Sign up or login to track your favorite teams

Sign Up for Bleacher Report

As a registered user you can subscribe to your favorite teams, post comments, write your own articles, and much more.

You must register in order for that functionality to work!







Validating sign up form ...

Bleacher Report articles are written by fans like you

Do you want to cover your favorite sports, teams, and leagues?

Processing writing preferences ...

Great, , you're signed up!

i.e. Big 10, LeBron James, USC Football

Selected Tags:

Logging in ...

My girlfriend has competition. It's called the MLB Network. I'm only 23 years old and because of that I've missed a lot of amazing baseball...

MLB Network: The Best $10 I Ever Spent

by Dylan Sharek (Scribe)

14

198 reads

Opinion

January 01, 2009


My girlfriend has competition. It's called the MLB Network.

I'm only 23 years old and because of that I've missed a lot of amazing baseball. I've tried my hardest to learn as much as I can about baseball's past through long and meandering searches through baseball-reference, Ken Burns' Baseball, YouTube, Baseball Think Factory and the other amazing references available to me in this day and age, but nothing can replace watching something in its entirety and experiencing it with your own eyes and ears.

Today I watched Mickey Mantle hit a home run in the context of an entire baseball game.

It was absolutely one of the most electrifying moments of my life.

The MLB Network's kinescope broadcast of Don Larsen's 1956 World Series perfect game signifies a significant moment in the lives of many young baseball men like me. Sure, I've seen games from the late '60s and the '70s, but these games showed the stars of yesteryear in their twilight or on the gradual decline to retirement.

But tonight, I saw Hall of Famers in their prime take their hacks just like I watch Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez take theirs. I learned that Sal Maglie pitched damn, damn well that day in 1956 and that players took huge pride in their defense, something the record books had never been able to convey to me.

I learned that baseball, no matter how much I may hate the economics behind it, has not changed one bit. It is still nine guys going out on the world's most perfectly designed playing field playing the world's most beautiful, intricate game.

It truly is timeless, transcending decades and depressions.

I do not know if MLB Networks will continue to showcase classic footage. But for a $10 upgrade to the premium cable package, I watched something in 2009 that my father hasn't been able to watch in his 50 years as a baseball fan. That alone makes it worth every penny.

I look forward to Harold Reynolds, Al Leiter, and Barry Larkin's insight into baseball from a player's perspective. While I enjoy John Kruk and Karl Ravich, I hope MLB Network never invites someone like Steve Phillips into their midst.

Right now, this channel is showcasing baseball in the way it should be.

Simply.

Here's to a great 2009 and all the baseball that comes with it.

Track this Article on My B/R
Flag This Article
Share This Article

14 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Miguel Salcido 6 months ago

    AMEN! But how did you only have to pay $10? I am so upset that I cannot be part of this initial broadcast because the cable wiring in my apartment is so old that I cannot get the digital premium cable channels out of it, just basic cable. AND my apartment complex does not allow dishes to be installed so no Direct TV or others. :-(

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

    • Dylan Sharek 6 months ago

      Well it's only 10 bucks to upgrade to "premium" digital cable. It is so friggin' good so far.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

    • Miguel Salcido 6 months ago

      Dylan, I'm gonna have to move so I can get real cable. At least I still got MLB.com.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

    • Dylan Sharek 6 months ago

      They just completed the game and it was absolutely just a great experience to be able to see. You get the feeling that Larsen and Berra really appreciate what baseball means, which is a direct parallel to the way players act these days.
      It's also really fun to see how little baseball has changed. Scully announces the same. The calls are the same. The plays are the same. It's just all the drama surrounding baseball that's changed.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

  2. Sean Stiff 6 months ago

    ARGH!

    I WISH I was able to spend the night watching that!!!! I just have to hope it doesn't take YEARS until it reaches Canada.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  3. Matt Poloni 6 months ago

    It was great watching that game with the between innings commentary from Larsen and Yogi. MLB Network seems to be almost everything I was hoping it would be. It still has a few improvements to be made, but that will come with time.

    Also, did anyone notice that almost every commercial was by Gilette? It was like they had a monopoly on World Series advertising. I found that to be kind of weird.

    Good article, Dylan.

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

    • Dylan Sharek 6 months ago

      I'm really enjoying the bulk of its content. I just hope it doesn't get into repeating the same programming every single day once it gets going and has a backlog to draw from.

      It's nice to see classic footage from yesteryear and also just a few years ago. I mean I never thought I would see a game populated by the likes of Campanella, Robinson, Mantle, Berra, in its entirety. It's also extremely nice to be able to catch my baseball fix at any time of the day. I think you're passionate about the sport much like I am, so I'm sure you can identify.

      Back in the day, programs were sponsored by companies. You had the Texaco Star Theater, the Colgate Comedy Hour, stuff like that. My guess is that Gilette was the sole sponsor of the World Series, so they really did have a monopoly over the program's commercials. They paid the bills, they get the advertising.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

  4. KAT GILL 6 months ago

    uhm....maybe it's due to the fact that i've spent zillions of dollars to the COMCAST REGIME over the years, and had broadband like in 1973 at the cost of fourteen-thousand dollars a month...but...

    MLB IS FREE FOR ME

    and i love it, too! last year i went without eating to afford MLB EXTRA INNINGS. oh honey! i am talkin NO NEED TO EVER LEAVE YOUR HOUSE. really. i had to have an intervention from family and friends just to return to work. (well, not really. but i DID have a long talk with myself in the mirror a couple times i was tempted to call in sick cause bosox, tampa, and the yankees all had early games)

    nice article.

    hey. did i read the ticker wrong on sportscenter...or is manny being offered a 4 year deal by yer boys? AH GOD! THAT WOULD BE SOOOOO AWESOME TO SEE HIM WITH THE KIDS IN SF! manny and bowker just hangin out together in the dugout....

    :)

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

    • Dylan Sharek 6 months ago

      I can't tell if you're joking about the broadband comment, but I am now wondering if I'm paying for something I shouldn't be paying for. And I'm a little wierded out. Is MLB Network supposed to come with basic cable or does it come with premium cable?

      I got Extra Innings last year and I loved it. I don't know if I got my money's worth though because I worked so much. It was definitely cool to see some random games, but I also realized that some announcers and productions are BAD.

      Manny in SF would be nice. We'll see.

      Edit Comment Cancel

      Reply
      Great Comment (
      0
      )

  5. KAT GILL 6 months ago

    hey dylan...do you have comcast?

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  6. faith fureigh 5 months ago

    hey

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

  7. faith fureigh 5 months ago

    hey... dylan do u have a myspace?

    Edit Comment Cancel

    Reply
    Great Comment (
    0
    )

Leave a Comment

  • You must register to post a comment.

    • Want to write for Bleacher Report

    We are a community of fans who write about sports. And we're growing.

    Learn More and Sign Up »

    Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Getty Images.
    Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Getty Images is strictly prohibited.