The Exit Ramp!

Greetings Baseball Bloggers:

The Exit Ramp is current as of today, May 18, 2009.

Number for today: 46,572.

Maniac Monday. Thirsty Thursday. Sabermetric Sunday???

Not feel like going to a ballgame tonight? What if there were free hot dogs? Or a t-shirt giveaway with your favorite team's logo on the front and 'Pepsi' on the sleeve? No? If that won't get you out from in front of your laptop and make you gather up your wife, girlfriend, and 2.1 children and pay $35 a ticket, then maybe this will.

Wa..wait.You haven't left have you? Oh well, maybe you can read this at the game instead.

Go ahead. Wait until the third inning and crack open your Mac and we'll continue. You'll need your computer anyways to track the box scores anymore, as well as order your first margarita (remember, you're the one driving, Dad). Or maybe not.

And, if you've moved forward into the SmartPhone generation of cell phone users, you can go to the ballpark and receive all the perks of being a baseball techie without bringing along any extra baggage (well, besides the wife, girlfriend, and 2.1 kids). And yes, you can still bring your glove.

In San Francisco, former owner Peter McGowan made a written remark in late 2007 aimed at those in the Giants organization directly involved in the telecommunications at, aptly named, AT&T Park. Since then, the park has moved forward from the analog switch and created its own Wi-Fi network that gives logged on users, for a price, the ability to find specific delicacies and see replays of calls 'allowed' by the t-comm system administrators. This advancement could be essential for the iPhone user at Wrigley and Fenway, but at Chase Field, you wouldn't need a second look; it's already screamed at you in HD on a screen 136 feet wide by 46 feet tall.

Not all these upgrades will keep the average taxpayer (is there such a thing anymore?) coming to the ballpark. It may get them to fork over the $2 price tag for use of the network, but they may just might as well check their e-mail and read this blog rather than check who is warming their arm in the bullpen. Sure, the pop-up capabilities are there but consumers have practically become immune to pop-up ads the way they are to small pox.

So while so many Major League stadiums are catering to those inside the ballpark, where is the creative promotion selling something other than a church group night? We need these now, as it's not like it was when Jackie Robinson commanded a crowd of 46,572 when the Dodgers visited the Cubs for an 18-inning affair on this date.

I'm not saying that attendance is suffering, because it's not. I'm only saying that franchises are looking at cost-cutting moves (main reason McGowan wrote his memo in the first place) without sacrificing the 'experience' that sums up the raising ticket prices.

And in San Francisco, one of the more eco-friendly cities in this country, why not stop pushing paper products and start promoting wireless access to not only the internet, but also the ballpark, especially when it should cost less for the franchise over the long-term.

The advent of the SmartPhone should allow for the capability to 'beam' your ticket to the ticket-takers and never have to tear anything and throw it away. There are turnstiles with the 'beam' feature, for security reasons, and they could serve a combined purpose of keeping lines moving and patrons safe.

Now, getting fans to the ballpark when the team isn't winning can be difficult and, depending on how bad, could lead to many $1 hot dog nights. Not that's there is anything wrong with that, but for the true baseball fan who is there to watch the game, learn the players, and track the pitch counts, those things don't matter.

They're our stats and we want 'em now!

Send us ticket vouchers two hours before the game starts. We may just go. Have local restaurants' coupons sent to me in the 8th inning. Aren't selling as many programs as you'd like? Send a discounted rate to us for purchasing programs of the entire season, directly to us on our phones. Even if we don't attend the game.

That's the power of the network.