Fotos de Béisbol: An Examination of the Spanish-language Instagram Accounts of Major League Baseball Teams. Issue 3 (27th May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hull, Kevin; Kim, Joon Kyung; Stilwell, Matt
• Is Part Of: Howard journal of communications. Volume 30:Issue 3(2019)
• Page Start: 249
• Page End: 264
• Publication Date: 2019-05-27
• Subjects: baseball -- Hispanic -- Instagram -- social identity theory; Communication -- Periodicals; 302.205
• DOI: 10.1080/10646175.2018.1471756
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1064-6175

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Although every Major League Baseball team has an official English-language Instagram account, only 2 have a Spanish-language account. The purpose of this study is to examine how those accounts attempt to reach Hispanic fans. An examination of all the posts from the 2 Spanish-language accounts from the entire 2016 season demonstrate that the accounts do actively showcase more Hispanic players and cultural events. Further analysis demonstrates that posts with a Hispanic element register more user engagement than posts that do not. Theoretical implications regarding social identity theory and practical implications for professional sports teams are discussed.