{"id":7472,"date":"2017-09-30T11:10:57","date_gmt":"2017-09-30T16:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.baseballroundtable.com\/?p=7472"},"modified":"2017-12-15T07:27:17","modified_gmt":"2017-12-15T13:27:17","slug":"bbrt-fan-survey-topics-from-the-ballpark-experience-to-mlb-rules-to-the-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baseballroundtable.com\/bbrt-fan-survey-topics-from-the-ballpark-experience-to-mlb-rules-to-the-hall-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"BBRT Fan Survey – Topics From the Ballpark Experience to MLB Rules to the Hall of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"
This post will focus on the results of Baseball Roundtable’s first-ever fan survey – a 26-question (primarily multiple choice) effort that covered topics from the ballpark and ball game experience to the worthiness of Hall of Fame candidates to MLB rules and how respondents would change the national pastime if they could.\u00a0 The survey drew 141 responses – and I thank each of you for participating.\u00a0 For those reading this post, you might enjoy comparing your opinions to those of fellow fans.\u00a0 Clearly, there is food for thought here. (Many respondents came from groups like Baseball Fans of America, The Baseball Reliquary and the Society for American Baseball Research).<\/p>\n
What BBRT found\u00a0(in general) is that survey respondents:<\/p>\n
Of course, the survey covered much more. I hope you enjoy the read. (Special shout out to Google Forms – great survey tool.)<\/em><\/p>\n —- THE BALL PARK … WHERE AND WHEN RESPONDENTS PREFER TO TAKE IN A GAME —\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Fans are headed out the ballpark – and what kind of atmosphere are they hoping for?\u00a0 Baseball Roundtable Fan Survey respondents indicated they would (slightly) prefer a day game over a night game; have a significant preference for outdoor baseball (We Minnesotans can relate to that one<\/em>); and overhwlemingly prefer natural grass to artificial turf.\u00a0 Here are the details.<\/p>\n Day games were preferred over night games 39.7 percent to 21.3 percent – but it’s significant to note that 39 percent also said they had no preference, and that it would depend on their schedule.\u00a0 (Darn work! They always expect you to show up.)<\/em> <\/a><\/p>\n Just over 70 percent of the respondents preferred an outdoor ballpark. Another 12 percent went for a retractable roof. (Best of both worlds? Perhaps.)<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>Natural Grass – Oh Yeah!<\/strong><\/p>\n Slugger Dick (Richie) Allen once gave this evaluation of artifical turf, “If a horse won’t eat it, I won’t play on it.”\u00a0 The Baseball Roundtable survey respondents feel pretty much the same way. Asked for their preference, an overhwelming 93.6 percent said “Natural Grass;” 5.7 percent had “No Major Preference;” and one lone respondent selected “Artificial Turf.”\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n —- THE OLD BALL GAME—-<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n What kind of game did respondents want to see once they got to the ballyard?\u00a0 Ideally, a competitive contest (slight edge to pitchers’ duels) of about 2 1\/2 hours in length.\u00a0 \u00a0And, when it comes to action – despite today’s hard-throwing\/free swinging trend toward more and more strikeouts and home runs (MLB is setting records for both this season)<\/em> –\u00a0 survey respondents far preferred to see double plays over double whiffs and and were evenly split on the merits of seeing consecutive home runs or consecutive triples.<\/p>\n What follows are the totals for this portion of the survey.<\/p>\n What did respondents see as the ideal length (in time, not innings) for a ballgame?\u00a0 More than one-in-four respondents (28.5 percent) said 2 1\/2 hours is just about right. Notably, a two-hour and 15-minute game was preferred by fewer (4.3 percent) than either a three-hour (8.5 percent) or a 2-hour and 45-minute matchup (8.5 percent).\u00a0 About one-in-six would perfer to go back to the old “two-hours, give-or-take” ball game.\u00a0 The big winner, however, was “Who cares, you’re at the ballpark” – at 38 percent. It appears fans may be spending less time looking at their watches (or cell phone clocks) than we think. (Many are, however, spending plenty of time on their smart phones. Nothing like a selfie or tweet at the ballpark, especially if you are in “hot” foul ball territory.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Here are the answers to the fans’ take on the ideal length of a ball game.<\/p>\n When it comes to choosing between a slugfest, pitchers’ duel or a crushing home team win, it appears just “being at the ballpark” may be rewarding enough for nearly 42 percent of the respondents.\u00a0 Second in the category of what kind of game would fans prefer to see was a tight, low-scoring game at 36.9 percent, more than double the 15.6 percent who would opt for a slugfest.\u00a0 A competitive game was the common denominator, as only 5.7 percent preferred a home team rout.<\/p>\n
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