• Smart Ball

  • Marketing the Myth and Managing the Reality of Major League Baseball
  • By: Robert F. Lewis II
  • Narrated by: Scotty Drake
  • Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars (4 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Smart Ball  By  cover art

Smart Ball

By: Robert F. Lewis II
Narrated by: Scotty Drake
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Smart Ball follows Major League Baseball's history as a sport, a domestic monopoly, a neocolonial power, and an international business. MLB's challenge has been to market its popular mythology as the national pastime with pastoral, populist roots while addressing the management challenges of competing with other sports and diversions in a burgeoning global economy.

Baseball researcher Robert F. Lewis II argues that MLB for years abused its legal insulation and monopoly status through arrogant treatment of its fans and players and static management of its business. As its privileged position eroded in the face of increased competition from other sports and union resistance, it awakened to its perilous predicament and began aggressively courting athletes and fans at home and abroad.

Using a detailed marketing analysis and applying the principles of a "smart power" model, the author assesses MLB's progression as a global business brand that continues to appeal to a consumer's sense of an idyllic past in the midst of a fast-paced, and often violent, present.

©2010 University Press of Mississippi (P)2012 Redwood Audiobooks

What listeners say about Smart Ball

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Smart Book with an Unfortunate Narrator

Lewis presents a provocative, scholarly argument that takes considerable focus to listen to and fully grasp (I've purchased the book to re-read his argument). And while I very much appreciated his perspectives, the narrator was extremely annoying in his frequently mispronounced words. Dominant among these words, and one that author Lewis uses throughout his book: "Pastoral." Pronounced "pas-TOR-al" by the narrator, every time he said it, I had to keep saying out loud: PAS-tor-al. grrrrr.... I went to online dictionaries to listen to audible pronunciations of this word, just to confirm that some new way of saying it hadn't entered the English language. It hasn't. So, the narrator (and whoever let him continue saying not only this word -- an especially important one when talking about the myth of baseball -- but the names of players as well) made this an even more difficult read. But I pushed on because I found the argument fascinating and, well, SMART.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Packed with great baseball business facts, but dry

Packed with great baseball business facts, but technical and dry. I would get another book by this author for informational purposes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!