Red Sox to wear corporate logo on sleeves

Being in Japan for Opening Day isn’t the only thing that will be different for the Red Sox this year. They’ll also be sporting EMC logos on their sleeves.

Advertising has been an accepted part of baseball since the fastball was invented (and maybe before), but for the most part it has been kept off the field of play.

The Red Sox uniforms will feature paid advertising for the first time during the two game series in Japan. Most fans will probably take one look at the ad and think that isn’t so bad. And they’ll be right. The logo really isn’t any more obtrusive than the World Series patches teams wear in October.

A conspiracy theorist with a background in psychology and marketing could probably make a convincing argument that the World Series patches were introduced just to warm us up to the idea that it’s okay to put something on the sleeve.

Alright, I’m probably being paranoid (maybe). And yes, I agree that the patch isn’t as bad as The Great Spiderman 2 Fiasco of 2004.

The only thing that saved us from having Spidey bases for three days that year was the reaction of the fans. We hated it. We were furiously angry at the league for ruining one of the few parts of the game that hadn’t already been auctioned off to sponsors. And in the end, the sponsors pulled the plug.

Sponsors spend money on these things to attract potential customers. Not to piss them off.

If we’re willing to accept the patch for a couple games it’s not so bad, then at some point down the line we’ll probably be willing to accept it for every game. I don’t necessarily think this is a bad thing, but one thing I don’t want to see is JD Drew’s biceps brought to me by Lipitor. Ever. Please, God.

There are many reasons why I think this will happen eventually. Most of them are boring and probably unfounded. But if you have any doubts, just check out the expression on Lucchino’s face as he’s cradling the advertisement sleeve. He looks like he just became a father for the first time. The nurse is handing him the slimy kicking baby, but he sees some kind of beauty in it. He’s known the kid for three seconds, and he’s already fallen in love. Plus, think of the tax breaks!

His life will never be the same.

And neither will baseball.

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