“MLB’s DuPuy turns to blogging for the WBC” by Katie Bell. vol. 8, iss. 44, pg. 7

After three unsuccessful attempts, president of MLB Advanced Media, Bob Bowman, finally convinced MLB President Bob DuPuy to create a blog for the World Baseball Classic. Bowman thought the blogs might help put a positive face on the much-debated WBC after numerous unsuccessful attempts by both MLB and the players’ union. The blogs will provide a behind-the-scenes look at baseball’s debut attempt at staging a global championship tournament. DuPuy also talks about MLB’s reasoning behind the schedule and organization of the event as well as reflections on crowd reactions at each game. I think this is a very good idea. Every other attempt has failed so far, so it couldn’t hurt to try blogging. Fans can simply get on the Internet and read what the president of MLB has to say. If they are unsure of the reasoning for something, whether it’d be a team’s schedule or a stadium lease, they can read what DuPuy has to say and they are able to respond to it. Not surprisingly, his blogs have been very popular already. After just a short time, his blogs have drawn more than 550,000 page views. Some of the initial fan reactions have been negative, such as the issue involving the stadium lease debate in Washington, D.C., but once the Nationals’ stadium matter was settled, the fan comments became more positive. As of now, there are no plans to continue the blogs after the end of the tournament, but I think it is something they should consider. As Bowman said, it is an incredible asset for them, getting that inside look at the Classic. Fans love getting that inside view of things. I understand DuPuy is a busy man and it is probably hard for him to find time to keep up with the blogs, but it has been very popular with MLB fans. Even if DuPuy does not want to continue the blogs after the tournament, I think they should consider finding someone else to do similar blogs in the future.