that's a question the website "538" considered as it looked at the results of "google traffic," and the answer is generally "no" -most people would not recognize the player whom some have compared to a modern-day and clean-cut mickey mantle.
the site's founder and writer, nate silver, reported that the five most recognizable major leaguers include four guys over 40, three of those out of the league now (jeter, a-rod, bonds), one's an international star (ichiro), with lots of google hits from japan, and the fifth, a current player, pujols, is in his 30s and gaining rust by the year.
silver's conclusion: baseball's in trouble when its best players are not well known.
i draw two conclusions from this: one, if you're in public relations, contact rob manfred. he probably has a job for you.
two, if any of the well-known guys in our league went into a bar, more than a few would be recognized.
Well, that was a foolish article. Obviously, the 40 yr old Hall of Fame players are more recognizable than the 2nd year Studs. They've been in the public eye for 20 years now! Twenty years ago, I would have recognized Lenny Dykstra before I would ARod. And twenty years from now, people will be watching Trout's farewell tour, and won't know Ethan Reisinger, the up and comer stud 3rd baseman for the Buffalo Mets! (after the move) :)
thanks for your reply doug. you're on target when you say that guys who've been around for a long time are more recognizable. that just makes sense.
silver's point, which he may not have made well enough, is that baseball does a lousy job of publicizing, promoting and celebrating its new young talent. he would want trout, or harper, or puig, and a dozen others to be much better recognized.
i share that view - but maybe, with the explosion of a dozen and more sports kids can play (as opposed to the four i knew growing up), the digital revolution and cable tv, trying to lift any athlete's q factor is next to impossible. (sigh.)
that said, here's hoping that ethan reisinger gets his shot in the majors. i didn't know he was with the mets. that's great. i wish him all the best.
-mike
-- Edited by mhart on Wednesday 8th of October 2014 02:30:04 AM
Yes Mike, it is a different world than twenty years ago. But believe me, people know who Trout, Harper and Puig are. I just don't think people look for them through Google, because there is so much info on them on the sports sites. With the amount of people that play fantasy sports (me being one of them), we all know who the young stars are. Heck, I even know a bunch of guys in the minor leagues, which would never have happened years ago.
I was just wishfully hoping for Ethan. He just turned 8. I have to work on his plate discipline some more.
I'll admit, I didn't read the article. Is there any mention of the recognition of MLB's stars compared to the NBA and NFL? Most sports fans are familiar with young football and basketball stars because of the popularity of college games in those sports. Baseball college games and minor league games are rarely nationally televised.
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We don't stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing.
