For a few glorious hours last night, baseball was back. The New York Yankees faced off against the Washington Nationals in what felt like a throwback to a bygone era. In preparation for the game, I tried to bring to mind the last time I had sat in front of my television with America’s pastime on the screen. That would have been a World Series game, also featuring the Washington Nationals, but at over 250 days ago, it might as well have been a different lifetime. Who was I in November 2019? Who were any of us, pre-2020, pre-coronavirus, pre-quarantine, pre-fraying of our country’s social fabric? The champion Nationals were certainly different, with a roster that boasted the likes of Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman and Juan Soto, all absent from Opening Day.
The optimism that came from actually starting a baseball season did not last long, overshadowed by Soto’s positive COVID test and an hour-long rain delay that eventually led to the game being called after 5 innings. Another baseball game was played later that night on the West Coast, showing the San Francisco Giants versus the L.A. Dodgers and newly-minted gajillionaire Mookie Betts, but by 10 p.m. ET the images on the screen were so ominous with downpour and bursts of lightning as to cast a pall upon the upcoming 60-day season.
This is all to ask: With Game 1 in the books, how likely is it that we see this “season,” even in its truncated form, to completion? Or put in a more practical way in line with the mission statement of this website: Is it worth subscribing to MLB.TV this year?
I’ve subscribed to MLB.TV as long as I’ve earned a salary. Every February, the $120 charge on my credit card comes as a somewhat welcome surprise, a reminder that baseball is coming. Except for this year. As the calendar whooshed past what was supposed to be Opening Day, through April and May and June, that $120 charge came to symbolize a payment for a service that was never delivered. I kept expecting Major League Baseball to refund me, or at least send me an email about their cancellation policy, but they never did, nor was there any information on the topic on their website. Eventually I called, complaining about what was essentially an interest-free loan, and the fee was returned in full.
Now, MLB.TV wants longtime subscribers back. They’ve decided to price this season at $60, which, as noted by Yahoo! Sports, is actually more expensive per game. Those who bought the package in February and March were given a $76 credit, lowering their cost to just over $45. The MLB is also making this reduced price available for consumers like me who canceled in the summer.
Should I do it? Though the prospect of watching unlimited baseball after four months starved for sports is undeniably appealing, I just can’t shake the feeling that the promise of the 2020 season is nothing but a mirage. In all likelihood, baseball (as well as basketball and hockey, set to return in the next week or so) will be put on hold again after a soft opening. It will follow the well-worn path of offices, restaurants and amusement parks, all ready to reopen with social distance precautions in place, only to be shuttered again by authorities anxious to maintain the illusion of control.
My advice is this: Enjoy baseball while you can. If you have the money to spend, go ahead and treat yourself to as much of the sport that is made available for consumption. Just don’t be surprised when the angry gods of 2020 strike again, taking away one more thing for us to love.
