[Choi:] The reaction from players was mixed. Some, like Chipper Jones, thought the idea of having a Spider-Man logo on the bases was a little, well, off-base. Others, like Tori Hunter of the Twins said it was good for the kids. But after a firestorm of bad press and publicity, major league baseball relented and decided against adorning the bases with advertising. But it's not over with yet. Joining us from Baltimore is Ken Rosenthal of the "Sporting News." And from Charleston, home of his River Dogs, is one of baseball's all-time promoters, Mike Beck. Thanks to both of you gentlemen for joining us this morning. Ken, I want to start with you, what was so offensive about putting these ads on the bases?
[Ken Rosenthal, "sporting News":] Baseball is a sport that honors its tradition and its history. And the field has always been the same, since Abner Doubleday invented it. And you've never seen commercialism creep into the sport where it affected the field of play. And that is what was so offensive. And in a day, an age of commercialism where you're bombarded with corporate names on ballparks, radio and television advertisements constantly, this was the one thing that fans stood up and said, no more.
[Choi:] Mike, your take on all of this?
[Mike Beck, Promoter:] Well, I think that it's true, that fans stood up. But I'm quick to point out that they weren't kids. They were fans who talk about the good old days, the purists, who say it should be this way. We've lost a lot of kids over the last generation and a half, in terms of being baseball fans. I think this was a good thing. I think the commissioner was right for doing it. And I think it was a terrible decision to cancel it.
[Choi:] Yes, Ken, major league baseball officials say they actually did it to attract younger fans, maybe some new fans. So if this isn't such a good idea, what's your suggestion?
[Rosenthal:] First of all, the promotion is going to go on. It's just not going to go on with the webs on the bases. Second of all, this sport needs to market its fans and younger fans much better than it does already. Hey, start the post season games earlier on the East Coast and Central Time so those kids there can watch the games to their completion. Sell the sport. Tori Hunter is a real life Spider-Man in this sport. Barry Bonds is Superman. Juan Pierre can be the Flash. There are many, many things in the sport itself that can be marketed better by
[Mlb. Choi:] Mike, do you think because of, like in other major sports in baseball, it's basically, you know, going to the highest bidder in terms of advertising anyway, so it doesn't really make a difference whether you put a little Spider-Man sticker on the bases?
[Beck:] Yes. My first take, Sophia, is do anything you can to attract the kids. Second of all, because baseball has such a wonderful niche in terms of its price structure. We're the cheapest to the big four. And hustles like this, promotions, if you will, help keep ticket prices down so that people can go to the ballpark with more frequency. I say any corporate dollars that we can get, more is better. And one time doesn't hurt the sport. I've been listening to the purists talk about Abner Doubleday and tradition for so many years, none of them are operators. If you waited for the purist, you'd have 65 percent of your seats available at any given time.
[Rosenthal:] I can't imagine ticket prices ever dropping due to a promotion like this and money that it would bring in. It's a reflection of supply and demand.
[Choi:] Ken, let me jump in here, because we only have a few seconds left. Why is ad free sports so important to you? And do you think the tide is turning back since the fans did stand up and said they didn't like it.
[Rosenthal:] No, I think the ship has sailed a long time ago, and commercialism is here to say. But I think in baseball, tradition should not be marketed only when it is convenient. Tradition is the one thing that distinguishes this sport from other sports. And to me, that's what you rely on your marketing for. You can do other things like it. And I think this promotion is a good idea to get some kids into the ballpark. I just don't think you have to mark up the field while you're doing it.
[Choi:] So you're drawing the line there. All right. We've got to go. Mike Beck, Ken Rosenthal, thanks to both of you. Take care.
[Beck:] Thank you.
[Roberts:] All morning long, we've been asking for everybody's thoughts on our e-mail question. It was about this picture. See this? We wanted you to place your caption here. As you can see, a horse trailer kind of got an unexpected guest.
[Choi:] Yes. Six-car accident ended with this Dodge Neon rammed right up inside, actually, that horse trailer. The horse, we can tell you, is OK. Looking back, so what's this horse thinking? Got some e-mail comments from you. "Wilbur! I told you, the green Alpha Romeo. Red is so not me!"
[Roberts:] And this next one: "Hey buddy, no tailgating." That comes from John in Trenton, New Jersey. Do we have any more?
[Choi:] We had some awesome, awesome comments this morning. My favorite was "That's not how to add horse power to a Dodge Neon" from Dale in Philadelphia.
[Roberts:] And there were some in the newsroom that we just couldn't tell you. But we had a good time with this today, asking about the captions for everybody. We appreciate, though, everybody taking the time to join us on here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Thomas Roberts.
[Choi:] And I'm Sophia Choi. So glad you stopped by. We hope to see you next weekend, same time.
[Roberts:] "INSIDE POLITICS" is coming up next for you this Sunday. But first, we get a check of what's happening now at the top of the hour. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com