by MLB is riding high after the World Baseball Classic, which has its best viewership numbers ever. Some even believe that baseball, which in the past decade has fallen way behind the NFL and the NBA in popularity, is back, and in a big way.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony, 21, told the Athletic, “The game’s in a better place than it’s ever been.”
But this is MLB, which can never seem to get out of its own way.
I was honestly looking forward to Netflix Opening Night and hoping it would be as good as the WBC. Watching the WBC for the first time was really enjoyable (if you know, you know), and I was hoping this Netflix event would capture that same excitement.
The decision to make MLB Opening Night a premier event was a great idea, matching the New York Yankees with the San Francisco Giants at gorgeous Oracle Park, with a military flyover and punctuated by an incredible performance of the National Anthem by Navy Petty Officer (retired) Generald Wilson.
The game broadcast wasn’t the main issue; play-by-play man Matt Vasgersian was solid, and CC Sabathia and Hunter Pence were fine. But the in-game interviews during gameplay – always an infamnia when ESPN and FOX were doing it – were a distraction, not a highlight.
The rest of the broadcast was a slopfest as well.
The “studio” show, featuring ESPN host Elle Duncan (who kept calling home plate “home base”) and Barry Bonds (“I was a great teammate”), was horrendous.
The trolley and the taxi cabs on the field, comedian Bert Kreischer as the hype guy, screaming “This is baseball!” as he came out of a trolley? Nobody, and I mean nobody, asked for this.
Why does MLB do this?
I get they want to expand their viewership, but this isn’t baseball. Sorry, Bert Kreischer.
As for the game, which you couldn’t even watch clearly for the first several innings because of all the smoke from the drone show (which was cool), it was all Yankees.
Max Fried pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, and Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon had two RBI apiece. José Caballero (playing in place of injured SS Anthony Volpe), Giancarlo Stanton, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each drove in a run in the team’s 7-0 win.
The only blemish on the night was the performance of Aaron Judge, who struck out in his first four at-bats and finished 0-for-5.
I think he’ll be fine. But unless MLB and Netflix get their act together, the bizarre marriage won’t be.
