major league baseballs

The Rise of Marucci Sports

by Tyler Johnson|August 10th, 2010

In 2002, two former LSU athletes were rehabbing their recent injuries with Jack Marucci back in Baton Rouge the topic of conversation turned towards Marucci’s recent hobby. This hobby eventually led Eduardo Perez of the St. Louis Cardinals to do something no one else had done yet in Major League Baseball. By taking a different approach to the business and providing a higher quality product to the market, Marucci helped create a whole new ballgame.

Jack Marucci, the Head Athletic Trainer at Louisiana State University first started perfecting the craft of hand-made wooden baseball bats as a hobby, originally making them for his son. As the two former LSU athletes, Kurt Ainsworth and Joe Lawrence, rehabbed, they spoke of what to do after their professional MLB careers. Marucci’s hand crafted bats became that future. By 2003, the focus on detail and quality craftsmanship to ensure every hand crafted bat was a ‘gamer’ brought them into ‘on deck’ circles and into the batter’s box.

Kurt Ainsworth was a former LSU All-American and 1st Round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants. He also played on the Gold Medal winning Olympic team in 2000. Joe Lawrence was a former USA Today high school All-American and played professionally for the Toronto Blue Jays. After 8 years in professional baseball Joe returned to LSU to play football.

In speaking with Kurt he recalled: “from my experiences in the big leagues, about half of the bats you’d order would not be what we call gamers,” ‘Gamers’ being a bat that is Major League ready and that the hitter is accustomed to. Kurt went on: “ the quality of service and in the bats just did not seem to be there.” As other bat companies operated their volume based business, Marucci bats intended on being a new alternative. [click to continue…]

About Tyler Johnson

Tyler Johnson is an innovative thinker inspired by the likes of Bill Veeck, Jon Spoelstra, Pat Williams & Brooks Boyer. Currently working for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment as a Group Sales Account Executive for the Denver Nuggets. Prior he worked as the New Business Development Executive with the Chicago White Sox. Tyler has also worked directly with the inventor and creator of Arena football and also for Mike Ditka’s former Chicago AFL franchise. As a former collegiate athlete and business sensed individual Tyler ventured to combine his passions to get into the business side of sports.

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Baseball Fans Sidetracked

by Gail Sideman|July 29th, 2010

While Major League Baseball diehards were tuned into each of their favorite teams’ games during everything from LeBron-athon to World Cup soccer, and especially their all-star game, it wasn’t easy for it to hold the attention of the masses according to W. Scott Bailey in the San Antonio Business Journal.

It was reported that Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, broadcast by FOX, received a 7.5 Nielsen rating which makes it as the least watched Midsummer Classic in history.
My initial thought as we head toward the start of National Football League training camps: is there any sport or off-season activity that would distract NFL fans from their season?

Is baseball officially not America’s Pastime anymore? We’ve long heard that professional baseball television ratings pale compared to the NFL and even the NBA, much of the latter which is broadcast on cable outlets. But a scripted special about where an NBA free agent is going to play next and – soccer? [click to continue…]

About Gail Sideman

Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.

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Sports Business Weekly Buzz

by Ben Sturner|July 26th, 2010

The Elliptical For The Rich, Tai Chi For The Poor

* Every year, the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association releases its state of sports participation in America study. The 64-page document is filled with interesting tidbits that will make you smarter at the office water cooler.

* Of all the fitness machines, the elliptical motion trainer has the highest percentage of participants whose annual household income exceeds $100,000 a year. Forty percent of those who use the elliptical make over $100,000.

Internal Watchdog Criticizes ESPN for Ethical Missteps on LeBron James Coverage

* ESPN’s internal journalism watchdog sharply criticized the cable-sports network for what he said were ethical missteps in its recent broadcast of a TV program devoted to basketball star LeBron James.

* The Walt Disney Co. network two weeks ago aired a one-hour special about James, who used the program to announce that he signed with a new team, the Miami Heat. In an unusual arrangement, James’s sports-marketing company suggested the program to ESPN and brokered an arrangement whereby the show’s advertisers donated money to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a charity James supports.

EA Sports Campaign Taps Football Stars, Fans

To launch the 11th iteration of its NCAA Football game, EA Sports is taking both a national and regional approach with its advertising campaign. A national television commercial features fans and football luminaries (such as Ronnie Lott, Tim Tebow, John Elway and Desmond Howard) talking about their college football fanaticism by completing the phrase “Where I come from …” with a team-specific comment. [click to continue…]

About Ben Sturner

Ben Sturner is the Founder and CEO of Leverage Agency, one of the most respected, innovative, resourceful and ambitious sports and entertainment branding sponsorship agencies on Madison Avenue. Sturner has taken his multi-million dollar business from a small start-up in his New York City apartment to a premiere agency that has secured deals for clients including: Jimmy Kimmel Live, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, KFC, Gillette, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Comcast, Anheuser Busch, Fremantle Media, Mark Burnett Productions and NBC’s Prime Time Celebrity Apprentice, Reveille, Radical Media, as well as other top-tier brands. Ben has been named NYC Entrepreneur of the month in TrueNYC.com and has been interviewed and featured on ESPN, NBC, CNBC, USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL as an expert in sports and entertainment sponsorship.

