A video leaked last week that included the audio of an old argument between former Mets manager Terry Collins and a Major League Baseball umpiring crew chief got folks talking.
We were fascinated. We wanted more. We were on the edge of our seats, right where baseball wants us.
Naturally, baseball slammed the door in our faces.
The video disappeared and we were informed by Major League Commissioner Rob Manfred that we are not supposed to witness such things, as it violated an agreement with the umpires to not release audio of the men in blue.
Here was an example of something baseball fans devoured, something that could have created a discussion about finding a way to maximize content that clearly has an audience. Yet baseball's gut instinct was to run the other way.
Baseball, the beautiful game, has some problems.
And we're not talking about the fabricated ones, like the fraudulent panic about too many mound visits.
It's that surface-level, silly stuff — like the notion of speeding up games by starting a runner on second base when a game reaches extra innings — that seems to draw attention away from topics that are truly worth discussing.
The attendance dip is worth discussing.
It has Manfred's attention.
"We are concerned there's something to it more than weather," he told reporters from last week's owners meetings in New York.
Sound the alarms.
Who knows what the tinker-prone commissioner might come up with to remedy a slide that has made national news.
Here's hoping he doesn't avoid the obvious.
Because as much as Manfred seems intent on introducing changes, he often seems unwilling to address what is crystal clear to his game's consumers.
Many factors contribute to the rise and fall of attendance numbers. But there can't be a bigger one than non-competitive and flat-out tanking teams. Too many teams have become too easy to tune out.
Numbers crunched by Stats LLC and reported by The Wall Street Journal show league-wide attendance is tracking at a decline of 6 to 7 percent compared to this point last season.
If the current pace holds, the drop would mark the biggest percentage decline since fans in 1995 responded to the strike of 1994.
The unseasonably bad weather across the country that accompanied the start of the season is partly to blame. It caused a rash of postponements. It forced a number of games to be played in cold temperatures that made it much easier to watch from home.
But blaming the numbers solely on the weather is becoming harder the longer the decline persists.
While Manfred is concerned, he stopped short of connecting obvious dots. Bad teams are seeing the worst drop-offs.
Entering Tuesday's games, eight teams were more than 14 games behind in their respective divisions. Not surprisingly, Miami (-14.5 games back), Toronto (-16), Kansas City (-17) and Baltimore (-28.5) have witnessed some of the biggest attendance declines.
Frustrated Cardinals fans sometimes threaten to stop attending games, but a check on the count at Busch Stadium found things to be in good shape. Vice president of ticket sales Joe Strohm said attendance, at this moment, is down "just a hair." But after selling just more than 3.4 million tickets last season, the Cardinals are tracking to sell between 3.3 and 3.4 million once again this season.
The Cardinals do not publicize their turnstile numbers, but Strohm said the number of no-shows, on average, have decreased compared to last season's average.
The Cardinals, to their credit, were early adopters of the dynamic pricing model that reacts to the demand for tickets. They lure fans to the ballpark with a spectrum of promotional giveaways. Most importantly, they field competitive teams, this often-frustrating one included, at least so far.
Offered a chance to come out swinging against teams that are racing to the bottom with hopes for success down the line, Manfred has always passed. Instead, the commissioner has cited the "negative publicity" surrounding tanking teams.
Sorry, Commish.
Pointing fingers at the media coverage won't help. Fans have better ways to spend their money than by watching bad baseball. Even if their team tanks right, like the Cubs and Astros, the empty seats will be waiting when the momentum turns.
Until baseball finds a way to reward competitive teams, or punish the ones that don't mind losing, there will be clubs that repel fans at home and on the road.
Is tanking the only factor? Of course not.
A frigid offseason zapped some interest, though that can be traced to tanking as well.
The rise of strikeouts, the increase of defensive shifts and the launch-angle revolution have led to games that lack action.
And games are often too long, though rarely will anyone discuss cutting into TV commercial time (go figure).
None of these topics are more toxic than tanking. Five or more teams might lose 100-plus games this season.
The proper reaction to the leaked video of Collins should have been a realization that fans want to feel closer to the game.
And the right reaction to the attendance slide should be the confirmation that bad baseball makes it very easy to stay away.
