MLB Network’s new ‘Play Ball’ series aims to connect with kids

A new season means new opportunities for Major League Baseball to reconnect with its existing audience while attempting to appeal to the newer, younger audience that every business covets.

The latter is actually a priority for the league, because several recent studies have shown the average age of MLB’s is highest among the four major sports leagues in North America. The sooner they can draw fans in the better, and that specifically means targeting a younger audience that has more options and interests now than ever.

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That very idea is the driving force behind a new weekly MLB Network series titled “Play Ball,” which according to a Wednesday press release will be specifically geared toward connecting with young fans. The show will debut on Saturday, April 9.

Play Ball will be hosted by Harold Reynolds and will feature MLB Network’s vast array of experienced and knowledgeable baseball analysts. The show will feature one-on-one baseball demonstrations, which should be extensions of the Diamond Demos that have become a staple on MLB Network’s programming. There will also be one-on-one conversations with many of baseball top stars. In the early episodes, those stars will include San Diego Padres outfielder Matt Kemp, Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado and Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor.

It sounds like a fun premise and an excellent way to get the general public familiar with MLB’s stars on a more personal level, which is where the desired connection starts. We’ll always see the highlights of Arenado making his almost daily defensive gems and Kemp launching mammoth home runs. Rarely, if ever, do we see them in a laid back situation, such as Kemp playing ball with Trevor Hoffman’s kids, or discussing what attracted to them baseball and what motivated them to reach this level.

(AP) A story like Arenado’s, for example, needs to be promoted because there’s a lot that can be taken from it. Four years ago, he was considered a defensive liability at third base. He took that criticism to heart, let it fuel his desire and now he’s arguably the best defensive player in MLB at any position.

We can all learn from that, as such lessons don’t just apply to baseball or sports in general. But with baseball as the background, it might give kids something they can relate to and a reason to see players for more than just highlights.

The show will also promote ways to get kids involved. In conjuction with the PLAY BALL initiative, which was launched by Major League Baseball and USA Baseball in 2015, each new episode will include tips on how kids can participate in all forms of baseball activities. Just getting more kids on the field is important, because once they are there baseball tends to grab them and then bring them together.

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As Arenado puts it, “Baseball has done amazing things for me. As a kid, when you don’t know people, you get shy and when you play on a team full of kids and guys your age, you get more comfortable, you’re communicating, you meet different people and you learn different things. There are so many positives to it.”

Baseball has a long way to go to get the true base of its fans back in place. But any step forward is a positive, and this program definitely feels like a step forward.

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