Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez talked about the way the best baseball in the world is experienced. In terms of the public, style of play, the options for experiencing the sport from home and even what it provokes in fans were just some of the topics discussed by the former Major League Baseball (MLB) players.
In fact, it may be so true that the game is changing that some of the biggest sports broadcasters are moving away from their agreements with MLB, as they believe that the ratings are not as expected. The fact that some strategic alliances are breaking up exposes the sad truth that the King of Sports is going through.
What did Alex Rodriguez say about MLB?
At a recent Fanatics Fest, Rodriguez painted a rather shocking picture. The former Yankee recalled the time when 60 million people tuned in to watch Bill Buckner’s blunder in the 1986 World Series. “Those are attendance numbers,” A-Rod recalled.
He added: “My mom can’t even find the Yankees.” Five games, five different channels: it’s a media maze that even the most die-hard MLB fans have trouble understanding. A-Rod is worried that fans will find the game.
“You take away the speed… you take away athleticism.” – Gary Sheffield on today’s baseball
“They’re turning kids into robots”. What Sheffield sees is a sport that has traded hustle for algorithms. The former All-Star sees today’s game as obsessed with speed and home runs and, in turn, as someone who has lost the athleticism and drive that once went with it.
“You take away speed… You take away athleticism,” Sheffield said. And when that goes, so does the essence of the sport. Remember Rafael Devers’ grounder against the Yankees recently? He jogged to first base, with little effort. Sheffield added: “I don’t like watching this kind of baseball”.
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