Netflix at the Bat

jameis Winston Fernando Cruz netflix mlb opening day yankees giants
But when you strip away all the public displays of eventization, Netflix’s first MLB telecast felt like pretty much any other baseball game on network television. Photo: Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos/Getty Images
John Ourand
March 26, 2026

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My text threads were flying fast and furious last night during the Yankees’ 7–0 Opening Day victory over the Giants on Netflix—you know, that little streamer once referred to as the Albanian army that’s been tantalizing the sports media business with its enigmatic, methodical plan to achieve global content domination ever since. Opening Day is an annual springtime ritual filled with mirth and anticipation. But it’s also the threshold of an arduous slog that now runs from March to November, across 162 games and 30 teams (with a possible future strike as a backdrop), and now, various new media partners. In other words, for Netflix, it’s just more clay on the potter’s wheel to get eventized! Right?!