New ad for 'The Bachelor' highlights show's connection to baseball

As everyone knows, if you're a handsome single man in a nice suit wandering around on a farm, the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson will try to date you. Wait, what?

This week, ABC's The Bachelor released a new spot promoting the dating TV show, featuring new Bachelor Chris Soules prowling through what may seem like a familiar field of corn and listening to a disembodied voice tell him something important:

What does this mean? Are all the prospective bachelorettes the earthbound shades of baseball players? Will Moonlight Graham be there? Maybe all of the contestants will be the specters of the women from A League of Their Own.

We can't be sure, but we do know that baseball and The Bachelor/ette have always had a very strong connection. Juan Pablo, the bachelor before Chris, works for the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame, though he's unlikely ever to be in it himself:

Former Brewers prospect Josh Murray won Andi Dorfman's heart on The Bachelorette last season, and moms across the land rejoiced. Josh even made Andi a customized rookie card:

Roberto Martinez was chosen by Ali Fedorowsky on season six of The Bachelorette. He played Division II ball for the University of Tampa and was drafted twice, first by the Rockies in 2001 and again by the Twins in 2002. Now, he's pursuing his childhood dream:

So I decided to try this mustache thing out for a few days and now I look EXACTLY like the grown up version of Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez.

- Roberto Martinez Jr (@Roberto_M_Jr) November 21, 2013

Nick Peterson, who was a finalist on season seven, was drafted by the Yankees in 2006. Chris Siegfried, season nine winner, played in the Cubs' system from 2007-2010 and is still friends with Brandon Guyer and Chris Archer. And let's not forget Zack Kalter, who lost to Siegfried and was later on Bachelor in Paradise. He was a Blue Jays Draft pick in 2005.

So what does all this mean for the future of baseball and The Bachelor? Will we see ABC representatives thronging the stands at Minor League games? Or will they look elsewhere in the baseball world for their prospective contestants?