{"id":3216,"date":"2013-10-02T06:53:13","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T10:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=3216"},"modified":"2013-10-02T06:53:13","modified_gmt":"2013-10-02T10:53:13","slug":"the-old-ball-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/10\/the-old-ball-game\/","title":{"rendered":"The Old Ball Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Baseball_BandW\"In light of my recent posts about mission (The Buggy Whip Lesson: Recognizing a Mission Crisis<\/a>, The Metamission of Arts Institutions<\/a>), Sept. 29th’s New York Times Op-Ed piece on baseball was fascinating. (“Is the Game Over?<\/a>” by Jonathan Mahler) I found myself reading it and channeling discussions about the future of the arts into it. There are many points of overlap between Mr. Mahler’s analysis of Major League Baseball and the state of affairs in the arts industry.<\/p>\n

Here are just a few quotations:<\/p>\n

As crazy as it sounds, baseball was once celebrated for its speed. . . . Mark Twain called it a symbol of \u201cthe drive and push and rush and struggle of the raging, tearing, booming 19th century!\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The point, of course, is that society has changed and, in the context of 21st-Century life, baseball is no longer seen as a fast-paced sport. As I said in a much earlier post (Things Change<\/a>), “[B]efore the 20th Century, the loudest thing typical people ever heard (by far) was a symphony orchestra. No machines, no cars, certainly no jet airplanes. So the effect of hearing a large orchestra playing fort\u00e9 (or fortissimo!) in an auditorium must have been mind-boggling rather than merely entertaining.” The arts are still powerful, but, because of the ways the world has changed, they are not as viscerally overwhelming as they were in the past.<\/p>\n

[B]etween 1961 and 1998, the number of franchises almost doubled. You might think that spreading baseball across the country would be good for the game, and in some ways it was: more franchises equaled more spectators. In the process, though, a lot of teams wound up in cities without deep roots in the game.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The proliferation of arts organizations (local arts agencies\u2013arts service LAA’s\u2013as well as arts organizations) fueled by the NEA (among other factors) in the period from 1965-1980 was even more explosive.<\/p>\n

Baseball\u2019s never-ending nostalgia trip has made it an inherently conservative sport . . . .<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The focus on great (European) works of the past at the expense of contemporary work or work rooted in cultural expressions more familiar to newer members of society similarly makes many of our institutions seem to be highly conservative bastions. In addition, our artcentricity precludes us from addressing the interests of “non-believers.” This is a bit like the baseball world’s obsession with statistics. Indeed, I had been thinking about writing a post entitled “Inside Baseball” about the difficulty outsiders have in feeling welcomed into the arts establishment. (From Wikipedia\u2013forgive me academic colleagues: “‘[I]nside baseball’ refers to a detail-oriented approach to the minutiae of a subject, which in turn requires such a specific knowledge about what is being discussed that the nuances are not understood or appreciated by outsiders.”)<\/p>\n

With its 162-game season, it was the default sport; there was always a baseball game on. There still is, it\u2019s just that now there are so many alternatives.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The point that people have many alternatives to the programming we offer is a fairly widely-shared understanding. However, we can’t afford to ignore the very real implications of that truth.<\/p>\n

\u201c[B]randing\u201d is undignified for our national pastime.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This observation recognizes that we might need to do things differently in communicating with the public if we want to reach the public. (Tip-of-the-hat to Trevor O’Donnell<\/a>,)<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Mr. Mahler’s conclusion represents a bit of wishful thinking that’s not helpful for us:<\/p>\n

Yes, [baseball]’s quiet and slow, but if you hang in there, through all of the pitching changes and batting-glove adjustments, you might get caught up in the drama. If you don\u2019t, there\u2019s plenty else to watch.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There’s a whistling in the dark quality to that even though there is an acknowledgement in the last sentence that there may be trouble. It’s the trouble for the future of the arts industry that concerns me. (I don’t have any skin in the game re: baseball.) The parallels to Mr. Mahler’s analysis of the situation in baseball are fairly striking. For us in the arts, change is necessary: change that seeks broader and deeper relationships with the communities in which we work.<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

Photo: \"Attribution\"\"Noncommercial\"\"No<\/a> Some rights reserved<\/a> by Boston Public Library<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In light of my recent posts about mission (The Buggy Whip Lesson: Recognizing a Mission Crisis, The Metamission of Arts Institutions), Sept. 29th’s New York Times Op-Ed piece on baseball was fascinating. (“Is the Game Over?” by Jonathan Mahler) I found myself reading it and channeling discussions about the future of the arts into it. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The Old Ball Game: Lessons for the arts from the shifting sands beneath the sport's feet. http:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-PS","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[12,13,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-3216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-overview","7":"tag-arts","8":"tag-community-engagement","9":"tag-mission","10":"entry","11":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-PS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1991,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/09\/lessons-from-the-ballpark\/","url_meta":{"origin":3216,"position":0},"title":"Lessons from the Ballpark","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Blogging comes with an \u201coccupational\u201d hazard. Everything you do ends up having the potential for becoming a blog post, often when you least expect it. (Wait until you see the upcoming essay that began at a Jimmy Buffett concert!) Last month I was minding my own business attending a minor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/WS_DashNightGame-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5720,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2019\/10\/mission-creep\/","url_meta":{"origin":3216,"position":1},"title":"Mission Creep??!!","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"If connecting people with the arts represents \"mission creep\" for your organization, your organization needs to seriously re-examine it's mission.","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Mission.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3236,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/10\/trading-in-the-studebaker\/","url_meta":{"origin":3216,"position":2},"title":"Trading in the Studebaker","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Frequent readers of this blog know that I am in the midst of a series of posts dealing with core mission in the arts. (The Buggy Whip Lesson: Recognizing a Mission Crisis, The Metamission of Arts Institutions, The Old Ball Game, Examining the Mission Model) I've discussed many aspects of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Studebaker-Cropped","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Studebaker-Cropped-300x143.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3784,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/08\/improving-lives-vs-arts-mission\/","url_meta":{"origin":3216,"position":3},"title":"Improving Lives “vs.” Arts Mission ??!!","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"August 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"If arts organizations' missions are not, centrally, about making lives better, what *is* their purpose?","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Seattle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Seattle.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3161,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/10\/examining-the-mission-model\/","url_meta":{"origin":3216,"position":4},"title":"Examining the “Mission Model”","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the past five to ten years, much discussion has taken place about the need for revised business models for the arts industry. On the expense side this comes from recognition of the labor cost challenges faced by the performing arts and the capital cost struggles of edifice-centered organizations (museums\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MissionMotel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/MissionMotel-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2811,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/04\/engaged-mission-iii\/","url_meta":{"origin":3216,"position":5},"title":"Engaged Mission: III","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019d like to take a different approach to consideration of mission in this post from the previous two. This one is less directly about the relationship between mission and community engagement (although two of the examples deal, very explicitly, with that). 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