Fan Friendly — Baseball Bench Coach

According to an April 30 USA Today report, MLB had a 4% drop in attendance in 2018, the largest in a decade. Ballparks have not fared much better in 2019. Seven teams experienced a double-digit percentage drop in attendance in the first month, including the first-place Minnesota Twins. Your Baseball Bench Coach has attended six MLB games in three different cities this past month. With my field research behind me (and the help of avid readers), I thought I’d take a look at whether the MLB is fan-friendly and poised to welcome back fans.

Let’s first look at some of the positives. What strikes me is how attending a ballgame today is so different than in the past. It’s no longer the drive your car to the game, park in a lot, go to the game, and return to your car three hours later. Today, baseball can be a full day of food and fun outside and inside the ballpark. Just take a look at some of the game day happenings around my favorite NL ballparks – the Dairy Block near Denver’s Coors Field; the Banks adjacent to Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark; Ballpark Village in St. Louis; and of course Wrigleyville. Perhaps the new catch phrase should be “fun around the ballpark”.

Today’s ballparks are also kid-friendly. Gallagher Way outside Wrigley Field is the prime example. During the ballgame you can venture outside the park for a couple innings with the young children and relax in a large, lawn-like setting. The kids can throw the ball around and get rid some of some energy, while you relax on the lawn watching the game on a big-screen video board. Inside the ballparks is kid fun too, whether it’s watching the antics of Fredbird at Busch Stadium, enjoying the Rockpile at Coors Field, or trying to nab a t-shirt from RedZilla at GABP.

The food is certainly fan-friendly. No longer is it just simple hot dogs, peanuts, and popcorn at the park. At Busch you can build your own nachos at a huge nacho station, while Coors provides you with the ultimate dog dilemma (Denver, Chicago, or New York style). Growing up in Cincinnati, I can complete my usual food sweep through town with one game at GABP – Skyline Chili; LaRosa’s; Montgomery Inn; and the best ice cream on the planet, Graeter’s! Wrigley Field even has special offerings on a weekly basis, featuring this past week lobster rolls and grilled cheese. Yum!

You always need a drink, right? I love it that the MLB allows you to bring in unopened bottles of water, in contrast to the NFL where you feel like all you can bring to the game is your credit card. There’s a variety of soda to enjoy at the ballparks and even wine for the connoisseurs. And how about a cold one? The beer selection is no longer just Budweiser and Miller products, but the craft-crazy fan like me can enjoy an assortment of beers from brew houses across the country. I am amazed at the irony that the 1764 Public House station at BUSCH Stadium features over 40 selections on tap, only to be topped by a 85 foot bar at GABP which accommodates 60 taps for international and local craft beers.

From the fan-friendly glass half-empty perspective, let’s turn to the most important product at the ballpark, the kind of baseball being played. The bottom line today is that there is a complete lack of putting the ball in the field of play. It’s become a duel between the pitcher and batter. During the 2018 season, more than a third of all at bats in MLB ended in a strikeout, walk, or HR, the highest rate ever! Indeed, last year was the first ever that strikeouts outnumbered hits. Now, if you like the long ball, and what fan doesn’t (actually, me!), the Elias Sports Bureau reports that this year MLB games are averaging 1.31 home runs per game, on a pace to break last year’s record of 1.26 HRs a game. But strikingly, through April teams are averaging 8.86 strikeouts per game, up from last year’s 8.48 (the 11th consecutive record year for Ks). Fan-friendly? Perhaps not, but we are too far down the road to change the style of play.

It’s also important to address a couple safety issues that have arisen recently. We all witnessed Albert Almora, Jr.’s visibly shaken reaction to his foul ball hitting a young girl in Houston last week. The call from the baseball columnnists, and rightfully so, is to extend the netting protecting fans in the lower levels all the way down to the foul poles. Frankly, MLB has responded well to this issue over the last few years by moving the screens down the lines from their usual spot. I’m confident that a further extension of the netting is indeed in the works. Let’s indeed be fan-friendly!

One item MLB also sorely needs to address is how to handle games impacted by bad weather. This issue hits MLB squarely in the pocketbooks and unfortunately may not quickly be remedied, if at all. Last Saturday night in St. Louis, the Cubs and Cardinals game, then tied at 2-2 in the fifth inning, was delayed for three hours and thirty-seven minutes before play resumed at 11:20 p.m. A sold-out crowd of 46,000 fans was basically cashed aside so that Busch Stadium would not have to entertain a gate of rain check tickets in the future. This was despite the fact that it was June 1 and the teams meet again in two separate series in St. Louis. I hope the few thousand or so fans attending the game at the end truly enjoyed the Cards’ 7-4 win.

And by the way, that’s just not fan-unfriendly, but also player-unfriendly. There’s a real safety risk to the players on a wet playing surface. Not only that, but any athlete can attest to the difficulty of “warming up” again to play a sport with a long delay in action. MLB has to address this one, NOW! Please MLB, show your fans the money!

Until next Monday,

Your Baseball Bench Coach