This has to be the saddest MLB.TV recap ever

[Ely Sussman]

"I think Ely is addicted to watching bad baseball." Hard to argue with the data!

Covering the Miami Marlins from out of market, I stream all of their games via MLB.TV. Yes, all of them, even throughout the slog that was their 2024 regular season. It was apparent instantly that the Marlins would not be competitive, and as the summer wore on, their major league roster was largely populated by placeholders who were unlikely to have a future with the organization. But no excuses: in the interest of providing thorough coverage, I continued to watch.

Every pitch of every Marlins game? Not quite. I would switch over to the radio broadcast if my dog needed to go on a mid-game walk. At least a handful of times, I checked out in the late innings of a blowout. Some commitments I made to family and friends unavoidably overlapped, preventing me from witnessing all 26 of the home runs allowed by Roddery Muñoz. Please forgive me.

Actually, only 146 of Miami's 162 games were available to me live on MLB.TV. There were 15 games against the New York Mets and New York Yankees affected by regional blackouts and one against the Cleveland Guardians shown exclusively on FS1. I attended some of those in person and watched the rest on cable.

The annual MLB.TV recap that was emailed to me on Wednesday verifies my extensive, borderline unhealthy Marlins viewing habits, stating that I reached my max of 146 games. It was also unsurprising to see all 30 teams included in the recap (select Yankees and Mets games were exempt from blackouts through Roku's series of Sunday broadcasts).

However, I was shocked to learn that my next most-streamed team was the 121-loss Chicago White Sox, followed closely by the 101-loss Colorado Rockies. Those were the three very worst MLB teams of 2024. Despite how it looks, I swear, Marcello, I'm not "addicted to watching bad baseball."

Without having the hard data to prove it, I'm confident the American League pennant-winning Yankees were really my No. 2 team in terms of total games, somewhere in the 110-125 game range.

My routine was to watch the Marlins on my computer on a full-screen setting, at least during the somewhat competitive portions of the game. I regularly watched the Yankees on a second (muted) screen during the many instances when they and the Marlins played at the same time. MLB.TV fails to account for that.

If the Marlins game grew dull, I'd often open the stream of another live MLB.TV game and split my screen between the two. The caveat is, I strongly prefer to watch games from the beginning rather than joining midway through. That meant a lot more of my attention devoted to teams playing outside the eastern time zone.

Not to pile on the White Sox and Rockies, but I'm unimpressed by their current local television booths. Particularly in Chicago's case, I almost always switched to the video feed of their opponent's TV broadcast for entertainment and informational purposes. Although I watched a ton of bad baseball, at least I wasn't listening as partisan voices attempted to excuse it.

Overall, I got a glimpse of more than half of all MLB games that were played in 2024. MLB.TV had me at 1,157 games, which is 47.6% of the 2,430 total, then add on the Yankees and dozens of national TV exclusives that I saw outside of the app. Rest assured, the gap wasn't so large between my viewership of terrible teams compared to the rest of the league.

If anybody reading this also accrued way too much MLB.TV mileage last season, feel free to share your recap graphic in the comments.

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[rurrusuno]

Haha, that’s funny, Elly.

I either watched the Marlins games I could on Bally Sports (now Fan Duel Sports Network) or attended a few in person.

Aside from that, I would catch some prime time games on TS1 or ESPN Sunday night baseball. I also have access to Rays games so I’d catch bits and pieces of that too.

[THOMAS JOSEPH]

While it's not up to me to exonerate you, I certainly understand! For Fish on First and as a huge fan, I don't see any reason to apologize. This is, admittedly, self-serving, since my own stats were also prodigious. When I am in Louisville, the Reds are blacked out. When in Jacksonville, it's the Marlins. Of course, I watch the local channels for Marlins coverage. So, as my baseball intake is not fully summarized by the MLB.TV recap. 

I watch Western time zone games after the Marlins play or catch other Eastern time zone games when the Marlins are out west. Moreover, I must add in my in-person attendance at Great American, loanDepot, Louisville Slugger Field, and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Grounds to round out the picture of baseball immersion. All told, even the few Marlins games I missed were deliberate. Yes, I am a stubborn bas***d, and will not watch the Dodgers under any circumstances, including any games with the Marlins. It's cathartic. 

In an alternate universe, I'd be a Rays or Astros fan, two well-run organizations. I always checked in on the Angels, as I have an old connection to them from Expos great Bill Stoneman's GM days. MLB.TV is a fine value for me, enhanced by the MiLB, AFL, and Dominican League availability. 

For 2025, presumptuously (since I am old), I have no plans to change and I bet you don't, either!

Cheers.