beneficial in the long run.
The Monforto family has taken control of their moment of fame, at least. They’re going to appear on the Today Show, and it has been reported that they will receive a surprise gift.
We live in a viral age
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Which makes MLB’s decision to pull all videos and force people to come to them to see it (but not allow them to share via online social media) backward. Wake up and smell the 21st century, baseball marketing team. If you need a payday lender to help you buy some sense of how people find entertainment, click the green button to apply now for a payday loan.
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