Last week
Major League Baseball hosted one of the most successful and entertaining
all-star weeks in recent memory. Almost everything went right for them. Severe
weather held off, hometown Cincinnati heroes performed at their best, and a
Reds fan-base was engaged and energized.
The Home
Run Derby was highlighted by a huge performance from Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier,
who hit 15 dingers in the final round of the Derby to take home the hardware.
In the past, the Home Run Derby dragged on a bit, and it didn’t always make for
great TV. But with an all-new format this year, that changed in a big way. The MLB
put together a head-to-head bracket that gave each player four minutes to hit
as many shots as they could. This added a whole new energy to the Derby, and it
made it so that players couldn’t take pitches, which is what made it lag
before.
The game
itself was also a success. The American League won 6-3, and AL stars Mike Trout
and Manny Machado both had big games. Cincinnati looked like a hopping baseball
town, and it was a great week for the sport. I think that much of this success
is a credit to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, who is in his first year on the
job, but has taken big steps forward in order to make the game more appealing.
As should
be expected, the ratings provided mixed results. Viewership of the Home Run
Derby was up 32% from 2014, and it came through with the highest rating since
2009. The numbers on All-Star Game, however, dropped from last year. The game
received a 12 share from Nielson, which means that 12% of televisions in use
were tuned into the event. That is down from a share of 13 last year, and the
total viewership numbers were also down from 2014.
While the
MLB had to come away from last week thinking it was a success, there was also a
much more complicated narrative behind the All-Star Game being in Cincinnati
that stirred up lots of controversy with executives, former players, and
especially fans.
Since Pete
Rose was banned from baseball and the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 due to
gambling allegations, MLB executives haven’t said much at all about
re-instatement. But with the game being in Cincinnati, where fans are dying to
get Rose into the hall, it would have been impossible for Commissioner Manfred
to ignore the topic.
Manfred
appears to be open to the idea of re-instating rose, but undoubtedly there are
a lot of negotiations that need to take place before he makes a decision. At
least for the time being, though, Rose supporters got what they wanted. Prior
to the game, Rose was honored as one of the four greatest Reds out on the
field, and he received a huge round of applause from the hometown crowd. Rose
served double-duty at the game, as he was also there as a pre and postgame
analyst for Fox, who hired him this year.
While Rose
made some huge mistakes, there is no denying that he is one of the greatest
ballplayers of all time, and for that reason, I think he deserves to be in the
Hall of Fame. There’s just no arguing with his numbers. He had a .303 career
batting average with 4,256 total hits, which is the most ever. He is a 17-time
all-star, a three-time World Series champion, an NL MVP, a World Series MVP, a
Rookie of the Year, and the list can go on.
Nobody
denies that Rose bet on baseball, which is one of the game’s highest crimes,
but you just can’t keep a guy like that out of the Hall of Fame. It is a place
where baseball’s best players are honored, and Rose is among the best of all
time.
With all of
the support behind him, I think Rose will eventually find himself in the Hall,
but at age 74, Manfred would need to act relatively quickly if he wants this to
happen within Rose’s lifetime.
Contact Jasper Goodman
at jgoodman@radiovermont.com.
Follow him on Twitter @Jasper_Goodman
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