Does MLB have it wrong? (season opener)

[jason21nl]

I mentioned this in the IGT for the Sox and A's game but I think it warrants its own thread. I in no way think the first game of a long awaited season should be played outside of the U.S. It should be a prime time game for all of America to see, since it is Americas past time after all. I don't care about either one of those teams but I would have watched the game if it were say at 6pm. The fact that Oakland fans had to be up at 3am to watch their season opener is a joke. Also the fact that they are playing regular season games while others are playing exhibition games doesn't make sense to me. The pre season should end for everyone at the same time. I know this sounds more like a rant, and it is in some ways, but I want to know if I'm alone in my thinking or does anyone else think the same way?

[joepepsi]

What's really stupid is both these teams come back this week and play exhibition games over the weekend.

 

This is a really stupid idea. Why not just call them exhibition games. It's our major leagues. The season should open in the same country as the teams in the league.

[Brian the Automator]

I agree with you Jason. I wouldn't necessarily call myself a baseball "purist", but I think the idea of opening the season in Japan is dumb. The travel takes away from each teams' ability to play exhibition games and get their work in. They also have to modify the 25-man roster moves to accommodate the team not making their final cuts yet.

[JohnBriggs12]

It's about revenue. MLB has so many ways of generating revenue via the internet now that marketing it in Japan is a big deal. The Japanese have great interest in how their players do over here. Imagine how many buy mlbtv.

[smbrewersfan15]

You what's even funnier that having this be the opener? Is that when you wake up and turn on your satellite to watch the game and it says 'searching for satellite signal' for the whole game. Both on ESPN2 and NESN. All other channels worked for me this morning. I loved watching Mike and Mike, then hearing Buster Olney say the exact same thing and he was listening to the game on the radio. I thought that was the best part this morning of this MLB fiasco.

[jimmyjeromehardy7]

I noticed too that the game wasn't on tv this morning (the screen was just black) but then went downstairs to the HD TV and sure enough, the game was on ESPN2 HD. Weird.

[brewizard]

The Japanese have great interest in how their players do over here. Imagine how many buy mlbtv.

 

You're right about the interest in the players, but I think the Japanese have very little interest in the teams. When I was in Japan, and struggling for Brewers coverage, I saw Brewers highlights every five days or so when Tomo Ohka would pitch, and then, it was ONLY highlights of Ohka's plays. Same with all the other Japanese players in the league. Despite all the Japanese collective sense of team ethic, I did not find that it applied to anybody outside of Japanese heritage. That's just my opinion. I can see why the MLB is trying to change that, but I'm not sure it will work.

[ccbrew]

It's about revenue. MLB has so many ways of generating revenue via the internet now that marketing it in Japan is a big deal. The Japanese have great interest in how their players do over here. Imagine how many buy mlbtv.

The answer would be close to zero..all live games on mlb.tv are blacked out in Japan.

 

Perhaps I'm biased because I was able to watch it in prime time, but I don't really think it's a big deal - it's two games in a very long season. The teams agreed to take part, and there were plenty of incentives provided to them to do so.

 

In case you're wondering, they've expanded the "Red Sox Nation" membership card program to Japan as well..http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/indifferent.gif

 

For what it's worth, the Japanese league is getting a raw deal out of this too. The Pacific League season is already underway and hardly anybody has taken notice.

Edit: And perhaps the most ironic part of this whole deal is that the game was nationally televised here in Japan but nobody outside the dome got to see the ending. The live broadcast ended at 11pm, which was right as things got interesting in extra innings..

[endaround]

Not sure why you would think there would be team highlights. Do you care about European basketball or just how some guy from Wisconsin is doing? Now baseball and MLB is bigger in Japan than that, there is a reason why Nintendo bought the Mariners.

 

Could this have been done better logisitcally? Yep, Selig's MLB is terrible at logistics. See home field for the World Series, the mess the mainpage of mlb.com is, etc.

[sbrylski]

The OD Game should be played on U.S. soil at a reasonable time. Opening Day should be a borderline National holiday, not a game you read about in the papers when you wake up in the morning.

 

Secondly, why not a Sunday day game in Japan? A 12:00 noon start time in Japan on Sunday would be a 10:00 PM EST start time on Saturday here in the US. Everyone gets to watch!

[endaround]

Except if they want a regular season game in Japan, this is basically the only time they could do it

[bacon06]

The idea now that every American sport is trying to go global seems a little arrogant. A big part that every game sells out and draws huge crowds is the novelty of the concept, see Indians v. Angels last year at Miller Park. It's a greedy world so MLB is just trying to get a bigger piece of the pie with having opening day in Japan. It really didn't feel much like an opening day, more like a wake up and see if you can catch any of the end of the game. I remember in years passed when they would have a Sunday prime time game on ESPN to start the season and that really felt like an opening day.

