By Carolyn Shomali, PAR Director of Content
5 Minute Read

Major League Baseball is figuring it out – how to honor its tradition while adapting to changing expectations. And if you caught this year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, you saw glimpses of how they’re doing it.

Whether baseball is one of your favorite pastimes or one you’d rather pass by altogether, there are lessons associations can take from MLB’s balancing act.

Here’s a quick refresher: In 2022, MLB recorded its lowest attendance in a non-pandemic year since 1997. Fans were tuning out and staying home. The decline wasn’t sudden – attendance had been trending downwards for the previous 7 seasons.

As a result, MLB had been spending time experimenting with new rules in the minor leagues. Each one was aimed at testing how changes might improve three key areas of focus: pace of play, more in-game action, and more moments to highlight the athleticism of their players.

Prior to the start of the 2023 season, the Joint Competition Committee unveiled a slate of changes, headlined by a pitch clock and new limits on defensive shifts.

As associations can appreciate, the response was mixed at first. There was pushback from baseball traditionalists and valid concerns from pitchers who were most directly impacted. But MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred made the league’s priorities clear:

“We’ve tried to address the concerns expressed in a thoughtful way, respectful – always – of the history and traditions of the game, and of player concerns,” he said. “Our guiding star in thinking about changes to the game has always been our fans. What do our fans want to see on the field?”

For Manfred and MLB the changes are working. In the first year, games sped up by an average of 24 minutes. The new positioning rules opened the door to more standout plays. Additional rule updates like starting extra innings with a runner on second and requiring relievers to face a minimum number of batters has also helped drive action.

Now three seasons later, both television ratings and ballpark attendance are climbing for the third consecutive year.

Fast-forward to the 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta, and there’s more to learn beyond the game-to-game pace of play improvements. If rule changes are baseball’s way of improving day-to-day engagement, associations can view the All-Star Game as something akin to their annual event.

Here are five takeaways from MLB’s All-Star strategy that associations can apply to their next signature event:

1. Showcase the Best

At its core, the All-Star Game is about celebrating top talent. What if your annual event speaker lineup did the same? It’s your association’s opportunity to elevate the strongest voices in your industry, both those with experience and those bringing fresh energy.

In baseball, names like Mike Trout and Aaron Judge are fixtures. But every year, new stars emerge. Consider striking that same balance with your speaker by mixing respected leaders with rising voices who reflect where the industry is headed.

2. Improve Access 

Fans want unique access to players. When it comes to the top experts in your industry, event attendees want the same.

In baseball, mic’ing up a player isn’t a novelty anymore. But mic’ing up pitcher Clayton Kershaw while he was on the mound narrating the pitch he was about to throw? That’s next-level access, and exactly what happened in the second inning of this year’s game.

Your members want more than panels and keynotes. They want unscripted, suprise moments and behind-the-scenes access. Think about what your version of Kershaw’s mic’d-up moment could be and how you can build those touchpoints into your event.

3. Don’t Skimp on Production

This may be the most important reminder of all: production and presentation matter. Both in baseball and at your annual conference.

Just before the 7th inning in Atlanta, the game paused to honor the late Hank Aaron’s 715th home run hit just over 50-years ago in the same city. The field itself became a projection screen. Music, lighting, video, atmosphere all came together to create a powerful, immersive, truly unforgettable moment.

What memorable moment is your event creating? Not just another session, but a “you had to be there” kind of moment? Whether it’s in person or virtual, people remember the moments that move them. Those are the moments that will make them return.

4. Use the Big Stage to Test New Ideas

The All-Star Game is a celebration, but it’s also a testing ground for new ways to entertain and engage.

Just eight batters into this year’s game, MLB used it to pilot a system already being tried in the minors: automated ball-strike challenges. A pitch originally called a ball was reviewed and overturned into a strike.

And when the game ended in a 6–6 tie? MLB introduced the first-ever All-Star Game tiebreaker: a Home Run Derby-style swing-off. Think hockey shootout, but for baseball.

And why not use the game to try new things? James Young of the Product Community says associations should think of their events in the same way.

“Everybody looks to the annual conference as a source of inspiration and community. I challenge us to think of the annual conference as a source of ideation, as an incubator, and as an unveiling.”

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Go Backwards

Innovation means trying new things. And sometimes, it means admitting when something didn’t work.

In 2021, MLB moved away from team-specific uniforms for the All-Star Game, opting instead for league-issued jerseys. The reaction was overwhelmingly negative from both players and fans.

So in 2025, they reversed course. Players returned to wearing the uniforms of their individual clubs. A tradition reinstated, for those who felt it mattered.

For associations, it’s a reminder that not every new idea will land.

If there’s one thing MLB’s recent trajectory and the lessons of the All-Star Game can teach associations, it’s this: you can stay true to who you are and still evolve.

But if you cling too tightly to tradition and fall back on “this is how we’ve always done it,” don’t be surprised when fewer people are there doing it with you. Baseball has shown it’s not about changing what you do – it’s about evolving to do it better, so more will do it with you.