Leagues such as the NBA and NFL are notorious for getting their top stars over with casual fans. Whether that’s LeBron James or Tom Brady, they’re household names. With the MLB, however, they have no superstars synonymous with their sport.
People know Derek Jeter and David Ortiz. Sadly, if I go to a random person and ask “hey, do you know who Mike Trout is?” 90% will say no.
Trout is displayed as the greatest player of this generation, but why is he not known like other generational players? This is a problem not only affecting the sports reach toward the younger generation but affecting it financially as well. Attendance since 2007 (79,503,175) has dropped nearly 3.8%. It’s dropped down below the 73-million mark for the first time since 2002.
The MLB has dropped the ball on numerous potential superstars to be the face of the league. One player that comes to mind as a missed potential “face who runs the place” is Joe Mauer.
Being the first overall pick, Joe was categorized as the next generational talent. He became the first American League catcher to lead the league in batting average (.347). Mauer’s also the first player since Mike Piazza to reach base four or more times in five consecutive games. He did this in his first two full seasons.
He won three batting titles (2006, 2008, 2009), five Silver Sluggers (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013), an MVP (2009) along with three Gold Gloves (2008, 2009, 2010) while also placing top 10 in Batting Average leaguewide nearly every year. Joe Mauer may have put up the greatest stat line a catcher has ever accomplished.
Like most great players from small market teams in baseball, the MLB didn’t see the draw of Mauer (even though he dethroned Jeter twice for jersey sales – 2009 and fell to second place in 2010). Being on a small market team, like the one in Minnesota, it’s hard for them to get their brand out to the casual fan, but with Mauer being advertised the way he was we had a potential shift in the baseball landscape. There was a potential new market to come into play for free agency which builds fan intrigue and incentive to watch and attend.
The MLB, however, has seen the light, as they’ve found two stars who can carry the league to the future. Since 2014, MLB has consistently advertised Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. These two provide two different sides of baseball that can please the fans. Bryce Harper, on one hand, is the arrogant show-off that you want to see lose, but every time you see him, he’s always getting things done on the field with a certain swagger. Mike Trout, the once in a generation player, puts up historic numbers with ease, pleasing the sabermetric followers. These guys are both once in a lifetime players battling for the title of G.O.A.T. This, in turn, should skyrocket national attention on the sport.
As the dip in attendance begins to slow down, it’s still not solved. This past year alone MLB posted 69 million fans. As time goes on, however, guys like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, and Javy Baez will lead baseball back to its former glory.