Comedian Wil Ferrell is going to fly around spring training camps in an attempt to play all 9 positions in actual games. MLB has partnered with Ferrell for one of his comedy specials, under the guise of raising awareness for a charity.
This is a horrible idea that even Bill Veeck would have condemned.
Veeck always said you never tarnish the game itself. That is why he never
altered ticket prices to the game, but added value in the stands with giveaways,
promotions, the CF barber chairs - - - nothing that affected the game on the field.
The one exception was the disaster of Disco Demolition Night, which he regretted
for the rest of his life.
Putting a comedian on the field even in exhibition games is stupid and wrong.
First, he is taking the spot of someone TRYING TO EARN A JOB, a living, a
roster spot!
Second, he is not an athlete and putting some one incompetent on the field
raises the risk of injury to others. He may try to hog the limelight as entertainers
do and run into a player causing an injury.
Third, it degrades professional baseball. Period. It puts an inferior product on the field.
And it disses Campy's "real" accomplishment in the history of the game.
Fourth, if MLB wanted to make this awareness, it could have "staged" a 3 inning game with
retired players with Ferrell between games of spring training double header. Hell,
MTV's Rock N Jock games were quite entertaining.
MLB is losing grasp that baseball is a sport, because it is now being packaged, marketed and sold
as live entertainment shows.
Spring training is about players gaining their skill sets for the season. It is not about distractions and comedians messing up their routines. The fans pay their money to see their team and their prospects, not some middle aged B-list celebrity yawk it up for an inning.
But some would say "it is just an exhibition game. No harm. No foul." Tell that to a AAA prospect who will miss a few at-bats, even one which could lead a scout to write down their name on his watch list or a manager take notice for a potential call-up during the season. If you are fighting for a roster spot, every chance and every at-bat is critical.
It is a bad idea that MLB marketing department thought would be a popular tie-in. Baseball does not need more "tie-ins," just better baseball games.
