Video Killed the Radio Star and TV and Interleague Play Did in the All-Star Game

Everyone in the media continually tries to to figure out why the interest in Major League Baseball’s All-Star game has dwindled to the point that you wonder if it might not exist one day. The reasons why the ratings are at an all-time low are very apparent if you simply look at a few simple facts.

First though, let’s take a look at the ratings since 1967, as amassed by Baseball Almanac. From 1967-1980, the game averaged a 46.7 share of the television audience. The game averaged a 24.5 rating with the 1969 game the only time the share dipped below 20 during the period, and that occurred because the game was rained out the night before and was played the following afternoon.

Ratings began to decline over the next decade, though the share was still decent (36.8 avg) from 1981-1988. The ’81 All-Star game was the first game after a two month player’s strike interrupted the season. After the 1989 game, which had an 18.2 rating and 33 share, the game’s viewership steadily declined. The 2002 season saw the ratings drop below 10% for the first time. Last season saw an all-time lows of 6.8%, a 12 share, and 10.9 million viewers.

If you were a baseball fan in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the All-Star game and the post-season were the only times that you saw players like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Jim Palmer unless they were on your team. Fans were also fans of the league their team was in-if you liked the Yankees or Mets, you rooted for the American or National League in the All-Star game and in the World Series.

The All-Star game was a happening that you looked forward to. When else could you see so many future Hall of Fame players, especially at one time. When I was growing up the NL dominated the game, so I was really into, hoping the AL would finally beat the hated NL. In 1971 it finally happened in Detroit when the AL's sluggers pounded the NL pitchers. The most memorable shot being Reggie Jackson's home run blast off the tower atop Tiger Stadium. The AL wouldn't win again until Fred Lynn's grand slam catupulted the junior circuit to a 13-3 win. 

The AL finally exacted vengance with 18 wins over the period from 1988-2009, but something had changed and the excitement was gone.

A Change in the Air

Perhaps the All-Star game television ratings might have leveled off had the player’s strike not occurred in August, 1994. The regular season was wiped out and the entire post-season was canceled in one fell swoop by MLB commissioner Bud Selig.  Baseball didn’t start up again until April 2, 1995. Some fans would never return to the ball park, others slowly made their way back. (The last game I attended before the strike was August 9, 1994 and I did not return to the ball park until July 30, 1998.) Either way the game was badly damaged.

From that moment on, viewership (slightly) increased  from one year to the next just four times to date. One rise (13%) occurred in 1998 when everyone was caught up in the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa steroid fueled chase of Roger Maris’ single season home run record.  The next increase came in 2001 (10%) when Barry Bonds was in a steroid fueled chase of McGwire’s 1998 home run record.

The third rise in the ratings was in the 2006 game in Pittsburgh (15%), presumably because of the ceremony that was held mid-game in memory of Roberto Clemente. The final increase in ratings came in 2008 when the Yankees held their final All-Star game in the old Yankee Stadium. Ratings (11%) had to be helped by Josh Hamilton’s monsterous home run derby performance the night before.

Television’s Role in Dimishing the All-Star Game's Draw

With no cable TV and teams not broadcasting all 162 regular season games, any time you could watch a game it felt like you won a prize. There was a weekly nationally televised game, but that was it.  Then cable television began to appear and the landscape of televised baseball changed forever.

More regular season out of market games started to be televised in the late 1970’s and then ESPN came into existence in 1979 with highlights and replays of baseball games like you had never seen before. The Connecticut based station started televising baseball games in 1990, so you no longer had to wait for the one national game of the week to be shown. 

Over the next two decades, the MLB Network would be launched, other cable outlets (e.g. TBS) began to broadcast games, you could add the MLB Extra Innings package to your cable or dish plan, and the official MLB site provided video and audio broadcasts.

Baseball games can be found all around the dial or the internet now, which means you can watch Miguel Cabrera or Mike Trout just about any time you want.

