MLB’s commissioner held a Twitter Q&A, and you can guess how that went
Example number 366 why Twitter Q&As are a terrible idea.
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Apparently MLB wasn’t paying attention when FSU trotted out the #AskJameis hashtag. Nor was it looking when ESPN and the NCAA tried the ill-conceived #AskEmmert segment. Or the NFL with #AskCommish. That’s the only conceivable explanation for MLB fielding questions for an #AskManfred session.
Sure, Jameis was a knucklehead, Emmert is the poster child for exploitation in America, and Goodell fashions his ruling style after Little Bill Daggett – all while Manfred is the new seemingly nice, new kid on the block – but that’s not the point. It’s that these Twitter Q&A’s never work.
It’s not really surprising that MLB was slow to the jump. After all, the league was only, what, a decade behind on allowing its product to be showcased on Youtube. Still, holding a Twitter Q&A is literally the worst PR move a company/firm/organization can do. Members of the Twitterati are always the smartest folks in the room. They live to crack one-liners and make the front pages of heralded online sports & entertainment websites.
And yet here we are.
MLB wanted to hold a little sesh with new commissioner Rob Manfred, and it was basically commandeered by angry Mets fans taking a dump on owner Fred Wilpon. Hmm, angry New Yorkers taking over a Twitter hashtag and steering the ship right into the rocks … where have I seen that before?
Here are some of the highlights of an anti-Wilpon #AskManfred session.
Do the Wilpons secretly run MLB and are you just their puppet? RT if yes. Favorite if no. #AskManfred
— Joe Pontillo (@JoePontillo) July 13, 2015
@MLB are Fred Wilpon and Emperor Palpatine really the same person? #AskManfred pic.twitter.com/lWjJzE3myP
— The Rev BigDave (@BigDavesRants) July 13, 2015
What's more important to you? Defensive shifts? Or the state of national league baseball in the country's biggest market? #AskManfred #Mets
— JohnnyMets213 (@JohnnyMets213) July 13, 2015
Can you get rid of the Wilpons? #AskManfred
— Slight Pepper Curry Mango (@TheeSamD) July 13, 2015
Perhaps the perfect summation of this whole Twitter debacle comes by way of KFC over at Barstool Sports.
Last question, why TF would you do a hashtag question session when you know #MetsTwitter is the most annoying force on earth? #AskManfred
— KFC (@KFCBarstool) July 13, 2015
Bingo. Here’s a piece of unsolicited advice for MLB: next time do a Reddit AMA – at least those have moderators.
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