Press release sports 1
The final countdown is on: Major League Baseball (MLB) starts the new season with Opening Day tomorrow, Thursday. New rules should ensure a faster game and thus additional attractiveness. A change for the Berlin Max Kepler, who is still under contract with the Minnesota Twins. As the “Home of Baseball” in the German-speaking region, SPORT1 is right in the thick of things again this season and accompanies the MLB with numerous live broadcasts on its platforms. It starts live on Thursday from 7:00 p.m. on SPORT1+ and SPORT1 Extra with the duel between record champions New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants. Commentator Andreas Thies and baseball expert Matthias Ondracek answered the microphone. In total, at least 100 live games will be broadcast on the pay-TV channel SPORT1+ over the course of the season, and at least 400 games can be viewed via individual tickets or as part of the Season Pass on the multi-sport streaming platform SPORT1 Extra. In addition, baseball fans will also get their money’s worth on free TV: SPORT1 will be showing 15 live games of the regular season on free TV from the end of May, as well as the All-Star Game, the Home Run Derby and two World Series games the program. The extensive reporting is rounded off with highlight clips on SPORT1’s digital and social media channels.
Photo: Image
New rules ensure faster play and more action
For each of the 30 MLB teams, a total of 162 games are scheduled in the regular season from the end of March to the beginning of October, after which the twelve best teams continue with the postseason, which is crowned with the World Series. This season there are some new rules like the “pitch clock” which should make the game faster and therefore more attractive. SPORT1 expert Matthias Ondracek, who will also accompany the first live game of the new season on the microphone, is excited about the changes: “The fans could see the first signs during the pre-season, when the average playing time was reduced by almost half an hour. For that reason alone, the upcoming MLB season promises to be a special one.”
Expert Matthias Ondracek sees Max Kepler under pressure and raves about Shohei Ohtani
For the players, the new rules mean a huge change, but at the same time offer new opportunities. Max Kepler, who is still the only German active in the MLB and who is targeting the playoffs again after two mixed seasons with his Minnesota Twins, also wants to use this. “The chance is still realistic,” says Ondracek with regard to the postseason and adds: “Kepler is under pressure after two disappointing years. The Berliner is entering the last season of his five-year contract, which his club can extend by one season via a unilateral option. ”Other players have recently been able to draw much more attention to themselves, above all the MVP of the previous season Shohei Ohtani from Los Angeles Angels, who led Japan to the world title a few days ago. “At the World Baseball Classic, Ohtani once again impressively demonstrated his extra class. He excels both as a pitcher and as a batsman, making him the highlight of the league,” enthuses the baseball expert.
Yankees, Padres and Mets want to challenge champion Houston for the title
Unsurprisingly, Matthias Ondracek counts the defending champions from Texas among the title favorites, but also a few other teams that have deliberately strengthened themselves. “Despite the departure of star pitcher Justin Verlander, the ‘team to beat’ are the Houston Astros. In the American League, the competition with the Yankees and the ‘wild youngsters’ of the Blue Jays comes mainly from the east,” says the former baseball player, who also spotted some ambitious teams in the National League: “Last year Semi-finalists San Diego Padres are once again causing a sensation with the signing of shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Along with Manny Machado and Juan Soto, the former underdog has one of the most spectacular offensive lines in the league. While the former Croesus Los Angeles Dodgers may only dance in the second row this time around, the Phillies, the Braves and the Mets have also all geared up for the big title assault in the East.”
Extensive opening program on SPORT1+ and SPORT1 Extra, start of free TV broadcasts at the end of May
As the “Home of Baseball” in the German-speaking region, SPORT1 will also be providing extensive coverage of the upcoming MLB season on its platforms. The largest package is offered by the multisport streaming platform SPORT1 Extra with at least 400 live games, which can be accessed with US commentary as a single ticket for EUR 2.49 or as part of the Season Pass for EUR 69.99. As a rule, there are two live games per day during the regular season (the first broadcast times in the overview). The pay-TV broadcaster SPORT1+ also offers extensive coverage with at least 100 live games, including selected games with German commentary. After the encounter between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants on Thursday live from 7:00 p.m., SPORT1+ will be presenting 15 live games in April alone, with Max Kepler and the Minnesota Twins being the focus of five broadcasts. The Twins’ first duel against the Kansas City Royals will be broadcast live on Sunday from 8:30 p.m. (see overview for other broadcast times).
SPORT1 will enter the MLB season on free TV at a later point in time: on Sunday, May 28, the Los Angeles Angels game with superstar Shohei Ohtani against the Miami Marlins is scheduled live from 11:00 p.m. A live game is then scheduled regularly on Sunday evening. In total, fans can look forward to 15 live games in the regular season on free TV, plus two World Series games as well as the Home Run Derby on July 10 and the All-Star Game on July 11 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle as further highlights of the season.
Background: This is SPORT1 Extra
This is where sports-loving viewers are right in the middle of their favorite sports: The multi-sport streaming platform “SPORT1 Extra” offers a comprehensive range of live streams and on-demand sports and competitions on the web and mobile at sport1extra.de. SPORT1 Extra offers users a variety of flexible and customer-friendly offers and pricing models according to their topic and usage preferences – whether pay-per-view for individual events or league and club passes. One of the highlights in the portfolio is the women’s volleyball league: All games in the 1st Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga north and south are offered live and exclusively on SPORT1 Extra as a pay subscription or as pay-per-view. In addition to volleyball, SPORT1 Extra also offers event streams from the program of the pay-TV channel SPORT1+ individually as a pay-per-view option – including selected games of the prestigious Major League Baseball (MLB), top football from Europe and South America, popular motor sports series such as the NASCAR Cup Series and top European ice hockey from the first Swedish league Svenska Hockeyligan (SHL). The comprehensive sports package “24/7 Sports Pack” can also be booked on SPORT1 Extra, which includes Sportdigital FUSSBALL, Motorvision.TV, fight24 HD, EDGEsport, More Than Sports TV and SPORT1+ for EUR 7.90 per month.
