Imagine this…you paid for a ticket to tonight’s Boston Red Sox vs. Detroit Tigers game. Let’s say it cost you and your significant other/child/friend $150 for two tickets for two seats somewhere in historic Fenway Park. Last series of the year, you planned ahead, you purchased the tickets in July, good for you because the series will be very entertaining. Two teams with eyes on the playoffs, both so close to clinching a postseason spot, they can just about reach it. Friday matchup, the Green Jerseys, the Boston faithful cheering their a$$es off – wow, you are freaking psyched to get your Sox on!!!

You and your fellow ticket mate arrive early to Boston. You grab a pre-game snack and beverage somewhere around Kenmore Square. Everyone this side and that side of the David Ortiz Bridge is pumping up the energy of the night. You have your lucky hat on. You and your ticket mate cannot wait to get into Fenway Park, find your seats, and start rooting for the Sox. Big weekend series starts tonight and you are going to do your part to energize the team. You present your ticket to enter Fenway Park at Gate A, right there on Jersey Street, right in front of the throngs of Sox fans all fired up. You hear the scanner’s beep, signifying you can officially enter Fenway Park. You take a look down the street and just beam with excitement for the night to come. “Can’t wait to get to our seats,” you say to your ticket mate.

You weave through the crowded concession stand area of lower Fenway Park. You grab some popcorn and a few waters, a hot dog, and some napkins. You look up at the banners showing the rows/sections of seating and start to make your way towards the seats you purchased. Can’t wait to sit down, watch and be a part of the pre-game festivities, stand for the National Anthem, and watch the first pitch of the game. It’s a big series, so the Sox will likely trot out someone famous from their rich history of players. Maybe Fred Lynn or Jim Rice or who the heck knows, you just know from their history that the Sox do a great job on this big and important weekend series. You and your ticket mate arrive at your section, you take the walk up the cement ramp to see the beauty of Fenway Park. You have seen it many times before, but it never gets old. Then, you tell the ticket valet, you know the guy who has worked at Fenway since Yaz broke into the Majors in 1961, where you are sitting and show him your tickets. And then, the bottom falls out.

“I have to advise you,” starts the ticket valet, “that there is a surcharge tonight of $150 for each seat.” “Surcharge,” you ask as if you are on Candid Camera, “no, I paid for these seats, there is never any extra fees for the seats.” The ticket valet, just doing his job, explains, “your ticket was to enter Fenway Park. Your seat tonight will cost you an additional $150. As will yours,” pointing to your ticket mate’s. “So, I paid full price to get into the stadium and now that I am in the stadium, I have to pay another price to sit and watch the game?” you ask with a little more Irish in your voice. “Yes, for tonight, Major League Baseball is going to charge you the price of admission, then the price of a seat.” You pause and ask a pretty good question, “So, if I don’t pay the seat surcharge, can I still stay in Fenway Park and just listen to the game on the radio?” The ticket valet nods, “Yes, you can stay in Fenway and listen to the game. You just can’t watch it without paying the seat surcharge fee.” You and your ticket mate, depending on your willingness to pay the surcharge will have to make a decision. Pay the extra fee and have a seat, or take your food and find a spot somewhere in the concession stand area and listen to the radio broadcast.

Sound messed up? Well, I pay a yearly subscription to MLB TV of about $150. And several times this season, my Boston Red Sox have landed on Apple TV+, which I do not have a subscription to. The most recent game was a Friday night matchup featuring the Boston Red Sox vs. the New York Yankees. Pretty important game for Red Sox fans, wouldn’t you say? Good thing I love WEEI radio broadcasts because that is where I listened to the game. And the worst example to date perhaps, the final regular season home game of Los Angeles Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw, the last game this sure fire Hall of Fame pitcher will ever throw in Dodger Stadium, was televised on national TV, right? On MLB TV, right? Nope, it was on Apple TV+. So, I missed that one two. And tonight, big matchup, lot of playoff implications for both the Detroit Tigers and my Boston Red Sox, would love to watch the game on MLB TV, which I have a paid subscription to. Nope, the game is on Apple TV+, so I will not be able to watch the game.

I am not a happy, paid subscriber to MLB TV right now. And am strongly considering not renewing my yearly subscription for the 2026 season. For tonight, it’s WEEI’s stellar cast of radio announcers. Go Sox!!!