MLB Broadcasts

　As an unemployed, penniless old fogey, I have no choice but to be very selective about my subscriptions. The only ones I currently have are Apple One and Amazon Prime (hereinafter referred to as Amazon Prime). For an old fogey, the biggest benefit of Amazon Prime is being able to watch the early morning MLB broadcasts. This is a real lifesaver for an old fogey who wakes up in the early morning—or rather, in the late night—due to what’s practically a sleep disorder; it’s practically a form of social welfare. As I get older, I’ve come to realize that I only watch “sports programs” anymore. Even then, I don’t watch the ones that are overly staged by advertising agencies, like the Olympics. I only watch the ones that simply and matter-of-factly cover the regular season. In that context, the live broadcasts on MLB are a real lifesaver. On the other hand, Channel 4 has very little airtime on both terrestrial and BS channels. As for me, an old fogey, I happen to be a Yokohama DeNA BayStars fan, but I can only catch them occasionally on TVK, or—if I’m lucky—on Niconico Static Images. Given that, the MLB broadcasts are truly a rare treat.

　In fact, I’ve actually come to know the players from MLB better these days. While I certainly can’t answer the question, “Name the star players from all 30 teams!”, I do keep up with how Japanese players are performing, and there are more than I can count on one hand of teams with non-Japanese players who are my favorites. Once the baseball season ends, the NBA season begins. This is also available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. I’m already looking forward to it.