The Death Blow

One of the ideas Selig came up with to increase fan interest was the implementation of interleague play. While most fans seem to love it, or least like it, it was a tremendous blow to the All-Star game. What started out quietly in 1997 with opponents playing 15-18 games against the other league is now an every day occurrence in the Major Leagues. Why bother watching an All-Star game when you can see players from both leagues on any day or night on a number of different television stations.

Selig impacted the game again after the AL and NL played to a 7-7 tie in 2002.  To make the game more important, he decreed that home field advantage for the World Series would be determined by the league that won the All-Star game. Fans have laughed at the notion ever since. Selig basically kicked a man when he was already down.

Until someone figures out another way to bring excitement to the game, don't look for the ratings to be anything spectacular in the future. That is if the game still exists.

UPDATE - The 2013 game got an 8.1 national rating, which means there was increase from the prior year for just the fifth time since 1998. It was about a 20% boost from last year's game primarily due to Mariano Rivera and it being the first game at the Mets home field since 1964.

All-Star Game Television Ratings Television Analysis & Ratings Breakdown
Year	Network	Rating	Share	Households	Viewers
1967	NBC	25.6	50	14,050,000	Not Available
1968	NBC	25.8	49	14,450,000	Not Available
1969	NBC	15.1	42	8,610,000	Not Available
1970	NBC	28.5	54	16,670,000	Not Available
1971	NBC	27.0	50	16,230,000	Not Available
1972	NBC	22.9	43	14,220,000	26,300,000
1973	NBC	23.8	45	15,420,000	27,600,000
1974	NBC	23.4	44	15,490,000	Not Available
1975	NBC	21.5	41	14,730,000	28,170,000
1976	ABC	27.1	53	18,680,000	36,330,000
1977	NBC	24.5	45	17,440,000	31,000,000
1978	ABC	26.1	47	19,030,000	35,529,000
1979	NBC	24.4	45	18,180,000	31,980,000
1980	ABC	26.8	46	20,450,000	36,270,000
1981	NBC	20.1	36	15,640,000	Not Available
1982	ABC	25.0	44	20,380,000	34,120,000
1983	NBC	21.5	39	17,910,000	27,190,000
1984	ABC	20.1	35	16,840,000	28,500,000
1985	NBC	20.5	36	17,400,000	28,210,000
1986	ABC	20.3	35	17,440,000	28,375,000
1987	NBC	18.2	37	15,910,000	24,295,000
1988	ABC	20.4	33	18,070,000	29,526,000
1989	NBC	18.2	33	16,450,000	25,840,000
1990	CBS	16.2	33	14,940,000	24,365,000
1991	CBS	17.4	32	16,200,000	24,670,000
1992	CBS	14.9	27	13,720,000	21,981,000
1993	CBS	15.6	28	14,550,000	22,306,000
1994	NBC	15.7	28	14,790,000	22,015,000
1995	ABC	13.9	25	13,260,000	20,163,000
1996	NBC	13.2	23	12,690,000	18,479,000
1997	FOX	11.8	21	11,420,000	16,723,000
1998	NBC	13.3	25	13,026,000	18,970,000
1999	FOX	12.0	22	11,890,000	17,640,000
2000	NBC	10.1	18	10,167,000	14,714,000
2001	FOX	11.0	19	11,198,000	16,029,000
2002	FOX	9.5	17	10,046,000	14,653,000
2003	FOX	9.5	17	10,156,000	13,810,000
2004	FOX	8.8	15	9,573,000	13,995,000
2005	FOX	8.1	14	8,884,000	12,330,000
2006	FOX	9.3	16	10,301,000	14,424,000
2007	FOX	8.4	15	9,343,000	12,530,000
2008	FOX	9.3	16	10,441,000	14,540,000
2009	FOX	8.9	15	10,754,230	14,610,000
2010	FOX	7.5	13	8,692,500	12,100,000
2011	FOX	6.9	12	7,712,000	11,000,000
2012	FOX	6.8	12	6,743,724	10,900,000

