If you're Major League Baseball and your game is in danger of losing fans, particular younger ones, to other sports, you know what you don't do? You don't throw a hissy fit over a fan-created mod that incorporates one of your most popular teams, the Boston Red Sox, in one of the year's most popular games, Fallout 4.
As reported by the Boston Globe, Major League Baseball is pissed about a mod someone created that allows you to play as Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, in full uniform, and bash baddies in the face with a monstrous swing.
“The use of these marks is an infringement of our rights. We plan to enforce those rights,” an MLB spokesman told the publication in response to the mod, which was created by Texas resident Richie Branson to add a "more authentic" Boston feel to the game.
“Basically, I think it was the only thing missing from the game. You’ve got Fenway Park, the Green Monster, and all of Boston, but there weren’t any Red Sox jerseys,” Branson said. So he took it upon himself to create the clothing mod, which is available on PC for free.
“I’m not trying to sell this counterfeit Red Sox jersey. I’m putting a free Red Sox graphic into a game that already insinuates the Red Sox are in the game, at Fenway Park,” Branson said. For those unfamiliar, Fallout 4 takes place in a post-apocalyptic Boston, and even one of the game's locations — Diamond City — is modeled after a worn down Fenway Park.
Why he chose David Ortiz, Branson explained, "Ortiz is a heavy hitter, man. I love his ability to hit. He’s big, he’s massive — so I figured he’d be the right one to survive the apocalypse. You can wear it through the whole game.”
Although Branson had hopes to add other notable Red Sox players' uniforms, it sounds like the MLB isn't playing ball with this this. The link to the mod has disappeared, suggesting the MLB has already contacted Branson requesting its removal.
On one hand, I understand the MLB's point in trying to keep their image of the league pure, and technically this does infringe on the league's rights. If they let this slide, it opens up Pandora's box for all sorts of people to take advantage of their league and images. On the other hand, can't we just let this one slide?
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