Phillies: Fewer spring training games to be broadcasted
Don’t expect to see much of Phillies spring training this year
Unless you’re taking a trip to Clearwater, expect to see fewer Phillies spring training games than ever before.
NBC Sports Philadelphia released their spring training schedule, which features just 10 of the Phillies 30 spring training games.
Tom McCarthy, Ben Davis, John Kruk, and Gregg Murphy will broadcast the first three home games against Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Toronto before going on a 10 game hiatus.
As the Franzke & LA parody Twitter account noted, the number of spring training games broadcasted by NBCS Philadelphia has dropped since 2018 when they had 17 games on the air.
NBC Sports Philly showed 17 spring training games in 2018, 16 last year and now 10 this year
— Franzke & LA (@FranzkeLA) February 11, 2020
Not sure why that number is dropping
Recently the team stopped broadcasting away games, which dramatically cut down the amount of content fans got on tv.
NBC Sports Philadelphia announces Spring Training Coverage and Broadcast Schedule https://t.co/6uQxd8YTXp pic.twitter.com/ZyyHLlPcvU
— Maureen Quilter (@mo_quilter) February 10, 2020
What’s behind the continuing cut of live spring training game programming? Is it that the ratings are too low for a couple of scrap players playing two innings in March? Is the cost too high to ship the entire crew across Florida for a month?
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Unfortunately, it feels like the business of baseball is cutting into the fan’s chances of seeing the next generation of players. While no one wants to see Phil Gosselin and Austin Davis play on a daily basis, the appetite for Alec Bohm, Spencer Howard, and other young players is still high.
There are also several spring training roster battles that fans will want to see, such as the final starting rotation spots, bullpen, and bench roles.
But hey, at least we got to see Jim Salisbury and Ricky Bottalico pimp Wawa on their boring road trip series.
When caught in the snow....might as well have a catch. @rickybottalico and @JSalisburyNBCS made the best of the surprise snow in Georgia with an epic catch. | @Wawa pic.twitter.com/QuZcAcirq3
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) February 9, 2020
We’ll have to rely on highlights and the beat writers for daily updates from Clearwater with NBC/Comcast tightening their belts and saving a few bucks.
Welcome to the business of baseball and television, people.