Baseball's Most Marketable Players

           When Derek Jeter was ceremoniously ushered off the field for the final time last season, it marked the end of one of the most celebrated careers in the history of baseball. Now coming from an anti-Yankee fan, that’s difficult to let spew from one’s fingers. But its true, Derek Jeter was hailed, as was so well worded in the movie the Other Guys, “a bi-racial angel” who received a good bye tour better than most Presidents. Like Mariano Rivera, Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, everywhere Jeter went was made into an event. There were ceremonies, video tributes, and even more importantly, commercials. Commercials like this…

It was one of the first times in years baseball decided to really market one of its players. For as much as people say baseball “doesn’t know how to market their players”, that’s unequivocally not true, baseball doesn’t choose to market their stars. Why? Well the last time baseball did something of this magnitude; it seemingly blew up it its face.

 

         During the 1998 season when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were chasing Roger Maris’s record, baseball begun to plaster McGwire and Sosa everywhere. Aside from being great talents, McGwire and Sosa were great in front of the camera. Both had an on the field flair and energy and off the field they were gracious and humble. Even though it would be McGwire who won the race, it was Sosa who epitomized those traits. And because of it Sosa was became the sports most identifiable character. His smile and boy like charm was as recognizable as his signature homerun hop. And because of that you started seeing Sammy Sosa everywhere.

            But on March 17^th, 2005 when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were among six players who were summoned to Congress to testify on steroids the energy and zeal of both stars appeared to have faded away. Nothing was worse when Sammy Sosa decided not to speak because of his ‘linguistic limitations’. When baseball needed its players to help rescue them from the depths of despair, our stars who made great noise with their bats, went mute.* In many ways baseball has not recovered from that day, partly due to the steroid fiasco, but also it seems that baseball does not want to make, what they view as, a mistake. In the following years it has not helped that other great stars like Barry Bonds and more infamously Alex Rodriguez, the sport’s best talent since Mickey Mantle, had also fallen from grace.

            But with Derek Jeter, it was safe. Jeter had seemingly an unapologetic career, with virtually no mishaps whatsoever. Therefore baseball felt safe to market the crap of Derek Jeter unlike ever before. Despite the deterioration of play, Jeter received more publicity than in his 19 previous seasons combined. But baseball got exactly what they wanted a cinematic ending to one of the game’s greatest stars.

            If baseball is going to return to it previous glory, it needs to take a lesson they learned with Derek Jeter and forget the past mishaps with Sosa and McGwire. The sport needs to finally to a risk and begin marketing its younger and/or most dynamic players once again. Don’t wait until the end of a great career for recognition. Instead recognize the players who you want your fan bases to invest in. And just incase baseball does not know who those players are. Here are my top 10 most marketable players:

           

1) Mike Trout: The best player in the game in the world’s second largest media market. Mike Trout should not only be the face of baseball but one of the most popular players in all of sports.

2) Clayton Kershaw: The best pitcher on the planet who also plays in Los Angeles. You would think living in Los Angeles, Kershaw and Trout would be on the television more? But they are not and that’s the problem

3) Matt Harvey: Already has a cool nickname and the game to back it up. But mostly Met fans still only recognize “The Dark Knight”. And whether he returns from his injury as a  ‘Christian Bale Batman’ or a ‘George Clooney Batman’, baseball needs to plaster him everywhere.

4) Masahiro Tanaka: Japanese players have been vital to the game for the best fifteen years. Ichiro, Daisuke, Hideki Mastsui, have all provided intrigue, drama, and stardom (not so much Daisuke) that the sport has so desperately needed. Tanaka is the next guy and pitching for the Yankees should only make it easier for baseball to promote him.

5) Bryce Harper: While he has the talents of a Matt Stafford but the production of a Mark Sanchez, Harper’s style of play, flash, youth and potential should all be heavily promoted by baseball. He’s in a couple of commercials here and there, but not enough for a budding star at the age of 23.

6) Felix Hernandez: As good as Kershaw is on the mound, Hernandez is probably the most intimidating pitcher in the game today. Even though he pitches in Seattle, which is not a prolific media market, baseball has had a successful history promoting players in the great northwest (Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Ichiro).

7) Giancarlo Stanton: He is the best power hitter in the game who hits tape shot measures on nearly a nightly basis. While baseball is not the most followed sport in the state of Florida, the fact that he plays in Miami should be enough to promote his abilities.

8) Jacoby Ellsbury: He is the best player on the most important franchise in the sport. He also has the capabilities of posting a 5-tool player type season year in and year out. While the Yankees may not have Derek Jeter anymore, Elsbury is still very capable of being a star in New York.

9) Andrew McCutchen: African-Americans have made up the largest proportion of our nation’s best athletes, yet in recent years, African-American participation in the sport of baseball has dwindled significantly. McCutchen however has emerged into one of the game’s biggest stars.

10) Aroldis Chapman: Cuban players, much like players from Japan, have also had an important impact on the game as well. Now while Yasiel Puig has snatched more headlines that all of the Cuban players combined, Chapman is the one baseball should go all in on. He is by far the most dynamic closer in the game, and one of maybe two pitchers in the sport who can consistently hit 100 mph or more. When Chapman is on the field, it is instant entertainment, even though it may be for only a few moments. But if the Reds are on T.V., those are few moments you do not want to miss.

Honorable Mentions: Yasiel Puig, Buster Posey, Madison Bumgardner, Anthony Rizzo, Adam Jones, Stephen Strasburg, Robinson Cano, Miguel Cabrera.

 *On a personal note, I do not blame Mark McGwire, nor Sammy Sosa for their actions in 2005. While they were ill-advised at best, nobody knew how to handle situation, especially Major League Baseball.