Minor-league baseball on TV? Would you watch?

Good column by Salon.com's King Kaufman about the feasibility of a minor-leageu game of the week focusing on player development, including a studio show about top prospects (and not tear-jerkers about "childhood illness").

Gotta say he's onto something -- ESPN and Baseball America could pair up to create something really, really good:

http://www.salon.com/sports/col/kaufman/2007/06/26/tuesday/

 

If we can have little league and college baseball on tv, we can certainly have minor-league ball. I don't watch little league. I watch college...and I'd enjoy the minors on TV. But I'm more into baseball than most sports fanboys...don't know how good an idea this is from a broader programming perspective.

 

I'd watch college if we got it up here north of the border. I'd certainly watch minor league ball too.

 

Anything's better than a "Die Hard"-themed SportsCenter

 

On FSN here in Texas, I've seen the Frisco Roughridres and Corpus Christi Hooks of the Texas League two or three times lately.

 

I think, if there is any market out there for this, it's for independent-league ball rather than the minors.

The minors have could-bes, wannabes.

The independent clubs tend to have a little more name recognition, a player or two who put in some major-league time.

When I talk about minor league prospects with our baseball writers in the sports department, everyone else's eyes glaze over. They have absolutely no interest. And that's in a sports department.

 

Some regional cable stations (like Comcast's CN8 in Philly) airs a handful of minor league games a year. If done right, a weekly minor league baseball program could succeed. Possibly have the show divided into four segments -- one for AAA, one for AA, one for A, and one that would have a rotating theme (fantasy impact in the coming seasons, potential call-ups, which league/level is best for rehab assignments, which pro team has the deepest farm system, prospects with most trade value, sleeper prospects, etc.)

Also have a minor league game of the week on -- a AA or AAA contest.

 

I still think Division-2 football should play in the summer. They would get TV contracts. Football fans would watch. I do like the idea of minor league baseball on TV.

 

Having the draft on TV could also make minor league games on TV more viable. The general public has a better idea who the top prospects are now then it did even a few years ago.

 

Isn't the AAA All-Star game on TV? Or did ESPN toss that aside for another night of poker re-runs?

 

I don't like saying it, jake; I'm a baseball geek. But the general public does not, and will not, care.

 

I wouldn't watch a game of the week, but would probbaly watch a "This Week in Baseball" type show on the minors.