Barroid, A-Rod and Glavine, Oh My!

 

Well 3 new milestones have been reached this weekend in the stat heavy baseball realm.

Barry Bonds, aka “Barroid” grabbed the career home run mark by hitting his 755th, and 756th, Alex Rodriguez reached the 500 mark (youngest to do so) and Tom Glavine finally got his 300th win (only 5th lefthander to reach that mark, 23rd overall). Congrats to all.

Baseball more than any other sport seems to care more about individual statistics. There are more stats in baseball than one can imagine.

Yes the baseball fans are ecstatic about these, but what does it mean for baseball in general? Basically not much. While Glavine and A-Rod are basically considered nice all around people, they are not exactly marketable commodities. They are so calm and reserved that they border on boring, as far as stars are concerned. Even though they both play in New York City (A-Rod for the Yankees, Glavine for the Mets), there was no really buzz around the country for these two players. They just don't excite anyone because of their lack of flash or controversy. So the milestones were passed without fanfare and another chance at marketing a sport in trouble went to the wayside. There should have been more done to promote these two good stories.

Glavine's fault is that he is a finesse pitcher instead of a power pitcher. He relies on placement and control to get his outs instead of over powering the hitters like a Roger Clemens or Nolan Ryan. People just don't get excited by these type of pitches as they are methodical and slow, yet they get the job done. He has been around for a long time and is just steady and luckily never has been on the disabled list in his career. So the marketability to the general public is negligible, as only purists (like myself) appreciate what he has accomplished in his career. The “casual fan” just doesn't care about the finer points and nuances of the game, just strike outs and home runs.

A-Rod hits home runs, but has never really clicked as he tends to be quiet and professional in his approach. The idiots in the press don't appreciate this and have labeled him “aloof” and distant. They can't stand or understand the fact that he just isn't a loud mouth or flashy kind of guy. Plus since he is the highest paid player in baseball, and plays for the Yankees, he is expected to shine in the post season. For some reason he has not lived up to billing in the playoffs, giving his distractors ample fodder to label him “soft” and a “choker”. So naturally with this type of personality and bad press he just isn't marketable as well.

The problem of course is that these happened the same weekend that Bonds tied the home run record. Of course a lot of sports writers claim that this record is the “most hallowed in sports”, but that is only to them so they have something to complain about. Barroid is of course under suspicion of having done steroids and is under investigation by the federal government for this, perjury, and tax evasion. The Grand Jury has been investigating for the past few years, and for some reason they keep it going without resolution (of course I think they are waiting for the record to be broken so they won't be accused of playing politics and interfering his breaking the record).

Barroid's trainer Greg Anderson is in jail for contempt for not answering questions about the steroid use by Bonds. The whole thing stems from a raid on a lab called Balco that was producing “Performance Enhancing Drugs” and the owner was convicted and sent to prison. He has said in interviews that tests performed by the authorities cold never keep up with the labs producing the drugs as they can always find ways to mask the drugs and beat the tests. Of course the main drug “Human Growth Hormone” (HGH) can not be detected by normal urine tests, and the Major League Baseball union prohibits blood tests that will detect the presence of HGH.

Of course dozens of minor and lesser major league players have tested positive and have been suspended, but many of these come from Latin countries where the drug technology isn't as advanced, and since these players are not as known, the media like ESPN doesn't mention them except in passing if at all. In fact many just have their names mentioned in scrolls as the main program are being aired. Then of course they claim that noon wants to know, but in effect if we aren't told about this, how can we care about something we don't know about? It's just that they market themselves based upon the major stars and don't care, so they don't feel obligated to announce it. Talk about censorship of the news! Tell us and let us care folks!

Barroid of course is famous due to his assault of this record so every move he makes is recorded (Barry Bonds picked his nose today, news at 11) and shoved down our throats. Barroid's other problem is the fact that he doesn't treat people right. He is known for his snapping at reporters and fans, even those that support him. Of curse this is one side effect of steroids, irrational quick anger. There is also the famous book out there from a couple of years ago, “Game of Shadows” that detail the information the government has on Barroid and others. This is the most damning evidence along with his ex-mistress talking about the steroid use and tax evasion.

There is the rub (as the English might say), in that we have the most prolific home run hitter in the history of the game, but baseball cannot profit by marketing his image or his achievements. I think that is why the commissioner Bud Selig looked like he just choked on a pile of manure when Barry hit the home run that tied the record. Now that he broke the record, the real fun starts. If he was a nice and contrite as he was during his post game interview throughout his career he would be a national hero instead of the pariah that he has become. Again the steroids he took to reach this mark is to blame for his actions off the field. Too bad as he just let his ego run away and now it is time to pay the piper.

Luckily for baseball, the game will survive and as long as MLB doesn't make the same mistake that the NBA did by changing their marketing strategy away from marketing the game and teams to marketing the individual players above the game.

Remember players come and go, but the game remains, so that is where their marketing resources should be focused and we'll still remain fans.

Mahalo.