TV programming is tweaking its game plans for Opening Day
Mets pitcher Tom Seaver throws against the Atlanta Braves in a National League playoff game in Atlanta on Oct. 4, 1969. Credit: AP/Anonymous
Good news, baseball fans?
To mark what would have been Opening Day on Thursday, MLB will offer a multi-platform initiative it has dubbed “Opening Day at Home.”
All 30 teams will be featured in classic games across MLB digital properties, including MLB.com, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with the promise of a victory for all 30.
Aaron Boone’s walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS will be the Yankees’ entry, streaming at 2:30 p.m. The Mets’ victory over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2015 NLDS is scheduled for 6 p.m.
MLB Network, meanwhile, will show memorable Opening Day games on television, starting at 1 p.m. with Derek Jeter’s first career opener for the Yankees in 1996. MLB.tv has opened up its archive of games from 2018 and ’19.
All of which is fine and dandy, as far as it goes. But this sort of programming plan, which has come to dominate the schedules of sports media outlets across the continent, mostly has failed to raise the pulse of fans.
That is because it is a reminder of the extremely perishable nature of sports content.
While shut-in Americans who need a break from news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic are spending their family time watching and re-watching favorite movies and TV shows, most sports fans are adrift.
Sure, many of us are watching and enjoying the old stuff in small doses, and TV folks are doing what they can to enhance that experience, such as MSG Networks having Islanders live-tweet during replays of games played earlier this season.
CBS scored big in that area on Sunday when Kansas coach Bill Self ended a 10-month Twitter hiatus to live-tweet during a replay of the Jayhawks’ victory over Memphis in the 2008 NCAA Tournament final.
The usually staid Self had some fun with it. “I feel pretty good about this one,” he joked in his first post.
Mario Chalmers live-tweeted his tying three-pointer that sent the game into overtime for Kansas, and all weekend other stars of NCAA Tournaments past commented on their exploits as they watched TV.
CBS got respectable viewership for its slate of old championship games last weekend, topped by Villanova’s 2016 victory over North Carolina on Sunday, which averaged 1.1 million, down from 17.8 million when the game first aired.
But those sorts of falloffs are obvious, and no one’s fault. We’re all trying to do the best we can here.
ESPN has a greater challenge than most because of its many hours to fill across many platforms. But it also has an edge in having so much non-event programming, from old documentaries to Scott Van Pelt’s nightly information / group therapy sessions on the late “SportsCenter.”
As for ratings: yuck.
ESPN declined to provide any, and other national and local network representatives seemed a little queasy about the topic this week. Let’s call them “modest” and leave it at that. But by all means, keep trying, everyone!
Here is one idea to expand programming options: YES, SNY and MSG could start showing more losses by home teams on “classic” replays, something that to this point has been an extreme rarity.
In 2009, the Mets ended a 361-game winning streak on SNY replays when the network showed Game 1 of the 1969 World Series, which the Mets lost before winning four straight over the Orioles.
I asked Tom Seaver about it at the time, and he thought the whole thing was silly. “We still won four games to one, no matter how you shuffle them," he said, and encouraged all local sports channels to loosen up.
“Oh, God,” he said, “it's in the record books, for crying out loud!"
MLB.com on Thursday will mark what would have been Opening Day by streaming 30 classic games, one victory for each team. The games also will appear on other MLB social media platforms. Here is the complete schedule:
American League EAST
Blue Jays: Joey Bats’ epic flip (12:15 p.m. ET)
José Bautista obliterates a go-ahead, three-run homer in Game 5 of the 2015 AL Division Series — and punctuates it with a celebration for the ages.
Also available on: Las Mayores Facebook
Orioles: A dramatic comeback (4 p.m. ET)
Down three runs in the bottom of the eighth, Baltimore fights back in Game 2 of the 2014 ALDS.
Also available on: MLB Vault YouTube channel
Rays: Game 162, for all the marbles (11 a.m. ET)
The 2011 AL Wild Card race comes down to the final day of the regular season, and the results are memorable.
Also available on: Cut4 Twitter
Red Sox: The Game 4 miracle (6 p.m. ET)
Dave Roberts steals second base, and the 2004 Sox embark upon the only comeback from a 3-0 postseason series deficit in MLB history.
