Baseball Opening Day is always a celebration for the fans! It’s the day when fans worldwide tune in to catch a glimpse of their favorite teams or star players. The opening day promises much, as it not only unites the fans but also raises hopes that this might be their year. However, this wasn’t the case for Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins fans. Curious?

Major League Baseball (MLB) did nothing—literally nothing—to get it right this opening day. Fans were unable to access live games due to technical issues with MLB TV. This feels like a direct insult to the fan base. To make matters worse, MLB tried to apologize with a $1 compensation, a move many found insulting. 

On Saturday, MLB TV failed to stream the Opening Day game. And in response, they issued an apology to all the fans for the technical glitch. Surprisingly, they failed once again. The statement read, “Unfortunately, MLB.TV experienced a technical issue yesterday that resulted in a temporary inability to access our live game streams.” While the full statement wasn’t shared here, going by the letter, it’s quite clear that the league acknowledged the problem but failed to adequately address fan frustrations.

This mishap left many wondering—what did MLB truly do for its fans?

MLB TV announced that it would offer $10 off for any purchase the users make above $25 while shopping from MLBshop.com. Additionally, they promised to provide free shipping on orders of $24 or more. While the shipping cost is typically $8.99, MLB.TV offered free shipping as compensation for the streaming outage. However, this boils down to what fans are calling a “$1 apology.” And, this feels insulting given the high subscription costs for MLB TV. Not only did fans miss out on services they paid for, but they are also required to spend more money to receive a minor discount. This approach has left many questioning its fairness and logic.

Should MLB have considered offering users a partial refund or similar compensation to keep the fans happy for the moment? Perhaps, they could have taken inspiration from the Cleveland Guardians! 

Could MLB TV have offered more to disappointed fans?

Ever since the MLV TV crash, fans have voiced their anger and dissatisfaction with the service. Opening Day has always been anticipated by the fans, but due to the streams getting crashed, MLB TV’s authenticity has been questioned recently. However, the Cleveland Guardians seem to be the only team right now, etching their name in the good book. For everyone who experienced difficulties watching the Guardians’ season opener against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, the team decided to make amends.

On Friday, they sent an email to the subscribers of Guardians TV. In which, they apologized “for the inconvenience caused during their first game viewing experience.” To show how much they value and care about the fans, they offered four complimentary upper reserved tickets to a home game of their choice in April or May. The only exception is the April 8 home opener, which is already sold out. Fans can expect further instructions next week on how to redeem this offer.