Smart Ball follows Major League Baseball's history as a sport, a domestic monopoly, a neocolonial power, and an international business. MLB's challenge has been to market its popular mythology as the national pastime with pastoral, populist roots whileaddressing the management challenges of competing with other sports and diversions ina burgeoning global economy.Baseball researcher Robert F. Lewis II argues that MLB for years abused its legalinsulation and monopoly status through arrogant treatment of its fans and players andstatic management of its business. As its privileged position eroded in the face ofincreased competition from other sports and union resistance, it awakened to itsperilous predicament and began aggressively courting athletes and fans at home andabroad.Using a detailed marketing analysis and applying the principles of a "smart power"model, the author assesses MLB's progression as a global business brand that continuesto appeal to a consumer's sense of an idyllic past in the midst of a fast-paced, and oftenviolent, present.

Author: Lewis, Robert F.
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Illustration: N
Language: ENG
Title: Smart Ball: Marketing the Myth and Managing the Reality of Major League Baseball
Pages: 00176 (Encrypted PDF)
On Sale: 2010-01-15
SKU-13/ISBN: 9781604732078
Lib Category: Baseball - Economic aspects - United States
Lib Category: Baseball - United States - Management
Category: Sports & Recreation : Baseball - History