Musicals? Headbands?? Six Fun Ways Baseball Can Appeal To The Masses

Hi friends. Dodger girl is back, and ahh, do you smell that? It’s the ever-more potent scent of decay as our world crumbles around us!

It’s easy to get caught up in the horrors that continue to plague our lives (What, no insurrection this week? Hmm, I had it penciled in!), but today I want to infuse a little positivity into this world. And I know what you’re thinking, “but Heather, you spent all of 2020 telling us why you hated your favorite baseball team.” I recognize that, and I’ve turned a corner! Either that, or I’m still riding that good ol’ World Series high. When spring training roles around, I’ll likely be a fresh pot of angst all over again. But for now, and on the eve of a new dawn in this country, let’s focus on the good stuff. Twitter will always be there to restore equilibrium afterward.

Enough chit chat, here are six playful ways baseball can start truly appealing to the masses. As in everyone, not just white males over 50. Let’s get started!

A Baseball Movie Musical

Remember when Chad, Ryan and the gang hit the field for the show-stopping, dance-filled number “I Don’t Dance” in High School Musical 2? I do, and to this day it still gets my toes a-tappin’! Sure, Zac Efron in his black polo and jeans during “Bet On It” really got my 10-year-old heart pumping, but “I Don’t Dance” was fun too! And while Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) and Damn Yankees (1958) are on the right track, my hair has started to gray just thinking about them. So, with that said, hear me out — a modern baseball movie musical about a superstar’s journey from small town stud to World Series champ. I’ll call it, Swinging for the Fences! Anybody know what Darren Criss is up to these days? And Anna Kendrick would be, like, the cautiously-optimistic-but-supportive best friend. You there, Netflix?

More High Profile Celebrities Talking About Baseball

Photo courtesy of Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

We all know Drake is a Toronto Raptors superfan, and Halsey loves her LA Lakers. While it’s not as blatantly obvious where the Hollywood elite pledge their football allegiances, the NFL is already massively popular and increasing their fandom isn’t necessarily on the top of their to-do list. Which leads us to MLB. If the Zendayas, Dan Levys and Billie Eilishes of the world spent more time going to their favorite teams’ games, referencing baseball in their movies and TV shows, or name-checking, say, OF Cody Bellinger, SP Gerrit Cole or SS Fernando Tatís Jr. in their hit singles, maybe the youth would be a little more inclined to sit through a four-hour game or two.

Air Jordans, Meet … Hair Jordans?

Photo courtesy of Michael Reaves/Getty Images

I realize that players even designing their own cleats can be a battle with the powers that be and the basketball signature shoe is probably impossible to beat, but humor me for just a second: headbands. Last season, I noticed some of baseball’s brightest stars starting to wear headbands ninja-style as part of their uniform. It looked super cool and if baseball ever loosened the reins with player attire, then headbands may be an interesting place to start. There are several different styles of headbands — the ninja kind, the knotted kind, the basic 90s kind — and with fashion changing to become more gender-inclusive, maybe guys will start rocking all kinds of different headbands during game time! I mean, the design possibilities are endless, and assuming the mask fad wears off post-pandemic (if that time ever does come), I say headbands are here to stay. I’m looking at you, Bryce Harper!

Baseball Players Starring In Their Own Stuff

Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler

Peyton Manning has those Nationwide commercials, LeBron James brought the house down in Trainwreck (not to mention, also following in Michael Jordan’s Space Jam footsteps) and even Blake Griffin does a bunch of stand-up now. So, where is CF Mike Trout? Can RF Aaron Judge make us chuckle? How about OF Christian Yelich? Does 3B Nolan Arenado have an Oscar-winning performance in him? Is RF Mookie Betts a Marvel character in the making? I think these are all questions worth investigating.

Baseball Players Repping The Latest Fashion Trends

Fashion and sports, as referenced above, have become one and the same over the years. Cam Newton isn’t afraid to push the couture boundaries and Russell Westbrook’s fashion choices frequently make headlines, just to name a few. If baseball players walked into their stadiums donning the hottest looks from the biggest fashion houses, maybe they would turn more heads … and embrace their swag a little more along the way.

More Baseball Representation On Sports Networks — And Not Just As An Afterthought

Come on, ESPN and Fox Sports! Where are all of the charismatic baseball pundits? We have Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman, Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless, but allow me to pitch to you a baseball trio. That’s right, I know three gen-Zers, two girls and a guy, that love baseball and love debating about baseball even more. Why not give them a shot? They’re all the things you’re missing right now: they’re young, obsessed with baseball, informed about baseball, willing to talk about baseball at times other than the World Series and lovable as hell on top of all of that. Plus, I hear they have this awesome podcast …

So yes, baseball players and the people that talk about them can do a lot more to increase the clout of the sport and take it right back to the top of pop culture. I have such a bird’s nest for hair anyway, a headband wouldn’t be the worst purchase I’ve ever made. Think about it, guys. Let’s put the glitz, glamor and whimsy back in America’s maybe-not-so-favorite pastime.