On Saturday, the 2024 Futures Recreation happened at Globe Life Discipline in Arlington, the location of this yr’s All-Star Recreation. Nevertheless, most baseball followers might need missed it, and the blame falls squarely on MLB.
For starters, the sport began within the afternoon, 4:00 p.m. on the East Coast, smack dab in the course of a full slate of MLB motion. That is proper, whereas future main league standouts competed on the identical subject, practically all 30 groups from the American and Nationwide Leagues have been additionally in motion.
Basically, MLB made most followers select between the Futures Recreation or watching their groups play a probably essential mid-July contest.
Even the 2024 All-Star Celeb Softball Recreation acquired higher therapy, beginning at a way more viewer-friendly time of seven:45 p.m. CT. In the meantime, the occasion solely needed to cope with two West Coast MLB video games.
Fairly than that includes at this time’s finest prospects within the primetime slot, the powers that be determined that followers would moderately watch the fellows from “Dude Good” attempt to hit a softball thrown slowly to them underhanded.
Moreover, a expertise competitors was held instantly following the Futures Recreation. However, with no possibility to look at it dwell, these concerned about seeing what occurred must wait till Sunday when MLB broadcasts a tape-delayed model at 10 a.m. ET.
The actual disgrace is that lots of the recreation’s finest prospects did not get the highlight they most likely deserved. On Saturday, 26 of the top 100 prospects performed within the recreation, together with seven ranked among the many prime 20.
If MLB genuinely needed to develop the sport, it ought to have given tomorrow’s stars the correct stage to showcase their expertise. As a substitute, they have been the warm-up act for popular culture influencers, artists and entertainers.