The Fourth of July weekend used to be a much more significant time in a baseball season. Especially during the era where wild cards did not yet exist it was a de facto halfway point and more often than not the truism “the team in first place will win the pennant”. We’ve disproven that particular urban myth in past musings in this space around this time of year. And baseball itself hasn’t done the holiday all that much of justice either of late, especially when the holiday itself occurred on a weekday. Some teams actually had off and travel days–an almost unthinkabkle occurrence in times when holiday doubleheaders with patriotic bunting draping the stands were practically mandated.
But with the holiday itself falling on a Saturday and a restful Sunday like today in front of us, even though two-for-one tickets are practically extinct in today’s box office-optimizing world NBC Sports is giving us the next best thing by assuring fans that nary a moment of the next fifteen-ish hours will not have some sort of game being played somewhere–and there will be no need to look anywhere else to find them. Here’s how the website’s Trent Moore described it:
NBC Sports presents a special “Star-Spangled Sunday” this Sunday, July 5, with all 30 MLB teams in action throughout the day on NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN — the first time a media company has presented all 15 MLB games nationally in a single day. The schedule is highlighted by marquee divisional matchups, MVPs and All-Stars, and enhanced viewing options for fans.
Fans streaming on Peacock won’t have to miss a moment during “Star-Spangled Sunday” on July 5, as MLB Multiview will allow them to watch up to four games simultaneously on web and living room devices. Available from Noon to 8:00 p.m. ET, with the first multi-game window beginning at 1 p.m. ET, a curated four-box Multiview will feature the 14 out of the 15 matchups happening concurrently that day, allowing viewers to easily navigate between games, switch audio, and select any game to watch in full screen for a deeper dive into the action. MLB fans joining late can use the “Catch Up with Key Plays” feature to swipe up and see a playlist of critical moments of the game.
The Witness Protection Program member eschewing a byline for the ASSOCIATED PRESS added a bit more context:
NBC is used to undertaking large presentations with the Olympics…Rob Hyland, NBC Sports SVP of Production and Coordinating Producer, will oversee Sunday’s coverage. Hyland produced the primetime coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, as well as Super Bowl 60 in February.
Hyland said NBC began work on coordinating Sunday’s coverage in March. “Working together with local production teams and Major League Baseball, we are excited for ‘Star-Spangled Sunday,’ which will require constant communication and collaboration unlike any event I’ve worked on in nearly three decades with NBC Sports,” he said.
If only the games themselves were a tad more appealing. Anyone who watched the first two games of the Mets-Braves matchup–especially last night’s 14-3 laugher that FOX broke up its soccer coverage with–or the first two games of the Cardinals and Cubs fog-fest know how unappetizing those series’ finales are. This will give an opportunity for the entire country to see what only those at their regional sports networks or us MLB Extra Innings subscribers typically see as they will make use of the pre-existing feeds from the Phillies, Giants and Athletics to relieve Hyland’s team of at least some of the burden.
MLB will also be borrowing a page from what the NHL has successfully done in recent years on an otherwise bland early season Tuesday night by staggering start times for the predominance of the schedule to assure that there will most likely be nary a moment without a pitch coming from somewhere and readily available options should those unappealing games play out as planned.
And having the multiplex flex–something not readily available on many devices with ESPN’s revised MLB.TV package–will at least allow those of us who are hungry for a fresh start to be distracted enough to have readily available options. You know whom we speak of, Mets and Cubs fans.
You Padres, Red Sox and Angels fans who get the “benefit” of less cluttered windows? Tough. We now all get to see what you get to deal with the rest of the time. You won’t get much more than crocodile tears from me. We all know our teams won’t be winning any pennants this year, July 4th barometer or otherwise. For the rest of y’all, play ball.
Courage…