A pitch to those of you who have Comcast

[alexlegge]

I'll cut straight to it with my pitch:

There exists some point at which, even for the most hardcore fans, the cons of sending billionaires the wrong message outweigh the benefits of being able to enjoy Twins your fandom with the same ease. Whether or not you've reached that point is your decision, but I urge you to give it some consideration, and not to automatically sign up for the new sports package that will bring Twins broadcasts back to you.

 

If you're not convinced about my pitch, here's more of my rationale:

As someone born and raised in Minneapolis who has now lived in NYC for over a decade, I'm proud of my midwestern groundedness. It serves me well in the Big Apple. I tried not to get overly cynical in my immediate response to the trade deadline, despite many reasons to be frustrated....not the least of which is frustration for my parents, who as Twins  season-ticket holders and Comcast subscribers this year (not to mention frequent purchasers of Twins gear) have basically been crapped on by the team up until this point. Despite my MLB.com subscription giving me TV access to fewer and fewer games each year, it's been mind-boggling that my parents, loyal fans living in the Twin Cities, have enjoyed access to only a small sliver of the TV broadcasts. Personally, I've attended three games this year: two losses at Target Field when I visited MN this April, and the ugly 15-2 blowout at CITI last week. Even after that debacle, and the trade deadline, I hadn't fully reached a breaking point. My poor parents have attended seven or eight games and seen them win in person as many times as I have (zero!). And yet, even considering all of that, I kept my cool after the trade deadline.

But learning that my parents - and all of you - are being asked to pay more money now to watch the Twins...in Minnesota, in the wake of such a stupid deadline ---- that, to me, is where I drew a line.

Perhaps your line is drawn somewhere else. You've probably made some modest financial commitment to the team this year (buying tickets or gear). You've certainly helped the team increase its revenue via some of your actions. Yet you've been denied aspects of fandom that you deserve. In response to an opening window of contention, you followed a team that traded away a fan-favorite for a washed up starter to cut payroll in the off-season...a team that has been unapologetic about a TV snafu that has rendered it impossible for you to watch several of their games...a team that has been flagrantly self-sabotaged by their billionaire ownership group. More frustratingly, amidst the Pohlads' open efforts to double down on their stinginess, they're now perfectly content with you being  asked to pay more money merely to watch games you expected to have at the beginning of the season. And the nerve for them to allow this to happen at this time....when it became increasingly evident in the period between the All-Star Break that the Twins needed pitching help...as they coughed up several late close games, including an embarrassing extra-inning loss against a rival at a game which probably broke revenue records for them. They  could've used a quality starter. Or even just used one decent  bullpen arm, preferably a lefty. The only player they acquired at that deadline was a right-handed reliever who has been worth less than replacement value in each of the last three seasons....that's arguably a worse outcome than standing pat, and it makes the cynic in me me wonder if the trade was just an 'afterthought' trade made merely to pacify your frustrations -- as Comcast subscribers - before asking for more of your money.

As if the Pohlads are a charity group.

So again, I repeat my pitch to you: There exists some point at which the cons of sending billionaires the wrong message outweigh the benefits of being able to enjoy Twins fandom with the same ease. Whether or not you've reached that point is up to you to decide, but I hope you consider it.

 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

The current deal is 3 months free trial, which gets them through October. Not subscribing is a “cutoff your nose to spite your face” kind of ask. I get your perspective and share it, to an extent, but I would not be so bold as to make the same prescription.

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/twins-returning-to-tv-for-comcast-midco-customers?partnerID=web_article-share
 

[Linus]

I think your feelings are shared by many. And I can empathize with them. 

[August J Gloop]

Baseball simply has to see what's happening here and get out in front of it. Regional sports nets are dead. They'll bleed out slowly over the next couple years, but the sooner MLB realizes that they need to televise their games for free and consider it advertising to the ticket sale, the closer they are to selling out (nearly) every stadium (nearly) every day. Bally's might be back on comcast, but many people won't get it again, because of the premium tier. To say nothing of what happens next year when Bally's has lost all their money again.