[Leftcoast]

On Friday my workplace, a typical Silicon Valley start-up, hosted a group event at the Oakland As vs Texas Rangers game attended by ~40 folks, mostly in the 25-35 age range.  (Yes, that made me the oldest person there!)

Everyone had fun but it was shocking how little people understood the game.  Most could follow balls/strikes but any nuances went over their heads.  Sample questions - Why is he out when he wasn't tagged? (Force out at 2nd base on attempted DP);  Why does the scoreboard show ERA for that player and batting average for everyone else? And what's ERA? (Pitcher vs Position Player);  He hit the ball and but it doesn't count as a hit?  Why? (Pop fly to centerfield). What's the significance of the "Holy Toledo" sign in centerfield and why does it light up after home runs?

This being the A's someone reached first on dropped 3rd swinging strike.  The catcher threw the ball to the first baseman who whiffed on the catch.  Of course, this blew everyone's minds and left the five of us who knew the rule explaining this for the rest of the inning.  Later a ball got momentarily caught against the right field padding on a long hit which the refs later ruled a ground rule double after a video review. A run was waved off and the runner returned to 3rd. More minds blown and we were explaining that well into the next inning.

I walked away believing that baseball needs to change the fan experience to better explain to folks what is going on.  A large percentage of the rising age groups is very confused by the sport.

(Despite all of the above it was a great night out - The As aren't a very good team but the seats were great, the game was in question until the final pitch, and bad teams tend to let you see plays you've rarely seen before.)

[Leftcoast]

On Friday my workplace, a typical Silicon Valley start-up, hosted a group event at the Oakland As vs Texas Rangers game attended by ~40 folks, mostly in the 25-35 age range.  (Yes, that made me the oldest person there!)

Everyone had fun but it was shocking how little people understood the game.  Most could follow balls/strikes but any nuances went over their heads.  Sample questions - Why is he out when he wasn't tagged? (Force out at 2nd base on attempted DP);  Why does the scoreboard show ERA for that player and batting average for everyone else? And what's ERA? (Pitcher vs Position Player);  He hit the ball and but it doesn't count as a hit?  Why? (Pop fly to centerfield). What's the significance of the "Holy Toledo" sign in centerfield and why does it light up after home runs?

This being the A's someone reached first on dropped 3rd swinging strike.  The catcher threw the ball to the first baseman who whiffed on the catch.  Of course, this blew everyone's minds and left the five of us who knew the rule explaining this for the rest of the inning.  Later a ball got momentarily caught against the right field padding on a long hit which the refs later ruled a ground rule double after a video review. A run was waved off and the runner returned to 3rd. More minds blown and we were explaining that well into the next inning.

I walked away believing that baseball needs to change the fan experience to better explain to folks what is going on.  A large percentage of the rising age groups is very confused by the sport.

(Despite all of the above it was a great night out - The As aren't a very good team but the seats were great, the game was in question until the final pitch, and bad teams tend to let you see plays you've rarely seen before.)