The Hindu : Sport : ‘Cricket and baseball share similarities’

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Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008
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‘Cricket and baseball share similarities’

Sports Reporter

— Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

A DIFFERENT VIEW: Jonathan Mariner, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Major League Baseball, USA (right) and Mrs. Mariner during the introduction of the ‘touchme’ giant screen on Tuesday.

Chennai: Jonathan Mariner, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Major League Baseball, said that India was right behind China as a potential market for baseball.

“Cricket and baseball share a lot of similarities, so there is a co-relation that we are looking to explore in the future,” he told The Hindu.

Mariner was in the city in his role as the board member of Technology Frontiers (I) Pvt. Ltd.

Exclusive rights

The Chennai-based company had secured the exclusive rights for installing giant screens in the three venues — Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kanpur — for the India-South Africa Test series, and also for LED digital ground boards at the venues.

The giant screens will display live action replays of boundaries and sixes, dismissals, third umpire decisions, highlights and real-time score displays.

The LED ground boards will be installed and managed on the boundary ropes providing Dynamic Content Display of the sponsors and special moments.

“The idea is to give stadium crowds the same experience as the television audience, like it is done in baseball,” said Mr. Mariner.

“Digital boards are being used in the English Premier League.

“The integrated LED display screens of the company were used in WTA and ATP tennis events,” said M.S. Muralidharan, MD, Technology Frontiers. Mariner will play an advisory role in the company, using his 15-year experience in Major League Baseball to offer inputs on business, sports psychology and sponsorship, while trying to bring in a broader perspective.

Having spent considerable time in professional baseball, a set-up, that the IPL is looking to mirror, Mariner stressed on the universal role of sport in business.

Original reality show

“People see sport as a great promoter of business across the world, in all countries. Sport is the original reality TV and provides escape, entertainment and appeals to a lot of younger people,” he said.

While cricket was going the baseball way through the IPL, a baseball event on an international scale was attempted recently.

The ability to bring people together, said Mariner, was one of the reasons cricket enjoyed the popularity it did.

“I’ve seen how popular cricket is in India, and how it unites peoples.

“We have a tournament similar to the World Cup in cricket, called the World Baseball Classics, where league players represent their countries. The response was phenomenal, with people cheering passionately for their sides.”

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