Josh Chetwynd: Major League Baseball makes its UK pitch

June 5, 2018 Rich Clarke

Josh Chetwynd is the UK’s Mr Baseball.

He captained this country and then carved out a career as a broadcaster on Major League Baseball for the BBC and Channel 5.

Josh Chetwynd, Mr Baseball

He has also been a minor league player in the US, agent, international team manager and has written books on the topic.

Therefore he is perfectly positioned to explain the challenge baseball faces in finding a foothold in the UK and Europe.

It was announced recently that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will play a pair of games in London during 2019.

Josh and I look forward to those games, the game’s history in Europe, MLB’s international expansion and the issues the game is having in the US.

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Josh Chetwynd: Major League Baseball's pitch to the UK MrRichardClarke

3.01 Should this event have happened sooner? And why it did not.

5.12 The beachhead that the NFL and NBA have built up in Europe

5.56 The popularity of the live, late-night MLB games he presented on Channel 5 in the UK until 2008

7.25 The huge blow of baseball not being accepted into the Olympics after Team GB would have finally qualified as hosts in 2012

8.46 The history of baseball in the UK and Europe

13.37 How MLB has internationalised in the past. And where there are other European hotbeds

15.04 The challenges to MLB in the US - slow play and the age of the fanbase

18.10 The continuing cultural importance of baseball in the US

20.01 Why MLB is still a financial success but the potential for problems ahead

20.30 The dangers of marketing the game the wrong way. “Come for a drink and the game is going on”. Why Europe is an important landing spot

22.30 MLBAM’s early adoption of digital and social media against the background of an ageing fanbase

24.36 The value of the "stumble-upon" audience

25.45 How baseball in the UK just missed the social media boom

26.45 The issue of speeding up the game and whether it is needed. What is being tried at the moment

28.23 The chance of a short-form of baseball

31.01 Why comparisons between baseball and cricket are problematic

32.05 What is the definition of success for these two games in England

33.27 Facebook’s deal for Thursday afternoon Major League Baseball and the controversy surrounding it

35.08 The difficult second year of MLB in England. The success of the Hyde Park event and why “they have a shot at it”

36.01 Can baseball become a truly international sport?

37.21 The advantages of watching baseball live over NFL. The problems of being a complicated sport

39.20 The real dangers to baseball as opposed to the fallacies. The importance of personalities.

41.21 Pitching baseball to UK fans

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