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Yankees investment in esports could be a signal of bigger things to come

By Derek Helling

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 11: Managing general partner and co-chairperson Hal Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees looks on during a news conference introducing Masahiro Tanaka (not pictured) to the media on February 11, 2014 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 11: Managing general partner and co-chairperson Hal Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees looks on during a news conference introducing Masahiro Tanaka (not pictured) to the media on February 11, 2014 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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The most lucrative brand in MLB is putting its muscle behind three major players in esports.

The New York Yankees have made a major investment in esports, and while that in and of itself is newsworthy, the potential ramifications for both industries have just begun to be realized.

According to Mike Ozanian of Forbes, the Yankees have partnered with Vision Entertainment, focusing on not only their esports properties but also on Echo Fox and Twin Galaxies. The joint venture will strive to grow those brands among esports fans around the world.

For fans unfamiliar with those esports brands, Vision produces esports content, while Twin Galaxies is focused on the logistics of running esports competitions. Echo Fox is one of several powerful players in the actual competitions.

Prior news should have tipped fans off to this transaction being inevitable. The same company which owns the majority stake of the Yankees, Yankee Global Enterprises, also owns a minority stake in New York City FC. Earlier this year, NYCFC signed an EA Sports FIFA player to a contract to represent them in competitive game play.

Yet the direction which fans of both baseball and esports should look to in regards to this partnership is not the past, but the future.

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Yankee Global Enterprises also owns a 20 percent stake in the YES Network, which means that with this partnership, esports content produced by Vision could easily be coming to the nation’s most-watched regional sports channel. That’s an easy conclusion to draw, but others seem even more appetizing for stakeholders.

With this partnership, the sky is really the limit. Live esports competitions at Yankee Stadium? Totally doable now. Perhaps the same thing at AT&T Stadium because of the Yankees’ connections to the Dallas Cowboys through Legends Sports and Entertainment? That’s now on the horizon.

What’s more important is that this may be the start of the inevitable buy-in to esports that MLB as a whole has been slothful about. Just like with individuals, building wealth for corporations is about diversification of assets. The Yankees have been the best in baseball at creating revenue streams that have nothing to do with how their product on the diamond performs. Other franchises would be wise to follow their lead.

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In the years to follow, we may eventually see a heavy investment into esports by MLB, perhaps to the point that someday there may be an MLB The Show eLeague. If that occurs, the relationship between MLB and eSports will have started here.