Effectively Wild Episode 1542: The Players’ PR Handicap

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the announcement of a second Astros sign-stealing documentary and what they would want out of a sign-stealing docuseries, the ongoing negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA about starting the season, the public perception problems the players face, the way the media has covered the financial component of the talks, the long-term effects of 2020 on what baseball will look like, fake crowd noise on baseball broadcasts, and a Scott Boras rocket analogy. Then (56:03) they talk to Greg Bouris, the director of communications for the MLB Players Association from 1999 to 2018, about whether public opinion matters in labor relations, how the union tries to educate players and keep their comments consistent, the benefits and drawbacks of social media messaging, how to make the players’ case more persuasive to fans, how he would frame the players’ side of the dispute in the current climate, the likelihood of a future work stoppage, the growth of non-attendance-related revenue, and more.

Audio intro: Albert Hammond Jr., "Rocket"
Audio interstitial: Midnight Oil, "Read About It"
Audio outro: The Only Ones, "Re-Union"

Link to Joe Buck on fake crowd noise
Link to Jeff Passan on baseball’s financial battle
Link to Snell’s Twitch comments
Link to Doolittle’s first Twitter thread
Link to Doolittle’s second Twitter thread
Link to Craig Edwards on team TV revenue
Link to Craig Edwards on the MLB-MLBPA negotiations
Link to Craig Goldstein on the MLB-MLBPA negotiations
Link to Ben on Lords of the Realm
Link to Scott Boras comments
Link to Meg’s rocket doodle
Link to Power X Communications website
Link to order The MVP Machine

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