Also available on: MLB Facebook
Yankees: Boone walks it off (2:50 p.m. ET)
Relive the Yankees' dramatic win over the Red Sox in Game 7 of the 2003 AL Championship Series.
Also available on: MLB Facebook
AL CENTRAL
Indians: 22 in a row (9 a.m. ET)
The 2017 Tribe extends its AL-record win streak to a mind-boggling 22, in walk-off fashion.
Also available on: Las Mayores Facebook
Royals: Crown them (6:05 p.m. ET)
A dramatic 2015 championship run concludes with a ninth-inning rally and a 12th-inning explosion in Game 5 at Citi Field.
Also available on: Las Mayores Twitter
Tigers: JV twirls first no-no (9 a.m. ET)
A 24-year-old Justin Verlander strikes out 12 Brewers on his way to a no-hitter at Comerica Park in 2007.
Also available on: MLB Facebook
Twins: Tiebreaker yields division crown (11:15 a.m. ET)
The 2009 AL Central race requires a 163rd game, and Minnesota outlasts Detroit in an extra-innings battle at the Metrodome.
Also available on: Las Mayores Twitter
White Sox: Perfection for Buehrle (4 p.m. ET)
On a Thursday afternoon in 2009, Mark Buehrle treats the South Side fans to a little perfecto — with some help from substitute centerfielder Dewayne Wise.
Also available on: Cut4 Twitter
AL WEST
Angels: Trout takes the Big Apple (12 p.m. ET)
Mike Trout puts on a show on the big stage at Yankee Stadium in 2018, smacking three doubles and a home run for his first career five-hit game.
Also available on: MLB YouTube channel
Astros: JV notches no-no No. 3 (12 p.m. ET)
Verlander is in dominant form in Toronto, piling up 14 K’s while becoming the sixth pitcher to collect three career no-hitters.
Also available on: MLB Twitter
Athletics: The streak goes to 20 (6 p.m. ET)
Future “Moneyball” star Scott Hatteberg walks off the Royals and caps an incredible winning streak for the 2002 A’s, who turn the AL West race on its head.
Also available on: Cut4 Twitter
Mariners: The King is perfect (3:30 p.m. ET)
Already miss Félix Hernández in Seattle? Turn back the clock to the summer afternoon in 2012 when he took his throne and painted a masterpiece against the Rays.
Also available on: Las Mayores Facebook
Rangers: Texas wins the pennant (9 p.m. ET)
The franchise punches a ticket to its first World Series by finishing off the Yankees in ALCS Game 6.
Also available on: Las Mayores Facebook
NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
Braves: Acuña slams Dodgers (3:05 p.m. ET)
Rookie sensation Ronald Acuña Jr. fends off elimination in the 2018 NLDS, striking the big blow with the bases loaded.
Also available on: Las Mayores Twitter
Marlins: Beckett slams the door (6 p.m. ET)
Josh Beckett locks up 2003 World Series MVP honors by outdueling Andy Pettitte in this Game 6 clincher.
Also available on: Las Mayores Facebook
Mets: Win or go home (6 p.m. ET)
Jacob deGrom and Daniel Murphy star, as the Mets advance past the Dodgers in Game 5 of a back-and-forth 2015 NLDS.
Also available on: MLB Twitter
Nationals: A Game 7 thriller (3 p.m. ET)
Remember this one? A never-say-die team summons one more rally to win the 2019 World Series.
Also available on: MLB YouTube channel
Phillies: Harper’s heroics (9 a.m. ET)
Bryce Harper authors the signature moment of his debut season in Philly, launching a walk-off grand slam.
Also available on: MLB Twitter
NL CENTRAL
Brewers: Crew spoils Rocktober (8:30 a.m. ET)
In a tense NLDS opener in 2018, Christian Yelich goes deep, and Mike Moustakas walks off the Rox at Miller Park.
Also available on: MLB YouTube channel
Cardinals: The David Freese Game (11 a.m. ET)
Down to their last strike in Game 6 of the World Series, the 2011 Cards fight back multiple times, and say, “We’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Also available on: MLB Facebook
Cubs: The drought is over (6:05 p.m. ET)
The Indians push them to the brink, but the Cubs squeeze past Cleveland in a dramatic Game 7 and finally win their first championship since 1908.
