The thing about baseball – and it always has been – is that the game itself is so charming, compelling, and charmingly ridiculous that the people who run it know that no matter what they do with it, you’ll keep coming back.
This latest humiliation is not a scandal. It is not about the Black Sox, segregation, the cancellation of a World Series, or steroids. It is just another sign that the Commissioner’s office does not believe Major League Baseball is as special and unique as it should be.
During the postseason next month, the logo of a German company that makes high-performance workwear will “adorn” every player’s batting helmet.
GO DEEPER
MLB places advertising on playoff batting helmets
Funny word choice from the MLB press release: decorate. The dictionary definition is “beautify,” that is, to improve the appearance of something by adding to it – like ornaments on a Christmas tree.
On the other hand, everyone has their own idea of beauty. For business owners, beauty equals money, and of course that’s a big part of Commissioner Rob Manfred’s job. He represents over 30 owners who want to make money.
But baseball isn’t chasing every dollar it can get. In fact, there are some set limits.
Teams are still named after cities and regions – not companies, as is the case in Japan. Some teams still don’t sell naming rights to their ballparks – Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium, and so on. The winner of the World Series receives the Commissioner’s Trophy – not a big Del Monte can on a wooden base.
Maybe that’s all coming. Until 2022, the uniform was an ad-free zone, aside from the logos of the companies that made the garments, which at least made contextual sense. Starting last season, however, teams were allowed to sell space on their sleeve patches — left or right, whichever faces the TV camera more often — and 23 of the 30 teams have done so. Only the Mets bothered to change their patches when the colors clashed.
Steve Cohen says the Mets’ promotional patch is in the “Phillies colors” and that they will change the design to include more Mets colors.
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) 7 April 2023
Now come the helmet ads, which don’t add value to the MLB product, but might inspire you to buy a pair of $99.99 cargo work pants. The CEO of the sponsoring company obviously thinks that’s great, as he tells us in this meaningless quote from the press release:
“Whether on the field or in the field, your gear is a source of pride. We know fans of the American pastime are loyal, dedicated and appreciate a job well done – just like (insert company name here) fans around the world who love our family’s iconic ostrich logo.”
(One more linguistic digression: Can we please reserve “iconic” for things that are actually widely admired, influential, or significant?)
The company logo will stretch horizontally across the side of the batting helmet, with the not-so-iconic bouquet next to the company name. It will be seen in all postseason games starting next month, as well as all minor league games starting next season (and in MLB’s regular season games in Europe, setting an odd precedent for overseas games).
Yes, the NBA, NHL and soccer have promotional patches. Whatever. If the NBA, NHL and soccer jumped off a bridge… you know the saying. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if baseball held itself to higher standards?
From the perspective of someone who has never run a business, it’s easy to say that MLB should have resisted yet another money-making scheme. But let’s be honest. It’s so distasteful and so sad that the league’s overlords have so little respect for the visual presentation of their product. They should do better.
To be fair, the league is doing a lot of things right. Manfred’s push for a pitch clock and the thoughtful, methodically researched way MLB went about it has improved the game more than the flood of advertising has hurt it. The pitch clock has been a smashing success, it has taken nothing away and it has restored the natural pace of the sport. A thousand hosannas.
This innovation showed how something positive can come from financial motivation. The pitch clock made MLB a more attractive product, so everyone won. There is no benefit to the fans here. A helmet advertisement will not grow the business.
As tasteless as it is, it probably doesn’t hurt business either. Baseball has a way of grabbing diehard fans and never letting go, and the MLB knows that. It’s just a shame that the league takes advantage of that loyalty with petty insults like this.
Sorry, those weren’t insults, they were just decorations.
(Photo: Mary DeCicco / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
