Major League Baseball’s notion of building a baseball park in Grand Teton National Park will backfire, local residents and officials say.
MLB has approached the Trump administration about hosting a game in a national park, The Washington Post reported Saturday, citing accounts from White House and league officials.
The Post added that the administration scouted three potential sites within Grand Teton National Park in recent days.
State Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, told Cowboy State Daily he confirmed the administration’s visit with a park official. Gierau said he is an ardent fan of both national parks and baseball.
But the two shouldn’t mix, he said.
“It’s just absolutely abhorrent,” he said. “It’s so incredibly disappointing.”
The White House told the Post that MLB, not the president, spearheaded the idea.
“This is not a Presidential directive, nor is it being directed by the White House. It’s also not being driven by the Department of Interior,” the White House statement said. “Therefore, this is not a White House or Administration priority.”
"Should Be Fired"
Still, Gierau called for accountability on all sides.
“If the idea came from Major League Baseball, the person who thought of it should be fired; and the person who hired them should be fired,” he said.
“The people in the administration who entertained an idea other than ‘No thank you’ should be fired.”
Gierau added, “When it comes to epically bad marketing ideas in the American experience, I put it next to New Coke.”
Gierau said he thought the story would have landed well as an April Fool’s piece.
"Seems Undoable"
Rob Wallace, a Teton County resident who served as assistant secretary of the Interior in President Donald Trump’s first administration, made the same remark in a separate interview Sunday.
Wallace said he doubts the idea will materialize.
“There’s so many protections afforded lands within a national park — that’s probably the most protected land class of any public lands in the United States,” he said.
“It seems almost undoable.” Wallace said, “Also I think it’d be a nightmare from a public relations standpoint, for MLB to be seen as wanting to come in and tear up a national park to build a baseball field for one game.”
He said he hopes the administration halts this project.
It’s much easier to build a baseball field in a cornfield in Iowa, he said.
That’s a reference to MLB’s standalone games at the Field of Dreams site in Iowa.
"Banana Ball"
State Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, told Cowboy State Daily the idea looks like a poorly conceived grasp at relevance.
It will backfire if it continues, Yin said.
Yin referenced threats to MLB’s prominence, such as the rise of fast-paced Banana Ball.
“I think this is more of a stunt for MLB than anything else,” Yin said. “But I think it’s one that will backfire more than it will help in any shape or form.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
