As someone who spent the better part of a decade working for a successful minor league hockey team, I know that it’s not easy working in a pro sports front office – especially when you’re on top at the box office and in the standings.
One of the most valuable lessons I learned was that no matter how successful your organization gets, you always need to listen to your audience and when it’s possible. always do the right thing. A free pair of tickets here or a free t-shirt there doesn’t mean a whole lot financially in the long run and if that small gesture is appreciated and keeps that fan coming back after they feel like they’ve been wronged, it can mean a lot.
The best organizations seek these fires out before they happen and are proactive. There’s a reason why clubs win awards for great customer service and have loyalty beyond belief. Even a cynic like myself saw what just a little compassion and a eye for helping out can do for long-term fan loyalty.
Sadly, most teams in this era are driven solely by the dollar collected in the now and don’t see that big picture of ‘paying it forward’. On Wednesday, the Red Sox – an organization that has made a tremendous effort to improve the fan experience – had an opportunity to really go above and beyond, but didn’t. Instead, they stayed content with a packed house that had already paid their money to get in and were going to spend more anyway.
As the lineups for Wednesday’s game were announced, you could hear audible groans from across the Nation as our heroes like Pedroia, Youkilis and Bay were replaced by names like Gathright, Kotchman and Woodward. As the Sox had celebrated another postseason appearance thanks to Texas the night before, manager Terry Francona decided to give the regulars a well-deserved game off.
That’s not the issue. A manager has to worry about what’s best for the team, not for the fans. Allowing the outside world to influence on-field decisions can have disastrous results and implications. Having said that, you have to feel for the people who make it down to Fenway Park for one game a year to see the dregs of the lineup in there.
It’s an unfortunate coincidence and a hazard of going to a game that late in the season. I don’t have kids, but would hate to have to attempt to explain to my son or daughter why their heroes aren’t on the field. But that’s life and letdowns happen.
But here’s where management could have stepped up.
The afore-mentioned playoff celebration was done behind closed doors as Boston couldn’t punch their postseason ticket on their own and needed helped to do so in the late, late hours of Tuesday night. Normally, a berth to the playoffs ‘won’ at home elicits some in-stadium celebration with the fans watching on and celebrating in their own. But this time – due to the time of night, the nature of the win and the team decision – that team celebration was done with no media and no fans.
In other words, the fans were shut out of something they deserved to enjoy as well. There’s a lot of commitment being a baseball fan, but again, letdowns happens.
So given that scenario above and then knowing the equivalent of a AAAA team was going to be on the field hours prior to the game, management should have done something to make it right. People paid top dollar to go to the game and while management couldn’t control who went on the field, they have full reign with what happens once that ticket is scanned in. Instead, they did nothing.
It could have been a one-night only deep discount on merchandise or $1 hot dogs all night or some other gesture that financially would have been appreciated and noticed. Would they have taken a hit on the nightly take? Sure, but hey, letdowns happen, right? There’s going to be a few playoff games where they will make it back.
Simply put, there was a right thing to do Wednesday night and they just chose not to do it.
You do get into a slippery slope situation where you don’t want to set a precedent that this is going to be the case every year. Every time a lackluster lineup is out there, ownership can’t just financially apologize as that’s way too subjective to legislate.
But Wednesday was different as you had the perfect excuse: the missed celebration the night before. Call it a playoff party and do something that makes it a special night to be there, no matter what lineup is on the field. It’s shouldn’t be a news flash here, but sometimes just going to Fenway isn’t enough – especially when the team on the field manages just a few hits and gets destroyed which was the real mule kick to the night.
Like I said before, working in sports isn’t the easiest thing to do. But sometimes the right decisions have to be made. On the field? That hasn’t been a problem for the Boston Red Sox. Off the field? There’s clearly still a lot of work to be done.
Josh Nason is the main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog on the MVN Network. Reach him via Twitter or josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].
Small White Ball...a boston sports blog 
Good points…this reminds me of the time that I purchased tickets for my dad’s birthday about 5 years ago. We drove down, paid extra to park since it was a day game and saw Curt Schilling sit with a sore something or other and watched Abe Alvarez pitch. That’s the same Abe Alvarez we saw pitch 5 days earlier at the Sea Dogs game in Portland at roughly 1/20th the same price.
They lost both games…
Purchasing a ticket for a September 30th game at Fenway is a high risk/high reward venture. Some times you get lucky and witness the excitement of a playoff race, sometimes you see Joey Gathright lead off.
Also, in reference to the 7/22/04 doubleheader against the Orioles, it is not uncommon for a minor league pitcher to be called up for a spot start. Sometimes it is Abe Alvarez allowing eight hits, sometimes it is Clay Bucholz allowing none. All part of the game.