Smart Ball

Marketing the Myth and Managing the Reality of Major League Baseball

Nonfiction, Sports, Baseball, History, Reference, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Popular Culture
Cover of the book Smart Ball by Robert F. Lewis, University Press of Mississippi
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert F. Lewis ISBN: 9781604732177
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi Publication: December 8, 2009
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi Language: English
Author: Robert F. Lewis
ISBN: 9781604732177
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Publication: December 8, 2009
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Language: English

Smart Ball follows Major League Baseball's history as a sport, a domestic monopoly, a neocolonial power, and an international business. MLB's challenge has been to market its popular mythology as the national pastime with pastoral, populist roots while addressing the management challenges of competing with other sports and diversions in a burgeoning global economy.

Baseball researcher Robert F. Lewis II argues that MLB for years abused its legal insulation and monopoly status through arrogant treatment of its fans and players and static management of its business. As its privileged position eroded eroded in the face of increased competition from other sports and union resistance, it awakened to its perilous predicament and began aggressively courting athletes and fans at home and abroad.

Using a detailed marketing analysis and applying the principles of a "smart power" model, the author assesses MLB's progression as a global business brand that continues to appeal to a consumer's sense of an idyllic past in the midst of a fast-paced, and often violent, present.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Smart Ball follows Major League Baseball's history as a sport, a domestic monopoly, a neocolonial power, and an international business. MLB's challenge has been to market its popular mythology as the national pastime with pastoral, populist roots while addressing the management challenges of competing with other sports and diversions in a burgeoning global economy.

Baseball researcher Robert F. Lewis II argues that MLB for years abused its legal insulation and monopoly status through arrogant treatment of its fans and players and static management of its business. As its privileged position eroded eroded in the face of increased competition from other sports and union resistance, it awakened to its perilous predicament and began aggressively courting athletes and fans at home and abroad.

Using a detailed marketing analysis and applying the principles of a "smart power" model, the author assesses MLB's progression as a global business brand that continues to appeal to a consumer's sense of an idyllic past in the midst of a fast-paced, and often violent, present.

More books from University Press of Mississippi

Cover of the book We End in Joy by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Return to Guntown by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Teaching the Works of Eudora Welty by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Beyond Paradise by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Bashert by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book World War I and Southern Modernism by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Creole Trombone by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Conversations with Ron Rash by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Made in Mexico by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book The Superhero Reader by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book A Vulgar Art by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Black Intellectual Thought in Modern America by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Obituaries in American Culture by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Ghost Hunters of the South by Robert F. Lewis
Cover of the book Comics, Trauma, and the New Art of War by Robert F. Lewis
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy