I think this is the first time I’ve seen a condensed game like this on the Marquee YouTube channel and I absolutely love it. Production value is through the roof and the editing is top notch. And at 8 minutes and 24 seconds, we’re in the sweetspot of content duration for baseball highlights. Too short and you don’t get any of the meaty strategy. Too long and you’re unnecessarily dragging the highlights into lunch time, and at that point I might as well just watch the full game.
8-12 minutes is the perfect length and I hope we get these in the regular season.
Only problem is that MLB has the strangest digital media rules. They used to be more strict on how content is made/shared, but it’s still an archaic process that’s rooted in the owners having collective control over the MLB Media company. And needless to say, they’re dinosaur-morons who got lapped 10 times over during the digitalization of sports content, and they’ve been scrambling in the public eye ever since.
For example – you can’t post your own clips to social media. I can’t technically record/share a clip on my phone of the Cubs hitting a grand slam without violating their content policy. And extending it to the team, they have rules on what (and how much) they’re allowed to share during and after games. And if you need another example, look no further than MLB’s absurd blackout rules that force families in Iowa to invest in Chinese VPN protections all so they can watch Craig Counsell fumble another close 8th inning.
I think it would be more practical to follow the NBA approach of letting anyone anywhere use the content as they see fit with the exception of a live broadcast. Like how the Grateful Dead created a taping section in 1984 to accommodate advances in recording technology without compromising the concert-going experience for fans. They found a middle ground that suited everybody and as a result, about 2/3 of their live music has been preserved in some reusable form.
All of this to say that I enjoy these condensed games from Marquee YouTube and I hope they become a regular piece of content in 2025. And if they’re not, just call a gambling sponsor and slap some branding on the intro/outro. 162 of these is probably worth $3M in exclusive advertising, and we could use that money to pay down some of the debt service on the Ricketts real estate portfolio. Or maybe even upgrade the mustard dispensers on the concourse?
A man can dream.
Have a nice day.