Being There

BY KEVIN KERNAN

Baseball could really stand to take a page from the Masters.

At the Masters everyone is engaged. It’s the Masters, of course, and that is the way it should be – but there is something else in play at Augusta besides the awesome golf.

Fans are not allowed to carry cell phones. It is a trip back in sports time. And it is lovely.

While watching a Yankee game recently I noticed nearly every person seated in the super expensive front row, had their head down as the pitch was being delivered, looking at their phones and not at the action right in front of them.

That seems to be everywhere these days, not just at the ballpark, wherever you go, people are not living in the moment anymore, they are living in their phones’ “moments”. Meanwhile, at the Masters, it is all about the action in front of them. Good for them. The roar of the crowd is so genuine, so locked in, you can feel it watching on TV.

Being There is truly special. There is nothing run of the mill about it.

Important aspects of the game, like game awareness, are being lost.

“Nobody has any awareness, the little things we all know about the game,’’ a top talent evaluator told BallNine on Sunday.

That lack of awareness on how the game should be played is an everyday conversation by real baseball people who have given their professional lives to the game they love.

Too many baseball games are just run of the mill productions. The lack of awareness is everywhere. I have criticized the Twins in this space for good reason. That is an organization that has jettisoned some terrific baseball people just so the people in charge can continue their baseball science project. It’s an embarrassing organization.

For the fans and especially the players it is all about “Being There’’ in the moment.

The Twins found a new way to embarrass themselves on Saturday. And this was a dandy.

Minnesota’s Jose Miranda was on first base with one out, when a bouncer was hit to Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson in the eighth inning at Target Field with the Twins down, 4-0. The throw went to second for the force to second baseman Colt Keith, but Keith did not touch the bag. Miranda slid short of the bag but was not out because the force was not made. To his credit second base umpire Malachi Moore was on top of the play and signaled the runner safe at second. Miranda, showing total unawareness to the situation, assumed he was out and started to walk off the field. Keith then tagged him out.

I always taught young players I coached, “You are not the umpire. You are the player. Never assume anything. Play the play through.’’

Evidently that basic baseball truth is not taught in the Twins empire. A mystified Miranda had turned a safe call into an out call, a total rock head move – but considering the state of baseball, not a surprise move anymore.

Miranda told reporters later, “It’s just a learning thing.’’

He was right about that, a learning thing … in Tee Ball.

For the fans and especially the players it is all about “Being There’’ in the moment.

Tigers analyst Andy Dirks, a really good listen by the way, exclaimed, “Wow!’’ Dirks proceeded to instruct “young ballplayers’’ watching the broadcast, “Always stay on the bag until you know the umpire has called you safe or out.’’

Tigers play-by-play man, Jason Benetti, another really good listen, chimed in of the blunder, “That is outrageous.’’

Dirks added, “I’ve never seen that.’’

Neither have I, at the major league level at least.  But that is what is happening to the game these days, fundamentals and awareness are out the window. Perhaps Miranda was in a hurry to get back to the dugout to look at the iPad and check out his latest at-bat.

Those fans at the game looking at their phones at that moment of pure baseball stupidity, still haven’t seen it.

The Twins, masquerading as a real baseball organization, soon demoted Miranda to AAA. Manager Rocco Baldelli, a genuinely nice guy who is hamstrung by those above him, gave the standard “Be Kind’’ managerial answer to brain fart plays these days, saying, “Jose has to do better on that play.’’

You think, Rocco?

You think a major leaguer making all that money should actually know if he is safe or out at second base before mindlessly walking off the base to be embarrassingly tagged out?

Those are some high standards there in Minnesota.

“Just another example of the bar being lowered,’’ the talent evaluator said.

Exactly.

Rob Manfred & Co. could not lower the bar any lower if they were putting on a limbo dance marathon.

This baseball bar is as low as I have ever seen it.

Let’s start slowly by raising the bar by actually watching games and maybe putting the phones down for just for a bit.

Now I know it is not practical for people to go anywhere without their phones, MLB can’t tell patrons to leave the phone home like they do at the Masters, they don’t have that kind of ticket juice, but they can encourage fans to watch the “action’’ in front of them and not be sidetracked by their phones. But the powers in baseball want you on your phone to make a bet.

It also seems everyone has to get that camera shot for the ‘Gram or check the latest TikTok video or X comment from someone you don’t know.

Wouldn’t it be great, if some team had the wisdom to hold a special day or night where the game is the action and not the cell phone?

A No Phone Game.

Where it is heavily encouraged to keep the phone in the pocket and just enjoy the experience of being at the ballpark watching the game.

Hey, if there is Bark in the Park, where you can bring your dog to a game, why not have a simple “Let’s Watch the Game” promotion, a No Phone Game where you leave the phone in your pocket.

A Being There Game.

After all, MLB sold the Field of Dreams game a few years ago as something unique and it was a big success, making lots of money in a “small town’’ venue for MLB even though MLB went out of its way at just about the same time to get rid of 42 minor league teams. I will have much more to say on that in a future column and how small towns were affected by that greedy and nasty MLB move but to get back on point: “Hey baseball, how about selling the game as being a unique experience, so unique you want to watch it.’’

And this can be a minor league promotion as well.

Fans, of course, can do this individually, they don’t have to be told to keep the phone in the pocket, they can do it themselves.

Try it, you might like it.

MLB, why not try something different. What have you got to lose? Each team has 81 home games. This might work, especially in ballparks that can’t draw fans anyway because their teams stink. For one game make The Game truly The Show, not a sideshow. Make it a day or night where fans engage in the game. Make it an experience where fans can actually talk to other fans around them without constant music blaring through the overbearing sound system or constant directives like “Make Some Noise!’’

How about making  noise when the action calls for making noise? How about that?

Encourage fans to watch the game and add a little organ music in the background. Make the game The Promotion.

I know that is a radical idea but that is what we do here at BallNine.

And before you can say it can’t be done, have you watched a Padres game this year at Petco Park? No fandom is more engaged in the game than Padre fans. Good for them.

It sure helps that their weather is nearly perfect baseball weather every game, and I know, having spent 10 years in San Diego. I always explained San Diego weather this way: “It’s like living in air conditioning.’’

These Padres fans are engaged in the game not just because of the perfect weather, but because the Padres made moves to become better. The 2025 Padres have responded to the fans’ rapt attention, having won their first 10 home games.

Just from a competitive standpoint, the people running teams should realize an engaged fan base makes for a better team. It all goes hand in hand. To get the fans engaged you have to put a good product on the field, a product that proudly represents the city. There are too many teams like the Pirates, who are so unaware at all leadership levels that they pulled down the one iconic historical marker they had going for them inside PNC Park, the Clemente logo in right field … all to make a few more bucks on an advertisement. It’s back now after the embarrassing incident – but the damage has been done.

The 5-11 Twins have put out a product where runners don’t even pay attention to what the umpire calls and mindlessly walk off a base because they think they are out.

The Marlins are running a minor league system where the Florida State League Jupiter Hammerheads walked 22 opposing batters, not in a series, in one game.

Everywhere you look you can spot teams that have lowered the bar and then throw out a word salad and metrics to try to convince fans they are the smartest people on the baseball planet. They aren’t.

Try Being There.