[kalle8]

imo an exibition game would have got a sell out crowd.

being italian i enjoyed watching the game at noon instead of working, but it makes no sense to me having a opening day of opening days in japan.

 

mlb seems very intersted in "expanding the strike zone", here, they say they could give money to build a ballpark in Rome to play mlb games or WBC in a near future.

[Brewtacular]

The idea now that every American sport is trying to go global seems a little arrogant.

I think the idea that we consider our champions, in every sport, World Champions is a bit arrogant. Reaching out to Japan is certainly a good idea. A series there doesnt take anything away from the feel of opening day here. This is somethig that should continue and possibly expand. In addition, the WBC has great potential and can only make the game stronger. I would also say Bobby Vs calls for a true championship needs strong consideration

[AmyintheSouth]

I thought that was the best part this morning of this MLB fiasco.

The cable gods do not believe in Opening Day in March either.

 

I think MLB has this all wrong. The WBC basically accomplishes the same thing without forcing anyone to participate. A guy like Coco Crisp who is looking for a starting job with another team and has had an injury this spring isn't helped by a 19 hour flight. And I understand that having them play exhibition games is supposed to help the players adjust better, but that's just weird to follow up Opening Day with that. And it kind of shortchanges current baseball fans who wanted to see the first game of the season in order to bring new ones.

[dadofandrew]

Long-term growth of the game is the real motive here, and there's no doubt it was a success. Fans miss several games a year for any variety of reasons.

 

We'd still be playing without gloves with 2 pennant winners playing in the World Series had the "purists" kept the game from growing.

[AJAY]

This is 2008 and we live in a global world. The world is changing FAST and I give credit to MLB for understanding that international growth is crucial. I completely agree with having meaningful games played in foreign countries in order to promote the sport.

[jason21nl]

What's really stupid is both these teams come back this week and play exhibition games[/i] over the weekend.

 

This is completely stupid!

 

and I understand about making the game more global but giving another country the opening day of all of baseball is going to far. That is something that should be celebrated here with a big prime time game. Plus that game counted as a home game for Oakland. Yeah, some home game for when I would bet 98% of the people were rooting for Boston because of a couple guys on their team.

 

I think that the season should start with a big prime time game, with the winning team of last years world series getting their rings and having a home game.

 

If they want to play a series in another country, they should do it sometime in the season. The teams would leave after a day game, with the next day being an off day. Then after they played their 2 or 3 game series the would have another off day to get adjusted back to their time schedules.

[crewcrazy]

In my opinion, I don't see this as being much different than the Expos playing some of their home games in Puerto Rico during their last year in Montreal. The travel to Japan is certainly rough, but we're going to have to come to terms with baseball expanding outside of the US and Toronto in the near future. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me to see MLB teams with permanent homes in Latin America in the future. I don't have much of a problem with the games being played in Japan regardless of the time of year, but I don't think nearly as many people would be upset if it wasn't "Opening Day".

[dadofandrew]

What should they do, sit around all week? Japan is about 17 hours time difference, and the trip takes what, 12-15 hours? A day off before and after the series is simply outlandish. I'd love to play one of those teams upon returning.

 

EDIT: It looks to be a 10 hour direct flight from LA.

[jason21nl]

well, IMO its stupid to give another country AMERICAS passtime opening day and the fact that more people aren't pissed about it is shocking to me. I would be even more pissed about it if I had to wake up at 5am to watch the Brewers play.

[dadofandrew]

Again, you are looking at this short-term, with no outlook on how strong MLB will be overseas in 50 years.

 

I would imagine it is likely MLB will some day have a team or two in Japan, along with 1-2 in Latin America (I gotta believe Mexico will occur in the next decade). The growth of the game that has happened in the past decade is beyond belief, and I am sure it will continue for the foreseeable future. These minor blips on the radar, like the A's gaining huge attendance for a pair of games, will only help with yet another record.

[jason21nl]

again, I don't care if they play over seas, just not opening day.

[dadofandrew]

I don't think there's a way to do that with the travel. Now, if the Concord was still in use, and/or every team had to make the trip, that'd be fair and something the union would agree to...after all, I'm sure a Japan team would pay a few players huge money.

[RU Rah Rah]

I have no objection to playing regular-season games in Japan; it's probably a smart thing, long-term. But the timing of things seemed totally out of whack on several different levels. The time difference meant that folks in the Bay Area had to get up at 3 a.m. to watch the game live. That seems inexcusable to me. As others have mentioned, it also seems downright bizarre to have both teams re-enter the exhibition season over the weekend.

 

Would it make more sense to send three teams over for a week in, say, early May? You'd get Opening Day out of the way, but the disruption would seem like less of a big deal.