The second-half (technically, the final two-fifths) of the Major League Baseball (MLB) season begins in earnest Friday, with the All-Star festivities in the review mirror.
A month has gone by since the end of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) postseason, leaving MLB as the main sport throughout the summer. Voltage Live Sports Staff Members Christian Hinton (CH) and Sean “FITZ” Fitzgerald have decided to take a deep dive into how both sports promote its product.
CH: I think the NBA does well promoting individuality with their stars. With that comes players being encouraged to do what they want outside of basketball – be that music, fashion, or, in Lebron’s case, being in multiple movies.
FITZ: I almost forgot the multiple movies part. He was in that one movie. What was it… Trainwreck!
CH: There's Trainwreck, Space Jam 2. He wants to get into acting. MLB has done better in recent years marketing their stars, but I’m not sure it’s at the same level, or ever will be, as the NBA. Sure, maybe there are players like [Aaron] Judge, [Shohei] Ohtani, or [Mookie] Betts to market, but I don’t see them outside of MLB as much as I see NBA players outside of the league (be that in commercials, marketing, or otherwise).
FITZ: Agreed. Expanding on that thought, more players are being discovered, which has been a good thing in both sports now that there is more of a digital footprint. At times, it does leave some guys underexposed. For baseball’s marketability, one of the things that sold me on the pitch clock was a quote from Raul Ibanez a few years back in reference to the pacing of a matchup between aces Cliff Lee and Mark Buehrle. You're seeing stolen bases again, and Ronald Acuna Jr. had 73 stolen bases and 41 home runs (in 2023), which is insane. You're seeing guys who have maybe lost a step in previous years who were speedsters earlier on swiping bases again, such as Trea Turner. It has brought excitement back to the game and quickened the pace of play.
FITZ: Baseball has done better in recent years, but we’re seeing a difference in social promotion for highlights of a team like the New York Yankees when they do something good versus a lesser response to a team like Cleveland or Miami. For the former, we saw some of that when they played New York earlier this year. There is somewhat of a bias for the big markets, and that’s going to make people roll their eyes.
CH: I hate to be the “they suck at social media” guy, but MLB sucks at social media. MLB is so slow to embrace modern marketing. It could be the, for lack of better words, “conservatism” of baseball. There’s almost a fear of letting players show personality.
For example, someone like Fernando Tatis Jr. could flip a bat during a game on Monday, and people will still be talking about it on Wednesday. The NBA, on the other hand, is too star-reliant. Teams can quite literally live or die in the cellar of the NBA based on a star. We know stars, for the most part, don’t stay with their teams these days. It’s rare to ever see a star finish their career with the same team that drafted them. It may not be the NBA’s fault, necessarily, but it’s definitely a problem that a lot of fans have an issue with. Take it from a fan of the team LeBron James left (twice).
CH: This is an interesting question for both the NBA and MLB – let’s start with the former. The NBA is, if nothing else, very star-driven. The most obvious face of the league is LeBron James (I’d hear an argument for Steph Curry), but that’s the issue: Both guys will be done in only a matter of years. Who is the face after they leave?
You could mention guys like Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, or Victor Wembanyama, but each come with question marks (be that off the court or with injury history). The NBA will have a MAJOR face of the league issue after James and Curry retire. Is there someone who can take that mantle by winning multiple championships? Maybe it’s [Shai Gilgious-Alexander] SGA if the Thunder can win a few more, but that remains to be seen.
FITZ: We had multiple guys we talked about here, from Wembanyama to Edwards, among others (including SGA). There’s no clear contender for that title – nor a willingness for some younger stars to take on the mantle. One player that could end up there someday is this year’s No. 1 overall draft selection out of Duke: Cooper Flagg. Playing for a traditional blue blood and having a deep tournament run are just part of it. Expectations for the Maine native were high, and he matched and exceeded them time and again. It’s a major issue, but who it’ll be is an intriguing thing to watch, Christian.
FITZ: Mike Trout was the guy for a while. He was on the Subway ads and other promotions. Right now, you could say Judge is among the players who can claim that title. Either him or Tatis Jr.
