For 53 years, baseball-headed mascot Mr. Met has entertained the fans of New York’s newer baseball team. Yet even mascots have their breaking points, and last night Mr. Met surprised riled-up fans by giving them the finger after an especially frustrating 7-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. [More]
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Man Honoring Late Friend By Flushing His Ashes In Ballparks Around The Country
By 5.2.17
If you’ve used the men’s room at a baseball stadium in the past eight years, you may unwittingly have visited one of the many sites where a late fan’s ashes were mingled with the waters. [More]
T-Mobile Offering Customers A Free Year Of MLB.TV Premium
By 3.28.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
T-Mobile customers who can’t travel to every city their favorite baseball team plays — and don’t want to pay for extra channels or on-demand streaming — will have another option to catch the action with a free subscription to MLB.TV Premium for a year. [More]
After 141 Years, Major League Baseball Has Its First Official Hot Dog
By 3.28.17
Visit any baseball stadium in the country and you’ll likely hear cries of “Hot dogs heeeeere! Got your hot dogs heeeeeere!” But while encased meats are as ubiquitous at ball games as peanuts and cracker jack, Major League Baseball has never raised one hot dog above the rest as its official wiener in its 141 years. Until now. [More]
AT&T, Feds Settle Dodgers Lawsuit Over SportsNet LA; Blackout To Continue
By 3.24.17
The Department of Justice and AT&T settled a lawsuit claiming DirecTV — which AT&T purchased in 2015 — colluded unlawfully with other carriers about their negotiations to carry SportsNet LA, the only cable channel in Los Angeles to air most Dodgers games. But that doesn’t mean the cable provider will be adding the channel to its lineup anytime soon. [More]
Report: Facebook Wants To Livestream One MLB Game Per Week
By 2.22.17
In the social media version of keeping up with the Joneses, it looks like Facebook wants to get in on some of the professional sports action its rival Twitter is going after: The Zuck’s company is reportedly in talks with Major League Baseball to livestream one game a week during the upcoming season. [More]
DirecTV Asks Court To Throw Out Justice Dept. Lawsuit Over SportsNet LA
By 2.13.17
It’s hard to be a baseball fan in Los Angeles. For what feels like ages, the LA Dodgers have had an exclusive deal with Time Warner Cable — now Charter — to air their games in the area. Other carriers reportedly have tried to get access to the games but were stymied, eventually leading to a complicated court case where the Justice Department sued DirecTV over allegations of colluding unlawfully with other carriers in negotiations with SportsNet LA. Now, DirecTV is fighting back. [More]
Study: Baseball Teams More Likely To Have A Bad Game Due To Jet Lag When Flying East
By 1.23.17
Playing at least 81 games on the road, sometimes thousands of miles from home and in a different time zone, will eventually have an effect on even the most fit professional baseball player, but is there a correlation between distance (and direction) traveled and performance? [More]
Everyone Gets A Free Taco From Taco Bell On Nov. 2
By 10.26.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
Whether you were weeping with joy or sadness after the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the World Series last night, know this: there is a free taco waiting for you a week from now, if you choose to accept it. [More]
Taco Bell Will Hand Out Free Tacos If Someone Steals A Base During World Series
By 10.20.16 — Updated: 11.1.16
Whether you’re jumping for joy or tearing your hair out when a player steals a base during the upcoming World Series, rest assured that if it happens, everyone’s gonna get a free taco. [More]
Former St. Louis Cardinals Exec Sentenced To 46 Months For Hacking Houston Astros
By 7.19.16
More than six months after pleading guilty to hacking into the Houston Astros’ front office computer network, a former St. Louis Cardinals executive has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison. [More]
Report: Disney To Buy Part Of MLB.tv
By 7.1.16
Baseball is already brought to you by Disney, if it’s a game on ESPN. But now Disney wants to bring you all the baseball… at least if you stream it online. [More]
Atlanta Braves Selling Tickets For As Low As $2.60/Game. What’s The Catch?
By 6.8.16
As a lifelong Phillies fan, especially one whose formative years were spent watching the Atlanta Braves repeatedly mow down the rest of the National League for the better part of two decades, it’s not without some joy that I revel in the fact that the last-place Braves have had to resort to rock-bottom pricing to get fans in seats. At the same time, as someone who cares about protecting consumers, I have to point out the fine print in this bargain. [More]
Miami Marlins Respond To Flagging Attendance By Suing Season Ticket Holders
By 5.25.16
The idea of pro sports team suing its biggest fans may seem counter-intuitive, but try telling that to the Miami Marlins. Since 2013, the team — which ranks 27th out of 30 Major League Baseball teams in attendance — has reportedly sued at least nine fans with season tickets or luxury suite contracts, while also fighting legal battles against bankrupt stadium vendors.
[More]
T-Mobile Offers Free MLB.tv Subscription To Promote Streaming, Draw Customers
By 3.16.16
Baseball season begins in a few weeks, so why not use it as an opportunity to sell some mobile phone plans? You might not see the direct connection there, but T-Mobile does: they’re offering free subscriptions to the MLB’s all-team streaming service to their customers to promote baseball and their Binge On exemptions for selected streaming video services. [More]
MLB To Offer In-Market Streaming Starting In 2017 (But You’ll Still Need Cable)
By 1.19.16
The settlement of a years-old class-action lawsuit against Major League Baseball means that fans will have more streaming options for watching their favorite teams. Unfortunately, it also means that if you live in the same market as your favorite team, you still need to pay for cable. [More]
MLB Commissioner Asks All Teams To Extend Safety Nets
By 12.9.15
Following a high-profile lawsuit alleging that Major League Baseball and team owners had been putting fans at risk by not extending safety net coverage all the way from home plate to the foul poles, the league’s commissioner is now calling on all 30 teams to increase the netting, but nowhere near as far as the foul poles. [More]
Lawsuit Over Safety Nets At Major League Baseball Parks Details Dozens Of Fan Injuries Since July
By 10.23.15
A little more than three months ago, a class-action lawsuit filed against Major League Baseball called for the installation of safety nets that would extend all the way to both of the foul poles. The lead plaintiff in that complaint had not actually been struck by any errant balls or bats, but a newly amended complaint includes details on numerous recent fan injuries and near-misses, including 90 that have occurred since this lawsuit was first filed. [More]
