New Voices Covering The Independent Baseball Leagues

This offseason has seen an increase in activity on social media talking about the independent leagues.  There are active forum groups, Facebook groups, new bloggers covering the game and much more.

This is both good and bad for the independent baseball industry IF the goals are to:

• see independent baseball players gain more legitimacy for their willingness to play in the independent leagues as they pursue MLB opportunities
• help teams and leagues become more profitable
• raise the legitimacy of what these leagues represent
• increase the odds of the teams becoming TV-friendly enough to warrant national TV exposure on cable or high-level internet streaming video services
• helping the leagues “graduate” from becoming more than just the business model of “local, family friendly entertainment”

The lack of standardization poses risks to the intent of these new voices, although having more voices expressing their opinions is – at a “bird’s eye view” – a good thing for the industry because it helps overcome apathy.  What happens is that there sometimes is a disconnect between these new voices and the reality of the bigger picture.

Having been involved in the industry off and on since 1997, here are the roles I have had as part of this wacky, weird niche of the professional sports landscape:

• catcher
• bullpen catcher and 1st base coach
• team media relations coordinator (including the old MySpace pages for teams – !!)
• assistant GM + “de facto” GM for a team during an interim period
• league official (PR, stats, schedule making, strategy, marketing)
• new revenue generation strategist for the leagues
• running this website
• tryouts notification websites
• independent baseball trivia website (1500+ daily trivia questions since 2010)
• compiling history for a potential alumni association one day
• other roles throughout my tenure

Does this mean I am perfect?  Absolutely not!  If I were, then I would have my own league with teams each making 1+ million dollars in profits every season.  Until that happens, I have to keep focused on adding value when & where I can and focus on the positive side of what this industry can become.

To start, please remember that the “new voices” participating with their opinions likely are doing the best with what they know.  Many don’t have backgrounds in the industry, or if they do it has been at arms-length.  This is not a bad thing, necessarily!  It just has to be remembered that their opinions and views on subjects may not necessarily by based on experience in the industry.

Here are some of the things I have seen which may quickly change the opinions of the readers if they had more information:

• Some of the new voices have been lucky in that they only have watched games and spoken to players who are part of good organizations and solid ownership.  This is NOT always the case across our industry.  It may shade their experiences when they condemn teams and leagues which have not had as much success as other teams/leagues
• Having spoken on the phone or in person with virtually every league commissioner this past season, there are similar “headaches” which they complain about that are common throughout the industry.  Some of these include increasing attendance on slow nights, giving sponsors more “value” to sign up for sponsorship again next season, getting rid of “dead weight” interns and employees who don’t add value everyday, dealing with negative comments from fans on social media which are outside of the control of the team/league, and many other problems.  The new voices need to remember that these problems are what concern the industry insiders; and those problems rarely have to do with how many players get signed to affiliated/MiLB teams
• Most of the new voices are “fans”.   This is good, but they sometimes fail to remember that these teams are structured as for-profit entities.  The goal is first to sustain enough profitability to keep the entity solvent, and everything else is second.  Unlike college and semi-pro teams – which get funding from taxpayers, alumni or the players themselves – these teams currently are relying on ticket sales, concession sales, parking fees, merchandise sales and sponsors to make their money.  Running such an organization – which no help from a parent club like MiLB teams get in terms of player/coach salaries – burns out a lot of GM’s.  It is a relentless business where you must perform everyday to generate revenues and manage expenses.  Most of the new voices are not yet familiar with the rigors of the job and why poor decisions can happen, often during high-stress periods
• Some of the new voices have their “idealized” version of what independent baseball should be.  This is a good thing as, again, it at least prevents apathy from happening about our industry.  The thing is that their idealized versions likely would change dramatically for these people if they had more front office or league office experience

Based on years of experience, even industry insiders have a difference of opinion in terms of what the “ideal” scenario should be.  This may be one of the reasons for the fragmentation of vision between teams in the same league, let alone across the independent baseball leagues.

