Tony Clark calls out MLB for failing to promote Mookie Betts, other stars

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Among sports fans in New England, Mookie Betts is certainly a household name. In other parts of the country? Maybe not so much. 

Tony Clark, the executive director of the MLB Players Association, said in a press conference Tuesday the league doesn't do enough to promote its stars, and pointed to the reigning American League MVP as a prime example.

Clark believes people who don't watch baseball still should know who the Boston Red Sox superstar is. We agree. 

While Clark admitted the league has made strides in the right direction with marketing its players, he "would like our players not to be able to walk down the street without being recognized." 

Clark, who spent one of his 15 seasons as a player with the Red Sox in 2002, also said that promoting Betts and other stars on baseball channels won't help. Non-baseball fans "deserve to know who Mookie is," he said. 

Betts' numbers have dipped slightly this year -- he's hitting .272 after leading MLB in batting average last season -- but the 26-year-old still deserves promotion as one of the game's best young players.

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