Just Asking

“Try and work in ‘head-butting’ like the World Cup.”

“Extend the story of the all-star players in other forms of media. Leverage those stories and assets in short [biographical] films [that can be distributed] virally on MLB.com and Youtube.com. Sort of like living, breathing baseball cards.” —Doug Scott,

executive director, branded content and entertainment, Ogilvy & Mather, New York

“I thought the All-Star Game and festivities around it—the home-run competition and tribute to Roberto Clemente—supported the league really well. The only other thing I would have recommended is a Barry Bonds dunk tank to be offered to a few lucky fans before the game.” —Brian Morris, CEO, Dailey & Associates, West Hollywood, Calif.

“MLB should consider introducing some fun. New challenges that test real-game skills and situations such as a fastest pitch competition, a best outfield arm contest, or even a fastest man competition where they clock base stealers with a live pitcher and catcher on the mound.” “All-star drug testing, post-game.” —Richard Linnett, co-director, MPG Entertainment, New York

“I always thought they did a pretty good job promoting it. The Home-run Derby has been interesting. It’s an exciting event. I think [the publicity] is just about right. I wouldn’t want to over-publicize it.” “Concentrate the fan voting on a particular day and make a live TV event out of the selection. American Idol meets “Super Tuesday” meets MLB. Commentary provided by Bud Selig, Bob Uecker and Simon Cowell.” “They’ve already done something by making the winning league of the All-Star game gain home field advantage for the World Series. No other All-Star game has that consequence or advantage. The day before and the day after the game are the only days of the year where there are no other major sporting events. So there’s definitely an opportunity for them to do more.”. —