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Traina Thoughts: Out-Of-Touch MLB Gets Popular Twitter Account Suspended
1. I love baseball. That's why I want Major League Baseball to do the right thing and get with the times. But the league seems hell bent on making sure it's as unfriendly as it is popular. Whether that's true is irrelevant. The perception is dead on.
The latest case of MLB embarrassing itself is a twisted tale involving a popular Twitter account and pitching GIFs. Yahoo's Jeff Passan has a great recap of the entire brouhaha that you should read right after you finish consuming Traina Thoughts. To make a long story short, the Twitter account @PitchingNinja (which had more than 50,000 followers) posts GIFs of impressive pitches. MLB does not like people on Twitter posting any GIFs or videos from their games and got the account suspended over the weekend.
It is hard to fathom why on earth MLB would 1) not want promotion for its product, 2) go after a legitimate fan of the sport, and 3) do something that would get the league universally ripped. Major League Baseball, for many reasons, lags WAAAAAY behind the NFL and NBA when it comes to social media popularity. The NFL actually has a stricter social media policy than MLB, but Roger Goodell is awful and that league can do whatever it wants because it's the top dog.
But MLB needs to do anything and everything it can to increase its popularity. The league should be thrilled that people on Twitter are interested in the sport. Sure, MLB wants to post all the content on their own channels, but what exactly does that get them in the end? Here is the GIF that apparently led to @PitchingNinja getting the boot.
That Twitter account above is an official MLB account. There are no ads before the GIF plays. There are no ads after the GIF plays. It's not like MLB is losing money because other people would post that GIF of Noah Syndergaard defying physics. If anything, MLB should be encouraging fans to share the work and generate interest in one of the best pitchers in the game. But instead, MLB not only becomes the villain, but also reinforces their standing of being out of touch with today's media and younger audience.
Memo to MLB: Let people on social media post your highlights, encourage it, embrace it and don't be a bully. It will only help you, not hurt you.
2. A beer spill at the Wizards-Raptors game last night left Charles Barkley apoplectic.
3. A lot happened in the NBA last night, but the highlight had to be Kyle Lowry's performance during the postgame press conference following the Raptors' easy win over the Wizards. From his facial reactions to arguing with teammate DeMar DeRozan, Lowry was on fire.
4. I sense sarcasm in this tweet from Aaron Rodgers.
After sending that missive, Rodgers used social media to focus on a happier issue.
5. If you're a WWE fan, you either loved the Hogan Era of the '80s and/or the Attitude Era of the very late '90s. The period in between, the early and mid '90s, was kind of an oddly intriguing mess based on bizarre characters. One of those was The Goon, whose character was a hockey enforcer. ESPN has a great story recapping The Goon's career.
6. This is not good.
7. RANDOM THE OFFICE VIDEO OF THE DAY: "I usually hit those."
Traina Thoughts is the best of the Internet, plus musings by SI.com writer, Jimmy Traina. Get the link to a new Traina's Thoughts each day by following on Twitter and liking on Facebook. Catch up on previous editions of Traina Thoughts right here.And make sure to listen to and subscribe to the SI Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina.
IN CLOSING: I'm gonna go out on a limb and predict that despite the headlines you may see today, Tom Brady plays football in 2018.
