Selig Encouraged By MLB Attendance Despite Roughly 6.1% Decline

Selig Says Clubs Have Shown Concern, Creativity With Pricing

TIMING IS EVERYTHING: Selig said that owner reaction to MLB's recent deal to schedule earlier start times for LCS and World Series games on Fox was uniformly positive, and he confirmed discussions are now ongoing to implement similar measures for playoff games on Turner. "I think we’ve struck a balance between the East Coast and the West Coast," Selig said, acknowledging TV ratings research often showing stronger numbers later into the night. "People always complain here about games being too late, but you can’t start too early for the West Coast either." As to common criticism of MLB having lost a generation of young fans amid the later-starting games, Selig said, "We have not lost a generation of fans. You don't draw 75, 80 millions fans and have lost a generation" (Fisher). Selig: "What is the objective here? The objective is to have as many of your fans watch your event as is humanly possible. That's the objective. The theory that, 'By not playing in the afternoon, you've lost a generation,' there are no facts to support that. That's just another facet of this mythology. I'm really happy where we're at now" (NEWSDAY, 5/22). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes a 7:30pm ET start time, as opposed to the new 7:57pm start times, "would allow every person over the age of 10 living in the mainland U.S. a reasonable chance to see the last out of every World Series game." Mushnick: "Why is that so hard to do?" (N.Y. POST, 5/22).

OTHER ISSUES: MLB owners Thursday unanimously approved new control executives for the Twins and Blue Jays, with Jim Pohlad taking the reins in Minnesota in place of his deceased father, Carl, and Edward Rogers III ascending to the lead role in Toronto in place of his deceased father, Ted. Carl Pohlad died in early January, and Ted Rogers in December. Meanwhile, Selig said Dodgers LF Manny Ramirez’ recent 50-game suspension represented further proof of the system’s current effectiveness, also citing more than 1,000 other tests so far this season that came back negative. “Nobody is above the law. We have a system that is working,” he said. The commissioner also levied support for embattled Yankees ownership, which has been besieged in recent weeks over pricing and public relations issues surrounding their new $1.5B ballpark. “The Yankees are as sensitive and fan-friendly as any other organization,” Selig said. “Fans are very smart. They’ll know very quickly whether management and the owners care or don’t care. It manifests itself in a myriad of ways. I’m satisfied [the Yankees] understand that” (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).

NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS? ESPN.com's Rob Neyer noted MLB owners during the meetings again tabled a vote to redefine the league's TV territories, and he wrote, "This was a foregone conclusion. Everything that happens at these meetings is a foregone conclusion. In the old days, these meetings were interesting and occasionally dramatic, as owners stood up and made arguments and pleaded and met in secret broom closets and conspired against one another. Today, though? Today the owners get together a few times each year to ratify decisions that have already been made, and this one was already in the bag" (ESPN.com, 5/21). Selig said that there was "no one hot-button issue during these meetings, such as last year's discussion about the eventual approval of limited-use Instant Replay, or the previous year's talks about Nationals' ownership." Selig: "There were no great highlights, which is the best kind of Owners Meetings. Highlights usually suggest something is wrong" (MLB.com, 5/21).

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