BD Spring Training Report: Stick To Your Guns | Baseball Digest

BD Spring Training Report: Stick To Your Guns | Baseball Digest

The New York Yankees have been very impressed so far this spring training with their young catcher Jesus Montero. Ranked in the top five of all Major League prospects, scouts have always felt he could hit but wondered if he handle the defensive portion of the position. At 6’4″, 225 lbs, Montero is not built like the prototypical catcher (though neither are a lot of today’s highest rated young catchers) and there has been constant talk of moving him to another position as he’s made his way up the Yankees organizational ladder. For his part Montero wants to stay right where he is and that impresses another big (6’5″, 220 lbs) catcher Joe Mauer.

The New York Times’ Joe Brescia recently spoke with Mauer about Montero, and a number of other subjects. Mauer knows what it is like to be questioned about his physical build translating to the position. “Too big. Not quick enough. I heard everything under the sun,” Mauer said by phone. As for Montero’s attitude? “That’s good,” Mauer said. “He might find that everyone wants to throw their two cents in. But I really enjoyed the position and that was not going to stop me.”

“My advice to him is try and learn as much as you can. He’s lucky he has Jorge Posada, a pretty good catcher to learn from. And he has Russell Martin there now, too, another good one to help him. Those two guys that have been around the block. He should follow those guys around and learn as much as he can.”

Bryce Harper made his much anticipated professional debut with Washington on Monday, but struck out both times up. Harper said playing in the pros felt no different than playing anywhere else and told the Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore after the game that he was happy with his game. “I felt really good up there.It’s the first two at-bats. That’s why we have spring training. That’s what it’s for – get all the rinky dinks out.”

Having already lost Adam Wainwright for 12-15 months after Tommy John surgery, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa may start watching his pitchers through his fingers. His other ace, Chris Carpenter, left Tuesday’s spring training game with a mild hamstring strain.

Florida Marlins rising star Mike Stanton will probably be out two weeks after he strained a quad running out a grounder on Monday.

With no takers, free agent outfielder Garret Anderson announced his retirement Tuesday after 17 seasons in the big leagues. The career .293 hitter leaves the game with 283 HR, 2,529 hits, 1,365 RBI, one World Series ring, and three All-Star appearances. He played all but one season in California (2009 with Atlanta); the first 16 years of his career were spent with the Angels and his final season in 2010 was as a Dodger.

BD Spring Training Report: I Wonder | Baseball Digest

BD Spring Training Report: I Wonder | Baseball Digest

It’s a relaxing Friday night. We’re sitting around enjoying the last of the above normal warm weather in the Northeast as winter’s cold air prepares to return tomorrow. I think it’s definitely time for us to play a game of ”I wonder”. Please feel free to play along at home.

I wonder if the Wilpon Family-Bernie Madoff mess will be a distraction for the Mets during the season. It’s already become a distraction on NYC talk radio where WFAN’sMike Francesa has been discussing the Ponzi scheme the entire week. The Wilpons and others are also being investigated as to whether or not they were aware of any wrong doing. For his part Madoff told reporters that the Wilpons were not aware of the scheme.

I wonder if Albert Pujols will wear a Chicago Cubs uniform next year. Can you imagine? Think of your favorite player in any sport. Now think of the biggest rivals of that team. Now think of that player in one of those other team’s uniform. Roger Clemens wearing Yankees pinstripes. Brett Favre in Vikings purple.Leo Durocher managing the NY Giants. Those all did happen.

I wonder who the first player will be, that was hedging about returning in 2011, to retire before the regular season starts. I wonder no more on that one. Jim Edmonds of the Cardinals decided to call it quits today after a 17 year career. Edmonds underwent surgery recently to relieve pain in an achilles tendon and decided not to risk permanent damage. He retires with 393 career home runs, 1,199 RBI, and 8 Gold Gloves. Happy retirement to one of the most exciting centerfielders to watch.

