RIP, AP baseball gamer

Remains on display until July. Looks like the same format they used during spring training.

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/256590/ap-cuts-baseball-stories-in-half/

 

Seems like the right thing to do. If a guy pitches a no-hitter that's one thing, but I can't imagine many publications are holding an extra hour for that 24-inch wrap-up optional from a Tuesday night game in July.

 

I actually like this format! Like the story said there will still be a writethru for those sites that have space to use it... this is just a way to get something into the paper that has a bit more variety and "did you know" feel to it.

 

Definitely a smart move and I'm glad to see the AP adapting to this style. It's 2014, I don't need a long gamer. Chances are I know what happened already, so just give me the nuts and bolts with a colorful sider.

 

Strange to change formats in the middle of the season.

 

I support this change, particularly if AP delivers in the promise of quicker delivery

 

I remember seeing this format with college football and NFL advances last season. Did they do it with football gamers, too?

If not, I'm sure this is just the first rollout they are doing, and from here on out, everything will be this format.

 

A lot of small and mid-size papers depend on AP as their beat writer for an area pro or college team. Will be interested to see how this is received.

 

In the end, I don't think it will really matter how papers receive it. They can run this new format or hire a beat writer to follow the team. Pretty obvious which one will happen.

I'd definitely be more apt to read bullet-type storylines, coming next, injury reports, etc., than a recap of how the Angels scored two-runs in a fourth-inning rally against the Mariners.

 

While this is true, our deadlines continue to be pushed up, especially with us now on a hub system. As MLB games continue to go longer and longer, we barely have time to wait for the first writethrough after the initial brief, let alone wait for an optional.

 

For sure. And a lot of papers have stopped running league roundups altogether, choosing either boxscores only or nothing as a concession to limited space.

I do wonder how widely it's used outside of major metro areas. I've worked at papers within a 100-mile radius of a pro team. We might run minimal stuff in April and May when there are tons of other things going on. And then run more during the slower months of June and July. Those were the times it became more valuable, nights you'd sit there praying not to go extra innings because you had a giant hole on your front, with nothing happening locally and half the staff on vacation/furlough.

 

What I'm not quite sure about is this: Are their optional ledes out the window? Are they just doing the 300-word ASF and done for the night?