After Release Of Latest All-Star Ballot Update, Tigers Step Up Twitter Campaign
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - This could be a complete coincidence, the timing of the sudden increase in the number of tweets by the Detroit Tigers encouraging fans to vote for their players as starters in the upcoming All-Star Game.
The uptick in the team's use of #VoteTigers, #VoteMiggy, #VoteYo, and #ASGWorthy hashtags and "Have you voted?" messages could simply be a matter of the heralded exhibition game drawing closer.
Another possibility is that the team is responding to the latest ballot update, which came out June 8 and showed seven Kansas City Royals - and zero Tigers - listed as starters.
Most notably, Kansas City's Eric Hosmer now has the most votes of any first baseman, more than 500,000 more than Miguel Cabrera, whose impeccable resume includes two MVP awards and the Triple Crown and whose numbers have been stellar again this season.
Many in baseball - fans, media and those in the game - have been appalled by the sheer number of Royals in first place at their respective positions, a result driven by the enthusiasm of a rabid, success-starved Kansas City fan base finally sated last season when the Royals snapped a 29-year playoff drought with a run to the World Series.
Kansas City had dominated the American League ballot in the previous update as well, but Hosmer passing Cabrera in the voting seemed to up the ire of baseball as a whole. Tigers starting pitcher David Price tweeted his dismay Wednesday.
Whether the Tigers have made a conscious effort to amp up their promotion of All-Star Game voting in an attempt to combat the persistence of Kansas City fans, or whether the greater attention to the topic is only related to the All-Star Game drawing closer, the team has undoubtedly taken its Twitter campaign to another level.
In the week leading up to the first ballot update, the Tigers alluded to the All-Star Game regularly but subtly. Every day, the team tweeted - and still does - a photo of the starting pitcher for that day's game, and the photo included the hashtag #VoteTigers. The team also tweeted - and still does - a daily reminder with radio and TV information for those wanting to tune into the game, and that tweet included a #VoteTigers hashtag. There were no tweets dedicated solely to the All-Star Game, however.
The next two weeks, between the first ballot update and the most recent one, the Tigers mostly followed the aforementioned pattern, but they began promoting individual players a bit more. They used the hashtag #VoteYo occasionally when outfielder Yoenis Cespedes provided reason to do so, with an impressive play or timely hit, and they also tagged shortstop Jose Iglesias a couple of times as #ASGWorthy.
Following the release of the most recent ballot update, however, the Tigers snapped into a different gear. The days of the previous announcements - May 26 and June 1 - the team sent out one or two tweets related to the ongoing voting. The day of the latest update, the Tigers tweeted five times, asking fans if they had voted all 35 times and retweeting two Twitter users who shared that they had done so.
The increased level of promotion continued in the three days after that update. The daily tweet with radio and TV information that previously included a #VoteTigers hashtag now includes #VoteTigers and #VoteMiggy hashtags. In several tweets, the Tigers have included a link to an All-Star Game ballot preset to show Tigers players highlighted for easy selection.
On Tuesday, the team again asked followers, "Have you voted yet?" and retweeted several who had done so. The Tigers also included hashtags #VoteMiggy and #VoteYo with a couple of their in-game updates. On Wednesday, the team promoted both Cabrera and Cespedes with various videos and hashtags. On Thursday, an off day, the team encouraged fans to #VoteYo and #VoteTigers and referenced shortstop Jose Iglesias as well.
The Tigers did not respond to a request to interview the person in charge of the team's social media strategy.
Time will tell how successful any efforts have been to move Cabrera back to first place among first baseman. The next update is expected to be released Monday.