I wonder who will be the first player, who retired after last season, to return this season. My money is on the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte. Though he is strong in his convictions and said there’s no way he’s pitching this year, he also said never say never. Perhaps a July return. Even Jorge Posada has a hunch he’ll back this year.

I wonder if Felix Hernandez will still be a Seattle Mariner when the trade deadline passes. I’m thinking not, no matter how much the Seattle front office says otherwise.

I wonder if Justin Morneau will have a healthy, concussion free season. This is a very worrisome situation for one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. This is a great career that could easily get derailed even if another concussion does not occur. Morneau has been cleared to take part in spring training drills, but has not yet been cleared to play in games. Morneau’s concussion occurred last July!

I wonder if Manny Ramirez will a) play in more than 120 games b) hit 30 or more home runs c) come up with a lame injury. I’m not sure about a or b, but c is pretty much a definite.

I wonder if Bryce Harper will tear apart minor league pitching and if he’ll get a September call up. Yes and yes- Harper should terrorize lower minor league pitching (He’ll play at two levels at the very least) and will be brought up in September to put some fannies in the seats.

I wonder if Don Mattingly will make a good Major League manager. Being a great/very good ball player doesn’t guarantee success (Ted Williams was one of the many that found that out). Relationships change when you go from player to coach and coach to manager. I think he’ll be successful as long as heremembers what constitutes a trip to the mound.

I wonder if Bud Selig will get his wish in 2012 or shortly thereafter to expand the MLB playoffs. My answer is a resounding yes, because this has nothing to do with baseball. It’s all about greed.

I wonder what I’ll write about next week. Stay tuned.

BD Hot Stove: NL East Prospects | Baseball Digest

Mets prospect Wilmer Flores hopes his bat can live up to the Miguel Cabrera comparisons.

BD Hot Stove: NL East Prospects | Baseball Digest

It’s time for the Hot Stove to wrap up the top prospect look in the National League by concentrating on the NL East.

Phillies: Ever since the Phillies drafted outfielder Domonic Brown in the 2006 amateur draft (20th round) they’ve waited excitedly and patiently for his presence on the big league roster. Phillies fans got a taste last year when injuries caused a call up for Brown in late July. Brown doubled, drove in two runs and scored twice in his major league debut, but things weren’t so easy after that. Brown’s splits (.210/.257/.335) showed he wasn’t ready for prime time yet after just 28 games at the Triple-A level. But his time in the minors in 2010 did show he’s getting very close.

Brown is a tremendous athlete (He turned down a football scholarship to the U of Miami) and it showed in his game last year. The 23-yr old hit 15 HR and drove in 47 runs in just 65 games at Double-A Reading before a promotion to Lehigh Valley of the Int’l League. There he added another five home runs and 21 RBI in 28 games. He also stole 17 bases between the two levels and played all three outfield positions. With Jayson Werth gone, he’ll get a chance to battle Ben Francisco for playing time in the Phillies outfield.

Mets: Pitcher Jenrry Mejia was the most talked about player in the Mets organization last year and is still ranked as their top prospect in some circles. But we’re going with shortstop Wilmer Flores as the top youngster in the Mets organization. The now 19-yr old was signed as a 16-yr old out of his native Venezuela in 2007. He made an immediate impression in rookie ball when he slugged eight home runs and drove in 42 runs and has already drawn comparisons to his fellow countrymen Miguel Cabrera.

Flores struggled mightily in ‘A’ ball in 2009, but bounce back last year, splitting his season of 133 games nearly in half between Savannah (‘A’) and Port St. Lucie (‘A+’). Flores hit 11 home runs, drove in 84 runs, and recorded a decent .758 OPS. Flores is a contact hitter who needs to learn to show more patience at the plate (He drew just 32 walks last season.). Listed as 6’3″, 175 lbs, Flores won’t last at shortstop much longer as he gets bigger and stronger. The only question is where will he go, to the outfield or to a corner position?

