I’ve followed the Philadelphia Phillies every season since I can remember, but I can’t say that I’ve always read up on their website and the news that they release. This week was different. For this assignment, I followed their website and news output closely, and I liked what I found. Not only did I find information about the players, their accomplishments, and unfortunately, their injuries—I also read about the fantasy draft and other ways to stay in touch with baseball and the Phillies via technology.
These are some of the headlines that have been running this week:
What I love most of all about the Phillies organization’s news output is the fact that they are so candid. They write about Moyer’s start and how, despite his age, he’s going to make choosing a fifth starter very difficult. They write about Polanco’s injury, how severe it may be, what it means, and when he’s scheduled to return. And so often, there are videos attached to these stories, which bring the reader even closer to their beloved team.
All of this information is so easily accessible. From my experience as a writer and as a sports fan, some teams can be really difficult and choose not to display information like the Phillies do. And quite frankly, it can be annoying. The fans, especially, deserve to know what is going on with their team; they deserve the truth.
While the Phillies haven’t been releasing many official press releases as of late, with only three in March, they strive to include their audience and home base in the thick of things. As soon as you enter the website, you know exactly what’s going on, what happened in the last game, who’s injured, who’s pulling the team, and everything else that’s essential—just by reading the headlines.
One of the big things that I would like to see the Phillies improve with is Twitter. The use of Twitter is one of the things that I love about the Flyers and the NHL. Each team has an account where they share injury updates, starting lineups and goalies, post-game interviews, and general facts. And besides all of this news, they interact with fans! Personally, I follow the Flyers Twitter account, and there have been many occasions that I see it retweeting fans pictures or wishing them a fun time at the game. And that makes fans feel like they’re part of the organization—and they should feel that way. They should feel like they’re getting insider information and that they know exactly what’s going on at all times. Why not?
But this isn’t necessarily a job just for the Phillies. The MLB hasn’t latched on to Twitter like the NHL has, and I think it would be great for publicity and to connect with their audience, but also their press. Many sports bloggers and writers have made their way to Twitter and some well-known writers have established hundreds and thousands of followers. Twitter should be utilized as yet another news outlet for sports, and the Phillies would really benefit from it.
That being said, everything else they’re doing is spot-on. Their coverage and honesty is refreshing when so many teams deem it necessary to hide things from the press and fan base. This kind of honesty is what keeps loyal fans coming back year after year.
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