All commissioners, league officials, team owners, general managers and high-ranking team executives likely at least would agree upon a common ideal vision of:

• All teams being profitable
• Increasing profitability
• Quality of play is consistently decent (relative to the level it claims to be) and gradually increases each season
• Increased national media attention
• Packed stands with loyal, fully-engaged fans
• Players want to be on that team and play with high degrees of passion & emotion
• Sponsors compete for the ad spots available
• Increases in team valuations due to scarcity and sound business models
• New revenues being generated
• Fans have fun, memorable experiences
• Good cost controls for all hard costs
• Motivated employees and interns
• Everyone who represents the team (sales people, those who answer phones, PA announcer, radio broadcaster, etc.) all conduct themselves professionally
• Several other items of similar magnitude

Being able to fulfill this consistently is a daunting task for most professionals, as the stresses are tough and not easy to master from season to season.

I bring all of this up as many of the new voices fail to address these topics. Some are looking to tear down another team or league without even having stepped foot in that geographic area of the country.  Others think because they are longtime fans of a successful organization (at least in terms of perception), so any team/league not meeting that standard drags down the industry.  Others base their opinions on history, but often the history is incorrect or – at best – in the wrong order which leads to a false conclusion.

Sadly, we have to remember that the players (and I was one!) are often the lowest part of the equation even though fans pay to see the players.  The reason is:

• Most players think (not deservedly so) that they need to move up to a higher-level league.  They are playing with the goal of leaving, which is fine.  Just remember that any solid for-profit entity can’t last long if all of its key talent is looking to leave at the earliest opportunity.  If a team had 25 players who all wanted to be on that team for a common reason, the end product (which the fans would see) likely would be fantastic and entertaining to watch.  This rarely happens, so the front office can’t invest its future in any particular player due to their likely short tenures with the organization due to injury, release, or being signed to a higher level of baseball
• Many players today don’t spend time with the fans before or after games.  In an era when fans have more summertime entertainment options than they did in 1993 (when independent leagues as we know them started), one good way to make the fans want to pay money is to treat them (and the kids) well.  Since many players just want to shower up and go drink after games, their forgetting the paying fans often leads to more of a rift between the locker room and the front office.  Players spending more time with kids before/after games would go a long way toward gaining “word of mouth” awareness around town.  That, in turn, should lead toward an increase in attendance
• Many players are quick to complain about the front office without spending a little bit of time in the offices.  If they took the time to learn what the sales team, interns and the GM does everyday there likely would be greater cohesion between the front office & the locker room.  Hopefully it would translate to more money and/or better experiences for both sides!

Be careful when you read or hear about the negativity, especially from the newer voices.  Remember that there are big problems in every league, even the ones which have been around for a long time and are perceived as being successful.

With that said, the new faces and voices on the landscape very well can be a good step forward for the independent leagues.  By their spending time and money to promote conversation about the industry, it shows that people care.  Just remember that there is a big picture and SIGNIFICANT room for growth in this industry.  Until the independent leagues are at least as big as MiLB or even MLB, then there is always room to improve.

Hopefully the new voices will gain more industry insider experience.  When they do, combined with their passions and ability to generate online conversation, they very well can be a positive force to help the industry move forward in its third decade as we know it. There is significant room for improvement in every league, so hopefully the new voices become a positive force and do their part to make things better for all participants – including the fans.

Feel free to leave your thoughts on this blog post or elsewhere where a link to this post may appear.  Thanks!

---

Interested in web3 and pro baseball? If so, get your own web3 (NFT) baseball domain name! Click this link to discover more information.

If you are looking for savings and free shipping on baseball equipment and gear then Click Here or click on this image:

Discover more about the available NFTs specific to affiliated and independent minor league baseball teams and players: Independent Minor League Baseball NFT non-fungible tokens and digital art

Get notified of upcoming independent baseball tryouts from either of these services: first service or the second service. Prospective players can find some helpful resources here

See the list of former / folded independent baseball teams since 1993 and get non-official merchandise featuring those teams: Former Independent Baseball Teams And Merchandise

Do you collect or sell baseball cards and other sports memorabilia? If so, then here are some helpful resources plus where to get independent baseball merchandise from folded teams. Click Here to discover more.