Jeff Passan has a fine article about how baseball teams need to try harder. Now, if your business is valued at say $2.1 billion it’s pretty easy to be lazy, but on the other hand your business has all the advantages as one worth FOUR billion, so maybe you could do even better. Let’s start here…
Letting kids in for free, however, isn’t simply a play for immediate gratitude. It is Angelos’ effort to breed a new generation of Orioles fans who choose Baltimore over the team 40 miles to the southwest in Washington.
Source: Baltimore Orioles making waves with $0 tickets
I have been saying this for a long time. There are more kids adults with disposable income in Generation Jeter than Generation Piazza.
The ’69s generation is getting old. Us 70s/80s people are starting to turn 50.
Then there’s everyone who got into baseball after 1996. They are likely Yankees fans. The Mets have already surrendered a generation, and over time will surrender two if they don’t take action. We already waited for the Yankees to get old so we could Take Back New York, and the baseball gods laughed in our faces. You’re going to have to take the metropolitan area back one kid at a time.
I think what the Orioles are doing is smart. Make that emotional imprint on the 7 year olds. Other than some drive-by front-running, and right now you’ll get that Mets, but don’t get cocky kid, you aren’t going to get the 25 year olds to change teams. Not if this whole Stanton/Judge thing works out for a decade. We saw how quickly the frontrunners were back in pinstripes last season.
Think long term Jeff Wilpon. It won’t effect Fred and Saul, this is going to be your cross to bear. Four hour games and expensive tickets (and non ideal start times) is a bad combination. Make it easy for Dad to bring his two kids. Dad might even buy a $6 hot dog.
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I know I know, “the Mets are 9-1 and you are complaining” – it’s nice to see things are back to normal. Remember my Shill phase from November-February when you guys were boycotting. Funny how 9-1 brings everyone home.
Anyway I know my blog is stupid, so read Jeff Passan’s smart article for more if for nothing else than the quotes about pricing out fans.