Also available on: MLB YouTube channel
Pirates: Triumphant return to October (8:30 a.m. ET)
PNC Park is hyped for Pittsburgh’s first postseason game since 1992 — just ask Johnny Cueto — and the Bucs advance past the Reds in the 2013 NL Wild Card Game.
Also available on: Las Mayores Twitter
Reds: Starting it off right (1 p.m. ET)
Cincinnati wins its 2019 opener, as Luis Castillo strikes out eight and Derek Dietrich delivers a pinch-hit, go-ahead, three-run homer.
Also available on: MLB Vault YouTube channel
NL WEST
D-backs: Gonzalez walks off Mo (10 p.m. ET)
Game 7, ninth inning, score tied, runners on base. It’s the scenario every kid imagines, and Luis Gonzalez comes through to win it all in 2001 — off the best closer in baseball history.
Also available on: MLB Facebook
Dodgers: Kershaw no-hits Rox (9 p.m. ET)
There have been so many Clayton Kershaw gems at Dodger Stadium, but none quite like this one from 2014: a 15-strikeout tour de force that was oh-so-close to perfection.
Also available on: MLB Twitter
Giants: MadBum adds to his legend (10:30 p.m. ET)
Talk about putting the team on your back. Madison Bumgarner adds a World Series MVP Award to his trophy case with a jaw-dropping effort in Game 7 of the 2014 Fall Classic.
Also available on: MLB YouTube channel
Padres: Down 6? Watch this! (9:30 p.m. ET)
Six-run deficit in the ninth? No sweat. The Padres stage a franchise-record comeback in the ninth and then score five more in the 12th for good measure to claim a 5-hour, 4-minute marathon at Coors Field in 2019.
Also available on: Las Mayores Twitter
Rockies: Nolan cycles on Father’s Day (3 p.m. ET)
Walk-off homer? Check. Cycle? Check. Father’s Day gift? Also check. Nolan Arenado gets a three-for-one deal in this Coors Field thriller from 2017.
Also available on: MLB Twitter
Full Timeline:
8:30 a.m. ET: Brewers (Crew spoils Rocktober)
8:30 a.m. ET: Pirates (Triumphant return to October)
9 a.m. ET: Phillies (Harper’s heroics)
9 a.m. ET: Tigers (JV twirls first no-no)
9 a.m. ET: Indians (22 in a row)
11 a.m. ET: Rays (Game 162, for all the marbles)
11 a.m. ET: Cardinals (The David Freese Game)
11:15 a.m. ET: Twins (Tiebreaker yields division crown)
12 p.m. ET: Angels (Trout takes the Big Apple)
12 p.m. ET: Astros (JV notches no-no No. 3)
12:15 p.m. ET: Blue Jays (Joey Bats’ epic flip)
1 p.m. ET: Reds (Starting it off right)
2:50 p.m. ET: Yankees (Boone walks it off)
3 p.m. ET: Nationals (A Game 7 thriller)
3 p.m. ET: Rockies (Nolan cycles on Father’s Day)
3:05 p.m. ET: Braves (Acuña slams Dodgers)
3:30 p.m. ET: Mariners (The King is perfect)
4 p.m. ET: Orioles (A dramatic comeback)
4 p.m. ET: White Sox (Perfection for Buehrle)
6 p.m. ET: Red Sox (The Game 4 miracle)
6 p.m. ET: Mets (Win or go home)
6 p.m. ET: Marlins (Beckett slams the door)
6 p.m. ET: Athletics (The streak goes to 20)
6:05 p.m. ET: Cubs (The drought is over)
6:05 p.m. ET: Royals (Crown them)
9 p.m. ET: Dodgers (Kershaw no-hits Rox)
9 p.m. ET: Rangers (Texas wins the pennant)
9:30 p.m. ET: Padres (Down 6? Watch this!)
10 p.m. ET: D-backs (Gonzalez walks off Mo)
10:30 p.m. ET: Giants (MadBum adds to his legend)
MLB Network will show classic Opening Day games on television:
1 p.m.: Yankees vs. Indians, 1996
4 p.m.: Dodgers vs. Giants, 2013
6 p.m.: Diamondbacks vs. Giants, 2017
9 p.m.: Rockies vs. Padres, 2005
Midnight: Mets vs. Cubs, 1994
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
