Chicks Dig the Long Ball: The 2009 (lacking) Home Run Derby

The 2009 Home Rune Derby just ended with Prince Fielder winning with 6 home runs in the final round.  I first want to start this post by thanking Prince for hitting 6 in the final round as I had the “6 HR’s or more” on ESPN’s Streak for the Cash.  My streak is still alive!

The Derby had lots of homeruns, lots of super stars, lots of money given to charity but still was missing something.  I still can’t quite put my finger on why, but it was lacking the excitement of years past.

One thing I noticed was you really didn’t see many of the players lying around rooting on their colleagues in the derby.  Some of my favorite moments were when David Ortiz was running around, laughing and cheering everyone on in years past.

The celebrity softball game is also on and it seems to be lacking as well.  If All Star Week is supposed to be one of the most entertaining parts of the season I can see why baseballs attendance is lacking so much in the regular season.

Gen Y, being the multi taskers they are don’t seem to have the same love for baseball as past generations.  With faster, more active sports out there (basketball, football) and new alternative Gen Y focused sports gaining major popularity (lacrosse, UFC, extreme sports) baseball has seemed to fall behind the times.

Major League Baseball needs to do some revamping; with attendance sliding, the MLB needs to do more than just lower ticket prices.  I suggest they start by spicing up All Star Weekend, then they need to spice up the overall baseball experience.

So I want to post this question to everyone out there.  What did you think about the Derby and what can The MLB do to increase Gen Y interest in baseball again?

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