Tampa Bay Rays: Why MLB.TV should be free this season

Tampa Bay Rays: Well, as you have undoubtedly heard by now, we are going to have a season. There are a lot of bad feelings built up among casual fans, here’s how MLB can win them back.

Tampa Bay Rays Editorial: The season is on! We (and every publication on the planet) have covered the implementation of the season out of pure excitement and joy!

37% of a Rays’ season is 100% better than zero.

Tampa Bay Rays – What MLB has put you through

Fans have had to sit through public bickering, of which the impact has thudded into the casual fan with more force than usual thanks to the extremely public forum social media has provided.

We have been inundated with constant updates with details over a multi-billion dollar labor dispute.

Some people are absolutely fed up. About a quarter of the country is out of work thanks to the pandemic and they couldn’t care less about these two entities arguing over how to divvy up the revenue for an organization that earned about $10.7 billion last season.

Look, I get it. I get why there was a dispute, and I also understand why so many people were turned off by it.

For the sake of the image of the league, this should have been decided behind closed doors. They needed a united front. They did not.

Now, the season is back on and interest is piqued. They have an opportunity to present a united front to fans, even if it is a facade.

Hopefully, the two sides have learned from the recent quarrels that airing your dirty laundry in public is not a good idea.

Does anybody have those friends or family members who post WAYYY too much information on social media and then wonder why nobody wants to confide in them or even hang out with them?

Major League Baseball is that person right now.

Tampa Bay Rays – How can the MLB make it right?  Make it Free!

They should make MLB.TV free for the 2020 season.

This is a step in the right direction. Give fans an opportunity to watch out-of-market games for free.

What’s that you say? Mike Trout doesn’t get enough exposure? Well, let’s let the rest of the country check in on him for FREEEEEEE!!!!!!!

They are already going to have to sell it at an extreme discount since fans are only getting 37% of a regular season. Fans on the fence about their mistreatment at the hands of the sport will assuredly not pay any money for your product this season.

Give it to them.

However, who can turn down free baseball?

They need to get as many eyes as possible on this season to maintain the fanbase after what they put everyone through. Plus, this is going to be a wildly exciting season, especially to casual fans.

The season will pretty much start in the middle of a playoff race. Put it out there for free and people will come, Rob (Manfred).

The teams still get their massive regional cable contracts, and they should be able to earn more in ad-revenue on the streaming platform with more people watching. Granted, I don’t know about the inner-workings of MLB.TV’s pricing models and revenue streams.

This move will keep fans interested in the league this season and will go a long way to earning some good PR.

Also, I haven’t paid for my subscription yet…

What ideas to you have for Major League Baseball to endear themselves to the fans in 2020? Let us know in the comments below!