Marlins: Florida has had some pretty good hitting 3rd baseman in their 18 year history. Mike Lowell, Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Bonilla, Gary Sheffield (the latter two saw limited time there.)…Lowell provided Gold Glove defense to boot (or in this case should it be “not to boot”?). Could Matt Dominguez be next in line? He’s shown the glove so far, but he’ll hit have to improve offensively to stick in the major leagues. Dominguez was the Marlins 1st round pick (12th overall) in the 2007 amateur draft out of Chatsworth (CA) High School. Power came quickly to Dominguez in the minors- he hit 18 home runs as an 18-yr old at Single-A Greensboro in 2008. He added 16 doubles, a .296 average, and an impressive .853 OPS. But Dominguez took a step back the last two years to the type of player the scouts feel is the truer picture. A .250 hitter with 15 home run power and a decent run producer (81 RBI, 61 runs at Double-A Jacksonville last season).

Marlins hitting instructor John Mallee had this assessment of Dominguez early last year. “(Dominguez is) a hitter whose swing had gotten long, who was chasing balls out of the zone with two strikes and who was not staying behind the ball. But he was encouraged that Dominguez still had good pitch recognition. He’s getting better and better at staying behind the ball and when he does that he’s really going to hit. He’s coming. I think he’s going to be legitimate.”

With Wes Helms manning the hot corner this season for Florida, Dominguez will have an excellent shot at taking over the job in 2012.

Braves: It would be hard to top the splash Jason Heyward made on Major League Baseball last season, but right-handed pitcher Julio Teheran may not be too far away from creating a commotion of his own. Teheran was signed as a 16-yr old by the Braves out of his native Colombia after impressing scouts with a low 90′s fastball. After playing rookie ball for two years, Teheran spent 2010 at three different levels last season, making an impression at each stop. All told, Teheran struck out 159 hitters in 142 2/3 IP (10.0 per 9 innings) and had a 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Braves GM Frank Wren had this to say about Teheran: “The first time I saw him, I thought of Pedro — a little taller Pedro. I still see that. He’s live-bodied. When you watched Pedro, you could see by the way he carried himself that he knew he was good and knew he was going to get you out. He exuded that, and Julio is kind of that way.”

Teheran has a consistent mid-90′s fastball, a good curve that breaks low in the zone, and an even better changeup. He’s received an invite to the big league camp, but will start the season in Triple-A. He definitely has a great shot to get a pre-September call up in 2011 and an even better shot at being in the rotation in 2012.

Nationals: I’ll give you one guess who the Nationals top prospect is. If you didn’t say Bryce Harper, go directly to jail and don’t collect $200 (Haven’t seen any new Monopoly boards lately, is it still just $200?). Harper is of course the teen phenom that (along with his parents) ticked off people by skipping out of high school two years (he did get his GED) early to play ball at the JUCO level. The 18-yr old was the #1 selection in last year’s amateur draft. Right at the signing deadline, he inked a five year, $9.9M deal that included a $6.25M signing bonus

Harper’s first professional exposure came in the Arizona Fall League, where he torn things up in a nine game stint for the Scottsdale Scorpions. A .410 (12-35) average included three doubles, two triples, and a home run. Harper drove in seven runs and posted a 1.039 OPS. There’s no question Harper can hit, but the organization has not decided yet whether to have him play outfield or to catch, the latter of which would slow his progression to the major leagues.

Rumors, News, and Transactions

Michael Young is mad as hell and isn’t going to take it any more. He may not throw a television out the window, but Young wants out of Texas..NOW! Feeling disrespected and misled by the Rangers front office, Young has demanded a trade. And Texas is happy to oblige, though it may not happen too quickly because of the $48M still owed the 3rd baseman.

Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore hopes to begin playing spring training games by mid-March as he continues his recovery from microfracture surgery on his knee. His teammate, catcher Carlos Santana, is making an even quicker recovery from his knee injury and has been cleared to hit and catch bullpen sessions.

Needing room on the 40-man roster for Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez, the Rays designated outfielder Justin Ruggiano for assignment.

White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy continues his way back from shoulder surgery and threw off of a mound earlier today.

Free agent catcher Bengie Molina has still not decided whether to play or not in 2011.

It’s not risky or even risque, but the Orioles have signed pitcher David Riske to a minor league deal. The Dodgers have done the same with infielder Aaron Miles.

Baseball Digest: Washington Hopes For Nationals Holiday | Baseball Digest

Baseball Digest: Washington Hopes For Nationals Holiday | Baseball Digest

If you are among the growing number of Washington Nationals fans, you have to be pleased with the direction the team is taking. Yes, they did overpay for free agent Jayson Werth (7 yrs, $126M), but they landed a marquis star to help bring along the youngsters.

And what a group of youngsters the Nationals have. Though he’ll sit out this season after last year’s Tommy John surgery, Stephen Strasburg is the number one pitching prospect in all of baseball. Teenage phenom Bryce Harper signed with the team after skipping out of high school early and playing JUCO ball. Drew Storen is another top pitching prospect that may be one of the dominant closers of the future. Catcher Derek Norris could have a big impact in the majors very soon. Speedy infielder Danny Espinosa has some of the best hands in baseball. The Nats also drafted and signed one of the most highly toutEd High school pitchers in the country, A.J. Cole, this past Summer.

The Nationals have been very active this winter as well looking into every free agent available and talking with a number of other teams about trades. The latest rumors had them communicating with the Cleveland Indians as to the availability of pitcher Fausto Carmona and outfielder Grady Sizemore. In additon to signing Werth the team also acquired steady left-hander Tom Gorzelanny from the Cubs, dealt Josh Willingham for hard throwing prospect Henry Rodriguez and outfielder Corey Brown, signed 1st baseman Adam LaRoche, outfielder Rick Ankiel and utility man Jerry Hairston Jr. The team also brought back former two time 19-game winner Chien-Ming Wang in the hopes he can return to his pre-shoulder surgery form.

With the powerhouse Phillies well ahead of everyone in the NL East, the Nationals aren’t expected to win a division title any time soon, but they have the talent to compete much quicker than anyone expected.

Rumors, News, and Transactions

Mike Napoli didn’t stay with the Toronto Blue Jays for very long. Acquired as part of a deal that sent Vernon Wells to the Los Angeles Angels, Napoli was dealt today to the Texas Rangers for reliever Frank Francisco. With the Blue Jays wanting rookie J.P. Arencibia to see a lot of playing time, I can understand why the team would not want a minus defender like Napoli as his backup. However dealing him for an average reliever, something Toronto seemingly likes to accumulate, doesn’t make a lot of sense. With Yorvit Torrealba starting in Texas and Matt Treanor as his back up, the power hitting Napoli should see time at DH, which means Vladimiar Guerrero won’t be returning to Texas.

ESPN contributor Amanda Rykoff tweeted from a WFAN/Mike Francesa-Brian Cashman breakfast interview that Cashman said he could see Derek Jeter playing centerfield in the future ( ala Robin Yount). Jeter had earlier mentioned that positional change was never discussed during the negotations of his new contract.

Teams continue to add depth in their minor league systems; two of the latest additions- the Rangers signed catcher Robinson Diaz and the Yankees added former Rangers’ pitcher Warren Madrigal.

The Cubs signed pitcher Todd Wellmeyer after he was non-tendered by the Giants.

ESPN’s Jayson Stark spoke with several baseball execs who are confident that the Cards will be able to re-sign Albert Pujols.

Detroit News beat writer Tom Gage reported that the Tigers are willing to bring back Jeremy Bonderman with a minor league deal.