For decades, the Seattle Mariners relied on Seattle-based advertising agency Copacino Fujikado to create their iconic commercials.
Now the club produces its video content entirely in-house — part of a growing trend across Major League Baseball as teams invest in internal creative studios to produce digital-first content.
A recent Zoomph study highlights the impact: The Los Angeles Dodgers generated an MLB-leading $101 million in social media value from team accounts last season, along with 2.51 billion impressions and 122 million engagements.
Social value is defined by Zoomph as “the total estimated media value of a social post, based on impressions, video views and engagements, which represents the equivalent cost required to reach the same audience through paid advertising.”
“Any of these teams could’ve reached the same size audience with paid media campaigns, but reach does not create fandom,” said Zoomph Marketing Director Dan LaTorraca. “Organic content like this builds a deeper connection with fans, humanizes players and creates a sense of pride while building excitement.”
That kind of reach is why teams increasingly treat content creation not as marketing support, but as a central business driver.
And while Copacino Fujikado set the standard, Seattle’s internal team is turning offseason brainstorming sessions into digital shorts that are shot, produced and edited in-house before going viral on social media.
The Mariners produced four digital shorts — once known simply as commercials — heading into the season. One features All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh’s alter ego, “Hal Baleigh,” which was inspired by star pitcher Felix Hernandez’s alter ego from 14 years earlier, “Larry Bernandez.” Another, titled “Babyproof,” highlights the influx of new fathers on the roster, its theme relatable to those who cannot throw or hit triple-digit fastballs.
“One advantage to going in-house is we have the ability to build relationships with these players,” Mariners Creative Director Keri Zierler said. “We get to meet these guys when they’re coming up through the farm system, and that sort of builds trust. We get to know them on a more human level, so we have insights into their personalities and them as humans, more so than an external agency just coming in cold would have. And that gives us the ability to tell more authentic stories.”
Other MLB teams may have slightly different setups and occasionally use outside vendors for more complicated shoots, but most of their video production is done in-house. Their goals are similar: provide inside access, build brand affinity, increase fan engagement and — hopefully, though perhaps not directly — drive viewership and ticket sales.
“We want our fans to feel closer to the team than they’ve ever felt,” said Bobby Clemens, New York Mets vice president of creative content, whose team has been delving into long-form content. “Content has gone, over the years, from kind of a support function to now being the main driver of the business. It’s not just about promoting the games anymore.”
Teams now have access to data, metrics and real-time fan reaction that allows for immediate feedback. But a well-executed video has a longer shelf life, potentially leading to a promotional giveaway, ballpark theme night or ticket special.
“That goes into the strategy piece, thinking about how we not only share these as a one-off, but how do they carry some weight, momentum and steam,” said Tim Walsh, Mariners senior director of digital marketing and social media. “We’re always looking to create that next generation and wave of Mariners fans.”
For the Milwaukee Brewers, that strategy includes doing something that draws attention from the industry itself. A pair of ideas from Carter Green, senior videographer and creative lead, accomplished just that this spring.
Some slick work made it appear that pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, who has registered 104.3 mph with his fastball, had thrown a heater that knocked an apple off top prospect Cooper Pratt’s head as he was sitting backward 60 feet, 6 inches away from the mound. And then there was a “Day In The Life” video of outfielder Sal Frelick that stood out for its “Grand Theft Auto”-inspired theme.
“We have this philosophy where we want to be different from the other 29 teams. We want to stand out. We want other teams to look at us for inspiration,” said Ezra Siegel, Brewers senior manager of content. “We want to be sort of the leaders in this space. We kind of internally dubbed our philosophy as ‘Arthouse Baseball.’ Our goal is to always present baseball in ways that fans haven’t seen it presented before.”
Clemens and the Mets elected to go the long-form route following their 15-year, $765 million signing of Juan Soto prior to the 2025 season, resulting in a two-part documentary on the team’s YouTube channel. Since then, the in-house video production team has added “Inside The Diamond,” which delves into the daily lives of players, and “On the Road,” a once-a-month feature that provides a behind-the-scenes look at Mets road trips. One video highlighting team travel manager Edgar Suero performed extremely well. CohnReznick was the presenting sponsor on the Soto doc, while Anchin has the “Inside the Diamond” series.
“We want to take fans where they’ve never been before,” Clemens said. “We did some of our own research on one-off posts and found that fans seem to really like the behind-the-scenes of our staff.”
Elsewhere, the Dodgers have been one of the biggest beneficiaries of baseball’s digital push.
An offseason campaign continued that success, with the team embracing its role as baseball’s villain through a video anchored by Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” song and narrated by Jason Bateman. Both Eilish and Bateman are Dodgers fans, of course.
“We never try to create something that we think is just going to go viral,” said Erik Braverman, Dodgers senior vice president of marketing, community relations and broadcasting. “We try to create something that’s going to be super fun, and out of that, what we’ve found is just naturally, organically, several have gone viral.”
Braverman also pointed to the importance of having a diverse group of creatives in terms of ages, backgrounds and skill sets. “It brings out an excellence that, when you talk about a secret sauce, that’s what it is,” Braverman said. “When you work through agencies, oftentimes their timeline just doesn’t align with the speed at which we work internally.”
Having a once-in-a-generation player like Shohei Ohtani helps.
“We’re blessed that the ownership group made that investment in Shohei, but we can’t just sit back on our laurels and let everything be Ohtani-driven,” Braverman said.
With Hollywood in their own backyard, there is certainly a high standard.
“We put a lot of it on ourselves to say ‘we have to deliver,’” Braverman said. “Mark [Walter] and the ownership group, they have an expectation. We don’t run all ideas by ownership. We just know that when they’re here for a ring ceremony or Opening Day, they expect to see something in L.A. that might be a little bit different. That’s our charge and mission, and we do a pretty good job of delivering it.”
In Seattle, the players have easily bought in, which makes the jobs of the in-house production team that much easier. It is emblematic of younger players growing up around social media and displaying savvy in the space, actively seeking it out.
After not having a line his first year doing it, pitcher George Kirby told the team that he wanted one the next year. Raleigh, whose nickname is “Big Dumper,” did a viral video with the Mariners in 2024 titled “Big Dumper Trucking.” Now, he wants to be part of their brainstorming sessions.
“He knows the players even better than we do, so he can kind of bring another element to it,” Walsh said. “These guys have ideas, too.”
