Even Down Under, MLB Can Take Over
Today, we look at how MLB's popularity is faring around the world and zoom in on the Australian Baseball League and how baseball can become even more popular in Australia.
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . In the midst of a historic baseball season on many levels, two-way Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani has directly been impacting baseball ratings both at home and abroad. Due to his participation in this year’s Home Run Derby (in addition to pitching in the All-Star Game), the Derby was broadcast for free in Japan for the first time in over 25 years, according to MLB. This year’s Derby also notched its highest ratings since 2017. The 10 most-watched MLB games in Japan this year are all Angels games, and Ohtani is also the most-searched player in MLB Film Room both in the U.S. and abroad.
. . . Major League Baseball has rarely ventured Down Under, but it has happened a couple of times, most recently several years ago. On March 22 and 23, 2014, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks played two games at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, Australia, to large crowds of 38,000+ people. The Dodgers won both games by scores of 3-1 and 7-5, respectively. It was the first instance of an MLB game in Australia in over a century; in January 1914, the New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox also played an exhibition game at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in addition to exhibitions in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Leading Off
Making Baseball A Truly International Sport
By AJ Mithen
Much was made in the aftermath of this year’s MLB All-Star game about the impact of its participants who were born outside of the USA.
With Shohei Ohtani (Japan) the American League’s winning pitcher, Liam Hendriks (Australia) notching the save and Vladimir Guerrero Jr (Canada) the game’s most valuable player, there was much celebration of baseball’s global reach.
Speaking to host broadcasters after securing the save, Hendriks was keen to point out the international flavor of the All-Star weekend’s events.
"You've got guys representing from a lot of countries, and it's a way to expand the game,” he said. “Hopefully me doing what I did today gets back to Australia and gets the next generation of Australians coming over. Shohei is a walking billboard that will hopefully get more Japanese guys coming over and coming over earlier, like what Ichiro did with his generation."
According to mlb.com, there are 256 players representing 24 countries on MLB rosters this season, the third-highest number behind 2020 (291) and 2017 (259).
So there’s no doubt at all of baseball’s global aspect, but the argument could be made that the game still lags behind American leagues like the NBA and NFL in turning overseas audiences into serious, lifetime fans, or growing baseball’s global player base.
MLB has at least recognized opportunities in growing markets. They’ve opened offices in China, London, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico. The way they say it, these offices are “targeted at engaging with new fans, existing fans and the playing community, with the ultimate goal of making baseball a global passion.”
Asian players like Yusei Kikuchi, Ohtani and Ichiro are idolized in their home country, which comes from thriving leagues and a national passion for baseball. Whoever is trying to grow the game for MLB in the Japan office wouldn’t have many challenges.
It’s probably also fair to suggest that places like South Korea and Mexico are hardly battling baseball outposts.
It’s places like the UK, India and my native Australia which need deeper cultivation. India is a place where cricket is a religion and where baseball can only ever hope to carve a niche, but with the sheer number of people in the population, a niche may well be all you need. A similar sentiment would suit China, although there’s a strong local league and the game is pretty popular.
The United Kingdom and Australia have a strong nucleus of avid baseball fans who will watch, purchase and share, but there’s still many opportunities to grow the game beyond caps and t-shirts.
Thirty-six Australian-born players have played in the Major Leagues, with hundreds more in the Minors and American Association leagues through the years. That compares to 29 Aussies who have made the top flight in the NBA (including 10-day contracts).
But basketball in Australia is huge, driven by the NBA’s global marketing of its leading players and iconic teams.
Outside of sports stores selling rows of Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox caps, Major League Baseball barely exists in the country’s sporting consciousness, and the local game trails distantly.
Probably the best example of the disconnect baseball has in Australia is the footage of Manny Ramirez, a Boston Red Sox icon, walking up to a fella in Sydney who was wearing a Sox cap. The man had no idea who he was talking to.
There’s no problems with merchandise sales in Australia and the United Kingdom; you’ll see people in shirts and caps everywhere. A Yankees cap is a fashion statement and the odds its wearer could name a player are long.
The Australian Baseball League (ABL) has had a checkered history, with several iterations through the decades. The league has grown and gone broke more than once, and its current version was only made possible through Major League Baseball’s involvement to stand the league back up in 2010.
The 2010 deal stated that MLB would support the ABL financially with cash and resourcing for five seasons, then step back. They’ve done that, and are now invested in an academy instead of the league.
In the mid 1990s, Australian league games drew crowds of 11,000-15,000 people, and highlights were broadcast on free-to-air television. Now there’s an eight-club league, two of whom can’t participate in the next season for financial reasons and a further three who are looking for new ownership after a brutal coronavirus-impacted 2020-21 season.
With a broadcast deal pouring in a combined $12.24 billion across three broadcast partners and annual revenue topping $3.66 billion last season, even with all its coronavirus-related challenges, surely it’s not too much of a stretch to put some money back into a league like Australia’s to push the game forward?
Providing a genuine baseball outpost with pocket change like $2 million would make a colossal difference to how the game can be organized and promoted locally.
Aside from cash, MLB has genuine superstars to push like Ohtani, Hendriks, Guerrero Jr., Mike Trout, Fernando Tatis Jr., Tim Anderson, you name it. They deserve to be global stars outside of the MLB, the same way Lebron and Giannis are for the NBA. They’re the ones who draw eyes, and they’re the ones the kids want to copy.
Isn’t that truly how you grow an international sport?
AJ Mithen is an Australian sportswriter, co-host of the podcast ‘A Sporting Discussion’ and regular guest on radio ABC Central Victoria and RRR FM. He loves to give space to the sporting stories the mainstream forgets - and he’ll never rest until Australian baseball gets the coverage it deserves. He’s always up for a chat on Twitter @AJMithen and @ASD_Radio.