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Payroll to Results: Successful MLB Teams

by Matt Clark|June 14th, 2010

Did you ever wonder which teams in Major League Baseball really get the most bang for their buck? Sure the Yankees won the last World Series last year but weren’t they supposed to win when they had the highest payroll in baseball? Each year the Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball so shouldn’t fans expect them to finish in the basement of their division each year?

I have calculated a formula called the “Payroll to Results Rating” that examines teams between the years of 2000-2009. I took into consideration their average payroll, total wins, and playoff success and ranked them from 1 to 32.

1. Florida Marlins

The fish have an average payroll of under $36,000 over the last 10 years and they were still able to scrape five 80 plus win seasons along with a World Series title. If this formula were calculating numbers over the past 15 years, their rating would be even higher.

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About Matt Clark

Matt Clark is currently an intern for Sports Networker, studying sport management and public relations at York College of Pennsylvania. He has an extreme passion for learning about new trends in social media and technology and how it is revolutionizing sports. He has contributed as sports editor for the York College newspaper, been an event manager for collegiate sporting events, intramural supervisor, contributor to the sports information department, and executive board member on the Sport Management Student Association. Matt is heading into his third season as part of the game-day entertainment with the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees. Connect with him on Twitter @mattgclark

Stephen Strasburg’s Social Media Potential

by Sam Taggart|June 10th, 2010

If you don’t know about Stephen Strasburg, let me introduce you. Strasburg is a starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals. He was the number one pick in the MLB Draft last year and made his major league debut earlier this week: 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 earned runs… and 14 strikeouts! Quite the impressive entry into Major League Baseball. Strasburg is a budding superstar. He’s been talked about for the last several years in baseball’s inner circles. His fastball approaches 100 miles-per-hour and moves dramatically. His curveball is about twenty miles per hour slower than his fastball and has been known to defy gravity. Strasburg is the real deal.

Strasburg & Social Media

I see a great opportunity for Strasburg to really change the game for Major League Baseball when it comes to social media. None of the league’s superstars have truly embraced Facebook or Twitter (the league’s best social media user is Nick Swisher, but hard to call him a superstar). Other leagues have big-time players using social media, but the MLB does not.

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About Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

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Sportsmanship Reborn for MLB

by Gail Sideman|June 4th, 2010

Sportsmanship was reborn on June 2 and it wasn’t without a lot of labor pains.

In one of the most debated and discussed baseball games in years, Major League Baseball umpire Jim Joyce incorrectly called a Cleveland Indians’ ground ball to first base with two outs in the ninth inning, safe. A video replay showed otherwise. That one call cost Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Armando Galarraga a coveted perfect game.

Fans booed in the stadium and online. That led to not a riot (although if I read correctly, one wasn’t far off), but a most classy and likely unexpected move by Galarraga who met with the highly respected Joyce soon after the game. He said they hugged and Joyce expressed his regret for the call.

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Sports Organizations Enter Political Fray & PR Battle

by Gail Sideman|May 19th, 2010

In the last weeks I’ve thought a lot about a hot button issue that began with a political decision, yet has touched sports organizations from the National Basketball League to Major League Baseball…or should I say that they hit on the topic by no choice of their own.

As if the Arizona Immigration Law SB 1070 2010 needed more steam, the topic of immigration has jumped to Page One of several sports searches because professional organizations and athletes have either voiced opinions or taken action to show dissatisfaction for the legislation.

The law, which will require police to verify a person’s immigration status if there’s “reasonable suspicion” that he/she is in the United States illegally, is scheduled to take affect in July.

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WWTD – What Will Tiger Do?

by Gail Sideman|April 5th, 2010

It’s an exciting time of year for sports. It’s officially opening day for Major League Baseball. The Final Four tips in Indianapolis with storybook character, Butler University, taking on hoops behemoth, Duke in the evening. In the midst of it all will be lots of talk about Sunday’s big National Football League trade of Donovan McNabb from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Washington Redskins.

Oh, and Tiger is scheduled to hold a press conference today at 2 p.m., EST at Augusta National, site of The Master’s. It will be the first time that professional golfer Tiger Woods, takes questions from the media after he admitted to multiple affairs, and watched his nearly spotless brand derail last fall.

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$ign of the Time$, Part 1

by Tyler Johnson|March 11th, 2010

Some call it a sign of the times or the new “Revenue Era” in baseball. All major sports teams are in search of revenue streams or new ways to maximize current ones. Without a salary cap, Major League Baseball teams have been thriving with activity.

One piece to the new revenue is puzzle has been the obvious recent economic woes. Some markets have been harder hit due to more significant local job loss and some due to their increased dependence on corporate revenue streams that soon became rougher waters.

No matter the team or the market everyone is in need of additional revenue. In the last few years another large piece in new era revenue puzzle is current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

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