Have you noticed the music the YES Network now plays multiple times a broadcast to transition to commercial breaks between innings? It’s from “Baba O’Riley” by The Who. You may be wondering why I’m starting an article on the importance of freshness and fun with a discussion of a song from 1971 about a bunch of wasted teenagers at Woodstock in 1968, but there’s something to it.
While this usage is what brought this song to mind for me, the song provides a great metaphor for what is afflicting the sport of baseball today. For generations, baseball seemed to enjoy its relative monopoly on summer fun, with little effort spent on connecting with younger audiences.