Some may ask what is Media Culture? Well, according to 12.1 media culture is “not a bounded or spatially bordered culture but any way in which everyday practices of sense making hang together.” (p.159) I have a love for the sports world but mostly in the contact sport aspect like hockey, football etc. However, I never really understood why baseball was “Americas pass time” and what attracted so many people and such strong fan bases to me is such a slow sport. In this blog, I will explain how baseball has brought together many different ethic groups and so much more as we continue.
There are so many traditions in baseball that bring its community of fans together like the ceremonial pitch, the food, the mascot races, and many more. Baseball has historic moments like when Jackie Robinson was the first African-American man to play for a team in Major League Baseball. Huge names like Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper etc.
A lot of these players in the MLB wouldn’t have a job or even have been looked at without the use of social media. J.P. Hoornstra a report for the LA Daily News says the LA Dodger coach looked more at social media for his drafting in 2017 and in 2018 than ever because he says there’s more to baseball than just hitting and pitching. Through media younger players can post videos of them with different drills and workouts and can give that kid who’s on the line of going drafted or doesn’t get drafted that second look.
Baseball to me for one is the realest example of culture media because baseball is a sport that is played worldwide by many different ethic groups and how it can bring a lot of different dominations around the world to play on one team. SB Nation writer Marc Normandin wrote “Baseball might have been invented in America, but it is no longer an American game.” At first, I did not agree with what he said in the statement he wrote but then I want to see the numbers in the time period this article was wrote and found out he’s kinda right. On Opening Day in 2016, 27.5 percent of players on big-league rosters were born in a country besides the United States, and that total was spread out among a record 18 countries and territories. That was eight more players, one more percentage point, and one more country than the year before. This pretty cool because it just showing how baseball is such a worldwide sport. Theres not many National League sports corporations that have that high a percentage of international players.
The Major League Baseball commissioner actually wants to expand into places like Mexico City and get more baseball back into Canada again as well. However, recently MLB has been on a decline in fan rating, maybe the MLB isn’t using the right media to attract their audience? According to Forbes, since 2015 the MLB has had 7% decline in fan attendances since 2015. MLB attendance was down 1.62% for 2019, following a 4% drop for the 2018 season. The league attributed much of the decline in 2018 to cold, wet weather.
The chart above shows the decline in baseball audiences, however, I sort of disagree with the wet weather aspect from my research, I feel as though baseball isn’t using media to attract fans the best way the can. Have they attracted worldwide attention yes, but on the other hand I feel as though they’re not focusing on the crowd at home as much and again those are the people that fill stadiums and the way the could utilize social media to help fill the stadiums.
Learning about this community was very interesting because again I’m not a baseball guy, I never knew how worldwide it really was and how many leagues and different fans around the world there are. To me baseball is really the definition of media culture.
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