I took a vacation this past week. I left the cold and blistery Buffalo to go to the cold and blistery New York City. I packed a bag, hopped on a bird, and traveled an hour and a half to the Big Apple. I saw the Broadway Musical "Hell's Kitchen", a semi-autobiographical musical based on the music of Alicia Keys. I had a delicious brunch at the excellently elegant Blue Box Cafe. But the trip's highlight (brace yourselves) was going to a baseball game. It was to see the New York Mets.
Hold on, hear me out.
A.) The Mets are (supposed to be) good this year.
B.) The other events on the trip were incredible experiences and very clearly were the highlights, but I'm crafting a narrative here!
This is why I say that the Mets game was the highlight. Not only are they my favorite sports team, but baseball reminds me of public media.
The game of baseball has stood the test of time. It's America's pastime, after all. The game has grown some legendary talents through its evolution from baggy pants and high stirrups to... baggy pants and high stirrups. From Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and Ted Williams to Mookie Betts, Shohei Otani, and Mike Trout —
Quickly, the top five athletes whose names are associated with animals:
- Mike Trout
- Tiger Woods
- Kobe Bryant
- Wilma Rudolph
- Larry Bird
Where were we? Legendary talents that baseball has produced. That isn't wholly dissimilar to public media. The names that come to mind are names like Fred Rogers, Terry Gross, Judy Woodruff, and Elmo. They are names and figures that have pioneered public media for generations. They entered our homes. We invited them into our hearts. Now, we share them with our community. Much like sports, these are the names of the figures whom we will tell our children's children about. The way we baseball people speak of Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds is the same way we public media supporters will speak of Mr. Rogers and Big Bird.
Baseball and public media have also had to evolve as technology has evolved. Let's start with baseball, shall we?
The natural and traditional way to play the game is with a bat, a ball, and an umpire. As the athletes are getting more... athletic, the more that technology has to play a role. The game is moving much too fast for the human eye. So the game is introducing Hawk-Eye. It's basically a system that players can use to challenge the umpire on strike and ball calls. Back in my day, when the umpire gave a call that you didn't like? You just got in a face and argued about it! Once you got that off your chest, you went back to the dugout, and we finished the game! Or you got thrown out.
But to catch up with the modern-day athlete, the assistance of technology is needed. Also needed? The "A" word that some purists don't like, "analytics." The technology and advanced statistics are SO advanced, they can track things like bat trajectories, walk rates, spin rates, pitch velocity, the list goes on. No longer are just batting average and home runs the base metric (pun intended). With everything being so close, you need some of these stats to differentiate the best from above average.
Still with me? Great, thanks for hanging in there.
Public media have very clearly adapted to the evolution of technology. I don't have to only listen to the radio to hear a story or DVR a program on my television. I can find it online, on YouTube, on social media, or in an app. As we see a major shift into digital, public media need to join the digital movement if we are to survive in a world that leans on being mobile.
With this shift into digital, there is an opportunity to reach even more community and communities. It has the potential to eliminate some of the barriers to information, education, and entertainment. It also has the potential to develop a more modern-day voice. What I mean is, when you see a post or piece of content from a public media entity, it doesn't have to sound like it's wearing a suit and tie (another thing people used to do was go to baseball games in suits). We can have a voice that is relatable to a broader audience. We can have fun, be friendly, be light, be inviting. Adding an emoji in an Instagram post on BTPM PBS is like a bat flip in baseball. Once upon a time, that may have been looked down upon as inappropriate. But now, it's a fun part of the game.
The overarching reason I see baseball and public media overlapping? Both have stood the test of time and have the power to stand the test of time because of us, the people. Showing the next generation or our children an episode of Sesame Street, or listening to a program on NPR, is just like putting on a ball cap and taking the family out to the ball park for a hot dog and baseball. It's those classic and nostalgic moments that are seamed into our memory. Those memories are what make these things last.
So maybe the Mets didn’t win. And maybe the weather in New York wasn’t all that different from Buffalo. But the trip still reminded me why I love what I love — the timelessness of a game, the heart in a story, and the rhythm of voices that rise up from every borough and broadcast to remind us that we’re not just spectators, we’re part of something bigger. Whether it's the soundtrack of Alicia Keys telling her story on stage or Big Bird teaching us the ABCs, or even a bat cracking in the distance — these are the things that stay with us.
Public media and baseball might not always win every game. But they show up. They evolve. And they keep us connected to who we are, where we’ve been, and what we still dream to be.
The Mets lost, by the way. But hey — this is still our year.