A sense of self-seriousness has fallen over baseball over the last 25 years following the sobering 1994 strike, the Mitchell Report, and an explosion in salaries that has widened the gap between regular folks and hundred-millionaires. The game hasn’t grown up so much as it has shed its innocence and shown that its capable of feeling very grown. Add to that the switch from the “gee wow” tone of This Week In Baseball in the ’80s and ’90s to the snark of Sportscenter (which lost some of its specialness thanks to the scourge of copycats) and it’s no wonder that MLB Network’s Intentional Talk feels like an oasis.
In the midst of its eighth season, the Kevin Millar and Chris Rose hosted show is showing no sign of slowing down. Over the last year, Intentional Talk has tacked on a podcast and an ESPN2 simulcast, and ratings are up 5 percent. The show’s formula is simple. Millar and Rose are strengthened by the chemistry they’ve been developing since the former was still an active player popping up as an occasional guest on The Best Damn Sports Show Period (where Rose served as one of the hosts). They also lean on the notion that Major League clubhouses are filled with Millar-like extroverts just looking to break out.
When Uproxx spoke with the guys, Millar made it clear that the friendship between the hosts is genuine and that it allows them to operate without much in the way of boundaries; something that helps them move through each broadcast more freely. It’s also clear that Millar and Rose have a deep respect and admiration for today’s ballplayers, and they seem to reciprocate. Even superstars like Giancarlo Stanton, Justin Turner, and Joey Votto prove themselves eager to show off their lighter side, make fun of Millar and Rose, and give their teammates a hard time on air.
“When you watch our show,” Rose says, “you realize that there’s more personality in this sport then maybe you first thought.”
There’s more creativity as well. Despite the 5-6 hours of prep time that goes on before each live show (which airs at 5PM on MLB Network), memorable interview moments on Intentional Talk are often player engineered, not scripted or planned out beyond a simple heads up the day before that a player is going to come on and do something. That’s how you get Zubaz nation in Detroit with Miguel Cabrera, or Stephen Vogt wearing a referee costume (playing a character that grew to such prominence that it became a bobblehead). That’s how you get AJ Ellis showing off his dad-bod while stretching out Stanton’s muscle shirt — which is more clothes than he’s worn in the past on the show.
But while Intentional Talk offers a platform for players to get a little goofy and be themselves, Millar and Rose both respect that the show had to earn its spot as a sought-after media destination in a crowded field.
“The show is only as good as the players are and I think as a player” Millar says, “you get this insecurity when you’re struggling or you haven’t got any hits. That’s not what we care about. We’re here to help you, and we can talk about anything from your favorite football team to the kids driving you crazy. And I think that comfort, that security, and that trust with the players is what makes the show so fun.”
Padres catcher AJ Ellis agreed with that sentiment when he spoke with Uproxx about his appearances on Intentional Talk over the years.
“Sometimes when players are dealing with the media, right or wrong,” Ellis says, “you have your guard up because you’re always very cautious about what you’re gonna say. And then with those guys, you trust them, you know you can let your guard down.”
While Millar and Ellis are quick to give credit to the platform created by Intentional Talk, Rose isn’t so sure that Millar’s unique personality and charms aren’t part of the equation when it comes to the bond the former first baseman has with modern day players.
“I wish you could walk around the ballpark and [see how] he just immerses himself,” Rose says, adding that Millar still has the “lingo” down when talking to younger players. “Guys who never even played with him light up because he brings a different kind of energy to the park. They just enjoy being around him, and that is a huge advantage for us that not a lot of shows have.”
The question is, should more shows have a Millar-type and a lighthearted player’s first attitude? Might that help baseball lighten up a little bit? And could that, in turn, spark greater interest from casual fans and the younger demos that baseball is desperate to court?
According to a 2017 SportsBusiness Journal study, Baseball’s TV audience is the oldest of the four major sports at 57 years old (15 years older than the average NBA viewer) and that’s up four years from 2006. Meanwhile, Intentional Talk saw a 13 percent gain from 2017 to 2018 in the male 18-34 demographic. That’s an important detail when you consider that, for the second year in a row, there are no baseball players on ESPN’s World Fame 100 list which ranks the world’s most influential athletes by search, endorsements, and social reach.
In effect, baseball is competing in the sports and entertainment landscape with a barren marquee and relying on the game’s past to drive its future. That’s a gamble that might not exactly pay off.
Early on in the interview, Rose tells us that you can’t make every show completely the same when you’re programming a 24-hour sports network, but it’s clear that he believes Intentional Talk is a righteous endeavor with regard to how baseball is covered in this moment of greater transparency in society. Especially when we ask if baseball has a cultural problem.
“Maybe the way we’ve been covering the game hasn’t been good enough,” Rose admits. “There haven’t been enough outlets to show off the personality.”
Ellis agrees, and thinks there needs to be more of a balance in baseball reporting.
“There’s a place for trying to break news and break stories, and there’s a place for trying to find the rights and the wrongs of professional baseball system,” says Ellis. “Hold people accountable for decisions that [they] made and choices that [they] make. But at the same time, there needs to be an outlet for players and for fans to go in and have fun, and enjoy. The great thing about baseball is how fun it is, and how player friendly and fan friendly it can be.”
The obligation to cover all sides of baseball is clear and it matters, but maybe its best side (that fun and accessible side) needs a little more attention. If for no other reason than to humanize players in a way that sports media has often failed to do in this era where player salaries, cold analytics, and projection systems drive so much of the conversation. Because, while baseball is big business, an heirloom, and an obsession, it’s also still a game.
As the quote goes in Tom Selleck’s Mr. Baseball (which is about finding joy on and off the field), “games are supposed to be fun.” Oh, and also appealing to those on the outside looking in. Intentional Talk lives that ethos and thrives because of it. Whether baseball can thrive as a result of others following that lead is an open question but it’s also one well worth exploring.
Intentional Talk airs at 5PM weekdays on MLB Network.
