Despite all the crap that floats around the outside of Major League Baseball (money, drugs, etc.), I’m still a fan. So, when I discovered the new MLB Network on my cable lineup, I was skeptical but hopeful.
So far, I’m liking what I’m seeing.
Besides the ESPN-like “hot stove” and news programs, they run tons of highlight shows, including re-broadcasting Ken Burns’ Baseball. And, even better, they air classic games in their entirety! So far, I’ve watched Tom Seaver’s 300th win (Aug. 4, 1985, White Sox v. Yankees), Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych’s classic debut against the Yankees (June 28, 1976, Tigers v. Yankees on Monday Night Baseball!), and Carlton Fisk’s return to Fenway after the moronic Red Sox owners of the time let him go to free agency thanks, supposedly, to a clerical error (April 10, 1981, White Sox v. Red Sox).
Combine this with a DVR to skip the commercials, and I’m like an 8-year-old who’s been given the keys to the candy store!
Interesting to see how MLB went about this compared to the NFL. I, too, had the MLB network added to my cable, without any extra charge. Yet The NFL still is fighting with cable systems about adding their network to tiered Sports packages, charging more money for it.
Problem is that the NFL Network airs 4 or 5 games each year, and you can’t watch those games any other way. That is what I’m curious about re the MLB Network. I predict the All-Star Game or some such will eventually show up there. Then there will be a furor…
They’ve also had Game One of the 1988 WS (the Gibson home run off Eck).