While MLB has done "gobs of dumb things," according to USA
TODAY's Bruce Horovitz, perhaps the "dumbest thing of all" may be
something it never has done -- market its initials. Horovitz
notes that "everyone knows" the NBA, NFL and NHL as their
initials are "emblazoned on all that overpriced merchandise the
leagues sell for outrageous profits." But things may change soon
as acting MLB Commissioner Bud Selig starts to "shake a few
marketing skeletons out of baseball's messy closet." Selig: "No
question from a marketing standpoint, one central identity is
probably the better way to go." Horovitz writes while the NFL,
NHL and NBA logos all have their league's initials on them, MLB's
logo is "initial-less." The logo was created in '69 to celebrate
MLB's 100th anniversary, and while the words "Major League
Baseball" are sometimes featured under the logo, the MLB initials
are "nowhere." Frank Vuono, President of ISI: "The fact that no
one knows what MLB is only symbolizes the fact that baseball is
all screwed up." MLB made the decision in '69 not to use its
initials in its logo in order to differentiate baseball from
other sports. Horovitz notes using the initials won't solve
baseball's problems, "but it's a start" (USA TODAY, 3/18).
