WFAN’s Evan Roberts has a fix for baseball’s forgotten weekend. The WFAN host wants Hall of Fame ceremonies moved from days where games are played during the regular season.
What We Know: Sunday’s induction ceremony in Cooperstown honored Carlos Beltrán, Jeff Kent, and Andruw Jones. It ran directly opposite a full MLB schedule, including the New York Mets. On Monday, Roberts said he split his attention between two televisions. As a result, he argued the event gets buried by the sport it celebrates.
What They Said: (All quotes via WFAN)
Evan Roberts suggestion for the baseball HOF to move their ceremony: “You know what is frustrating about the Hall of Fame? You have these speeches and a celebration of baseball history in the middle of Sunday afternoon baseball games. I had two TVs up. I had the Mets game on one TV, and I had the speeches on the other. It’s not good for baseball to have it kind of hidden away like that.”
Evan Roberts solution for the issue: “It’s in Cooperstown. So, you can’t do it during the winter or even the spring. There are two options to me. MLB All Star Break or a Monday in the regular season when everybody’s off. Whatever you do, have it be an event that people can pay attention to.”
“It’s in Cooperstown. So, you can’t do it during the winter or even the spring. There are two options to me. MLB All Star Break or a Monday in the regular season when everybody’s off. Whatever you do, have it be an event that people can pay attention to.”
What Remains Unclear: Viewership results for Sunday’s ceremony are unknown. Also, whether MLB will take up any suggestions on shifting the ceremony date is unclear.
What It Means: Robert’ comments tap into a broader debate about Cooperstown’s visibility. The NBA and NFL celebrate their hall of fame inductees in the offseason, while the NHL and MLB celebrate theirs during the season. He’s correct in how the ceremony gets overshadowed by a normal day of scheduling, but whether or not baseball choose to shift the dates is unknown.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.