Although baseball is considered America’s national pastime, it is becoming one of the least popular sports in younger age groups. Nothing has changed with the sport, but that is the problem. With social media, television, and marketing larger than ever before, the MLB has done nothing to keep up with this. Sure, they are active on these platforms, but the NFL and NBA do a much better job of getting everyone talking about the biggest plays or the top players. Everyone knows who Lebron James or Patrick Mahomes is, but MLB’s top player, Mike Trout, is not on the same status as these players which is a shame. Mike Trout is already statistically better than many of the members of the MLB Hall of Fame, but he is not a household name. Trevor Bauer, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, has taken notice of this and is making strides to make MLB more marketable and got the younger audience back into the game of baseball.
Let the Kids Play
Bauer has been vocal about players marketing themselves, since the MLB has done such a poor job at it and is one of the biggest supporters of the “Let the Kids Play” movement in baseball. This movement supports players acting like every little kid playing the sport in local communities by encouraging bat flipping and celebrations which might seem against the tradition. But thinking this is the problem because the NFL and NBA encourages rowdy celebrations (within reason) as well and this is why they
are talked about more. Bauer attributes to this by getting fired up after getting a big strike out, strutting around the mound like Connor McGregor, or other celebrations just to get people talking. Some people like this and others hate it, but that is what challenging the norm will get you. Next, he publishes videos and interviews to the Momentum YouTube channel which is a YouTube channel run by athletes. He shows his pregame routines, how he stays in shape, and many other things that baseball fans like me find interesting to see. This has brought a new light to how players are able to see themselves marketing themselves and get their names out their.
Training
Bauer has also challenged how training and practicing as a pitcher is done. 10 years ago, not too many people pay attention the technological analytics in pitching. They might watch a video on a batter they faced but that’s it. However, Bauer was one of the first pitchers to use high speed cameras to look at spin rate of the ball and many other high tech. analytics. People thought he was crazy at first, but now, every team is using these analytics and technology and if they aren’t they are behind. He has also used different training aspects that have caught on with other pitchers in the league as well. Whether it be weighted baseballs to practice with or using resistance bands to properly stretch his arms, Bauer was one of the first to introduce these as well. Over and over Bauer has gone against the path and done things how he thought should be done and not only is he being successful with these tactics, but he is gaining more and more followers to his training ways.
If baseball wants to stay competitive with the other major sports, then it must improve how they market their players and the league as a whole. Trevor Bauer has not only done this well, but he has also challenged how training is done in baseball as well. This entrepreneurial spirit is what has made Bauer successful and he should continue to carry this out.
You don’t normally think of an athlete as being an entrepreneur unless they are running businesses on the side, but I think it is cool how Trevor Bauer is working so hard to market himself and the game. Baseball definitely needs to do a better job of marketing their best players to make kids more excited about the game, so I think what Trevor Bauer is doing is good for the sport.