MLB Baseball... brought to you by...

America's favorite pastime is now brought to you by Nike. And SpeeDee Oil Change and Auto Service. And Geico. And Franklin Templeton, Chevron and T Mobile. And Taco Bell. 

The list goes on and on and on. 

It's not that I think MLB shouldn't seek out advertisers. I'm not naive. I understand that's how they make their money. But how about seeking advertisers ONLY for actual commercial breaks? Old school. 

Stop the passive and aggressive in-game appearances and shout-outs. Because the unceasing assault of commercial sponsorships during the game is distracting from the game itself and, in my opinion, insulting to the fans who are tuning in to watch the action. In these challenging times (I can't believe I just typed that but it really does fit here), fans want to soak and marinate in the action, to cheer their favorite teams and players and be immersed in America's favorite pastime; we want to enjoy the game, not have to weed through the greed to get to the good stuff. 

For example, I don't think we need a sponsor for instant replay reviews. The fact that we have to interrupt the game to call NY is annoying enough. We don't need an announced benefactor for this to happen. 

Incidentally, I do not understand the Taco Bell "Baseball is Back" shout-out. Literally, Kuiper will say, in between batters, "Baseball is Back, sponsored by Taco Bell," and the Taco Bell logo will appear on the screen. That's it. No play to watch. No player to salute. Just "Baseball is Back". What? I mean really, what? I repeat, I do not understand. It's as if Taco Bell paid money to have an announcer just say their name. 

When the pitching coaches go to the mound to calm their pitchers, its sponsored and gets announced. Pitching changes have commercial backers. There are now corporate logos on the back of the mound. The "Play of the Game" is brought to you by... The on-deck circles no longer contain team logos but rather business sponsorships. Large swaths of empty seats in the stands, all strategically placed for maximum time on camera, are now covered with giant tarps trumpeting some company's name. Every. single. player. in MLB now has a Nike swoosh prominently displayed on the front of their jersey. 

It's too much. 

It feels like MLB is prostituting itself. Or maybe we are being prostituted by MLB. 

Fans can't go to the ballpark, and that's a huge disappointment for everyone involved, But please, MLB, at least let us watch the game without feeling like we need to take a shower afterward.