A weekend, nationally televised, primetime broadcast is a hot commodity for any MLB team and city. Every Sunday night, two teams square off on ESPN, earning the spoils of a little extra spotlight and attention from those outside of the home market. For fans across the country, it may be the only opportunity to see a team that isn’t local. Fans of National League teams might get the chance to see AL matchups, and vice versa. The biggest stars can showcase their skills to viewers who otherwise might not get to see them.
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much diversity on Sunday night baseball for the first nine weeks of this season. So far, there have been ten teams featured on Sunday night baseball. That alone wouldn’t be a huge problem, as it represents one third of the league. The bigger issue is that, of the nine games, seven of them have featured either the Cardinals or the Yankees. The other two? The Detroit Tigers. While there has been some diversity in the opponents, the overall skew of the telecasts doesn’t bode well for the rest of the league.
There may be some reasons for this bias toward big market teams. First, it is just the beginning of the series. By the middle of June, ESPN will have had the chance to see who are the teams with some life to them, which will allow them to select the most interesting prime-time matchups. At least for the first 10 weeks, it isn’t a bad idea to select St. Louis and New York, as you are pretty much guaranteed to see some good baseball. This week, the Cubs and Reds square off at Wrigley, the first game to buck the Cardinals/Yankees/Tigers trend of late.
Additionally, larger markets are going to have more viewer draw than small town teams. You won’t see the same rate of viewership with a game between Houston and Oakland, no matter what direction those teams are going. It benefits ESPN to wind up in a big market where more fans are likely to tune in.
This is a trend to keep an eye on throughout the season. There is plenty of baseball to be played, but ESPN should be using Sunday Night Baseball to promote the very best that the MLB has to offer, not just a Cardinals or Yankees game every week. That being said, here are my picks for three teams that deserve a little extra television love in the next few weeks:
Houston Astros
This club has been a shock to almost everyone. While they’ve received some nice attention from the baseball media, it would be great for the American public to see exactly who these guys are and what is going into their success. If Dallas Keuchel could be on the mound, that would be even better, as he is emerging as one of the top pitchers in the American League. This team is good. Let’s show them off.
- Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates are scary good, and they are led by one of the best young stars in the game. The staff is absolutely dealing, and this team is heating up just in time to give the Cardinals a headache as the year goes on. Pittsburgh is a market that could be the beginning of a baseball super power, and a little bit of spotlight could do the city wonders.
- Arizona Diamondbacks
Maybe an odd choice, considering they are a sub-.500 team playing in a division with the mighty Dodgers and defending World Champion Giants, but they have, arguably, the greatest player in the game right now. Paul Goldschmidt is tearing the cover off the baseball, and a trip to primetime (possibly against a better opponent) would allow fans across the country to experience the treat that is Goldy.
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