I feel like New York is my community…I want to be active in my community and Mastercard’s helping with that.
—C.C. Sabathia, former MLB pitcher and Mastercard spokesman
Sure, there were a few minutes where we’d catch Jojo Siwa taking an at-bat or Skylar Astin hitting a home run with the type of power he never displayed in Pitch Perfect. But leading up to Monday’s Home Run Derby, our back was to batting practice as we spoke with Sabathia about why he’d chosen to work with Mastercard during his retirement and what made him use his big-brand connections to help small businesses like Harlem Cycle.
“I feel like New York is my community, and to deal with some of the small businesses in the Bronx is a dream come true,” Sabathia said. “I want to be active in my community and Mastercard’s helping with that.”
During the derby itself, we were in MLB’s suite speaking with CMO Karin Timpone about the impact of the week’s events on the league’s marketing—pausing briefly to watch the Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez hit a record-setting 41 home runs in a round.
Afterward, Timpone noted that Rodriguez’s at-bat, his role as an ambassador in various brands’ All-Star promotions throughout Seattle and his interactions with other celebrities—including Daddy Yankee—made him the embodiment of the league’s marketing plans.
“When we think about our marketing strategy, it’s really all about fan growth: Getting as many fans to get close to the game as we possibly can,” Timpone said. “We spent a lot of time with our agency Wieden+Kennedy helping us build a brand platform to talk about it.”
Through the start of All-Star Week on June 7, MLB’s average attendance was up more than 8% from 2022, with 2.8 million more fans going to games than a year earlier. Of baseball’s 30 teams, 23 have seen attendance increase this year. Viewership on regional sports networks increased 3%, with MLB TV viewing up 9% overall. More importantly, viewership among those under age 35 has increased 14%, with 86% of those 18-34 saying they’re more likely to watch games with a pitch clock, larger bases and other rule changes enacted this year.
Some of that slightly younger audience was in attendance when Adweek met up with T-Mobile representatives at the company’s Derby After Dark event at Showbox SoDo. The magenta-neon-lit event featured Anderson Paak spinning vinyl as his alter ego DJ Pee Wee and Nelly playing two decades’ worth of hits to a crowd that included broadcaster Harold Reynolds and Derby participants Rodriguez and Mookie Betts.