Even if Tatis Jr. plays in San Diego and not New York, he is the kind of a dynamic player who can transcend markets, but Ohtani is likely there given the more global appeal, the Dodgers’ World Series title last fall, and markets overseas like his native Japan – where baseball became popularized following World War II.
CH: This one’s a bit easier because MLB fans don’t rely as heavily on championships as the NBA does when it comes to the face of the league discussion. With MLB, you’re more likely to see a star (or someone with that potential) on nearly every team. Yes, obviously there are teams like the Rockies and White Sox that don’t necessarily have that guy right now, but I’d make the case that most teams do.
Obviously, you can point to Ohtani as the face of the league, but I don’t think MLB does a great job marketing their international stars. What they do a great job of, however, is team-by-team marketing. Take the Guardians, for example. The team (and city) worships Jose Ramirez and for good reason. MLB may not have a definitive face of the league, but they at least have stars on most teams and ones that can take that mantle any given day.
CH: I’ll answer this question with another, more granular one: Which league could the average person on the street name more players? For example, if I showed someone a picture of James and a picture of Ohtani to 100 people on the street, I’d bet the majority of people know who James is whereas the majority wouldn’t know who Ohtani is.
This goes to why the NBA is so marketable…because its stars are basically celebrities. You could make that argument for certain players in MLB, but I don’t think someone like Judge or even Ohtani are looked at in the same celebrity-like-light that someone like James or Curry are.
FITZ: The NBA, much to my chagrin. A part of the equation you have to factor in are the schedules between MLB and the NBA vary by 80 regular season games, with fewer days off for Major Leaguers compared to their hoopster counterparts. NBA Stars have a little bit more time off to do things (personal, charity, etc.) and not normally play a game that same day or evening. That’s a built-in disadvantage for MLB players and teams. It's a difference in the sports, but part of that also comes down to the toll on the body.
FITZ: This really varies from person to person. Part of the issue for the NBA and their players’ public eye exposure – particularly on marketing the stars – is a difficult issue. While baseball has done a better job pushing forward the dynamic stars of today and tomorrow, NBA stars are on the move so often, it’s hard to remember what market they’ve set their roots in. When guys aren’t staying in one place but going around to several (hello, Kevin Durant!), it's just really hard to market to the public a player who may be gone in a few months or a year.
CH: I alluded to it a bit in my previous answer, but especially in the NBA, star players are looked at as literal celebrities. James can’t walk down a street anywhere without 10 guys flanking him. With MLB, there’s a, for lack of better words, “homey” feeling associated with those players. They seem a lot more approachable and accessible than NBA players do. A lot of that has to do with how players in each league carry themselves, sure, but NBA players just seem to be more iconic. You could attribute that to shoe deals, commercials, or films players are in or how they present themselves, but to me, there’s no competition in terms of how players are perceived.
CH: I love that we’re including this in here because people truly forget that these grown men are out there playing kids games. With that being said, I think the answer is obvious: MLB players are so much easier for kids to look up to.
Not only is baseball a true kids game, but MLB does such a good job of promoting its game to younger audiences – be that through its youth development programs, in-game interactives, and more. Some NBA players are just so inaccessible that it makes looking up to them harder. It’s important to remember that it isn’t the job of any player in any league to make sure they are acting in a way in which children should look up to them. That’s completely unfair to ask, but I think the pure nature of MLB promotes it more than the nature of the NBA does.
FITZ: Christian hit the nail on the head with baseball. People of all shapes and body tapes, from Judge standing at ‘6’7’, to Jose Altuve at ‘5’6’. Heck, I’m roughly five inches taller than Altuve!! Even a non-Hulkster like an Ichiro Suzuki compared to a more stout and “heavier” Daniel Vogelbach can find success.
The old adage in the NBA goes: You can’t teach height. Even Cooperstown inductee Barry Larkin’s son, guard Shane Larkin, had some trouble at times as a smaller guard at a hair below ‘6’0’.
To put a bow on this question, it’s the ability of a kids game that almost ANYONE can play with a bat, ball, and a mit. Kids can relate to players like Brent Rooker, who had to grind through the minor leagues just to crack a big league roster. The hard part is staying around, and those who do that like a Rooker or even a Ramirez give kids the ability to dream, knowing resilience, hard work, determination, and other controllable factors can give them a pathway to their dreams.
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