When the NFL decided to allow players to tweet at designated tweeting stations during the 2012 Pro Bowl, the results were about as exciting as an all-day candlepin bowling tournament broadcast on your local city-funded television station. Like everything else associated with the Pro Bowl, the idea turned out to be a dud. Barely any players took advantage of it and they wouldn’t be able to tweet the stuff we want to see when we choose to follow them anyway. Major League Baseball apparently believes they can be different.
On Tuesday, the MLB along with the MLB Players Association and MLB Advanced Media announced players will be allowed to interact with fans using social media during the 2012 MLB All-Star Game. Players interacted with fans via Twitter from the Home Run Derby last season, and the MLB apparently considered that to be a “success.”
Unfortunately, players will only be allowed to tweet and update their Facebook pages after they have been removed from the game. There will be absolutely no stealing signs from a catcher using your cell phone while on second base.
As Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk mentioned, this is essentially the MLB admitting that the whole “this time it counts” shenanigans have done nothing to boost the intensity of the game. Despite the fact that the winner gets home field advantage in the World Series, the players still treat it as they would any other All-Star game and enjoy the vacation from “real” baseball. If they cared about the outcome, it would be taken seriously enough that Twitter and Facebook wouldn’t be necessary to improve the experience.
Photo credit: Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE
