How to watch MLB games when you live in a different city than your team
Unlike the NFL, which offers national broadcasts of most games with specific in-market choice games, MLB makes things a bit more complicated with regional networks. These regional sports networks (RSNs) split the U.S. up into disproportionate slices, leaving some fans unable to tune into their favorite team's games.
It's frustrating — particularly for cord-cutters looking to keep up with the season. Some streamers only air select live games on certain days of the week. Others air all 30 teams' games, but are subject to the MLB's blackout policy, making it quite a kerfuffle any time you want to just kick back and enjoy America's Pastime. But there's no crying in baseball. For those who can't fathom missing a single inning, we've got your guide to watching the 2023 MLB season, including all of the best streaming and VPN deals.
Read on for our top picks and everything else you need to know to tune in.
How can I watch MLB without cable?
There are plenty of options to watch MLB games without cable, but each streaming service has its pros and cons. For the casual baseball fan, you might be satisfied with watching only Friday games on Apple TV+ or Sunday games on Peacock. For more hardcore fans, you'll be better off with a live TV streaming service like DirecTV Stream or Sling, but these services cost significantly more. If you live in a different region than your favorite team, you'll probably want to go with MLB.TV for out-of-market games. We know it's confusing. Don't worry; we'll break it all down for you below.
Is MLB free with Amazon Prime?
If you're a Prime member, you can score a free seven-day trial of MLB.TV to test the waters, but then you'll have to pay the usual $24.99/month to continue watching. If you want to avoid the charge, be sure to cancel before your free week is up.
What streaming service has the most MLB games?
The league's official streaming service, MLB.TV has the most MLB games — but, like every other streamer, it has some cons. A subscription to MLB.TV is best for those who live in a different region than their favorite team. Local broadcasts on the app are subject to blackout rules, so you can't watch your hometown baseball team unless you log in through a VPN. If you're a diehard baseball fan and want to watch a variety of teams throughout the season, signing up for a VPN and MLB.TV's All Team Pass is your best bet to watch the most games.
How to stream MLB games this year
As we mentioned, streaming MLB games for the 2023 season is a bit more complicated than most sports due to league exclusivities, streaming rights, and blackout games. But never fear, we've done the grunt work for you of figuring out what's what. Below, we've rounded up all the best ways to stream MLB games this year, highlighting our favorites and some honorable mentions. Play ball!
Best for out-of-market games: MLB.TV
While MLB.TV is the best option for streaming every regular season game, it gets a little tricky with blackouts and restrictions. For that reason, it's best for transplants who want to watch their former home team live from their new city — a Baltimore Orioles fan living in Nashville, for example. Local broadcasts are blacked out due to certain Major League Baseball exclusivities with broadcasting rights. So, for example, you can't watch an Orioles broadcast on MLB.TV if you live in the Baltimore area. The reason is partially that the league is trying to get more bodies into the stadiums and partially due to cable providers' desire for exclusive broadcasting rights in local networks. It's a bummer for cord-cutters looking for a simple solution, but there is a workaround: a VPN.
If you're looking to stream games in your network, you can log in to MLB.TV through a VPN and connect to a server in another region. That way, your IP address will show you're out of network and allow you to stream a blacked-out game. You can type in your zip code on MLB.TV to get more insight into which local broadcasts are blacked out in your region. MLB.TV also offers replays of local games on demand 90 minutes after the game is over. So, if you don't care about watching it live, you can skip the VPN and simply watch the replay later on.
A full MLB.TV subscription — which gives you access to all 30 teams' games — is $24.99 per month or $139.99 for the whole season (which saves you about $60). Both options let you test the waters for a week before committing. (Make sure you cancel within those seven days if you don't want to be charged.) If you only want access to one team's games, you can subscribe to a single-team subscription for $119.99 for the season. Both sign-up options are also available through Amazon Prime as a channel add-on.
Best for Friday games: Apple TV+
Apple has partnered with MLB to offer an exclusive doubleheader every Friday for Apple TV+ subscribers. The best part? There are no local broadcast restrictions. Subscribers can "enjoy two marquee matchups across 25 weeks" as their Friday night ritual. This won't suit the hardcore fans who want access to every game, but for casual fans, it's a streamer worth subscribing to. You can score a free seven-day trial, then pay just $6.99 per month for full access to Friday Night Baseball.
Best for Sunday games: Peacock
Similarly for casual baseball fans, Peacock Premium offers exclusive access to a handful of Sunday morning games throughout the season. If you're cool with only watching one random game per week, a Peacock subscription is a great deal — and the most affordable option on this list. You can sign up for just $4.99 per month or $19.99 for the entire year with the code N2TEWDZZ at checkout (reg. $49.99).
Most affordable live TV streaming: Sling Orange + Blue
Sling is not cheap, but it is the most affordable live TV streamer that will get you access to MLB games. The Orange + Blue package combines the Sling Orange package, which offers ESPN games, and the Sling Blue package, which offers Fox, FS1, and ABC games. Both offer games on TBS. That's already a decent amount of game coverage, but diehard fans will also want to add the Sports Extra package (an extra $11 per month) for MLB Network access. In total, that'll cost you about $66 per month — but new subscribers can get their first month for only $27.60. Like with MLB.TV, some games may be subject to local blackouts. The VPN rule applies here as well.
Best for RSN coverage: DirecTV Stream
If you mostly care about your home team, but like to check in with other teams as well, DirecTV Stream's Choice package is a solid choice, albeit expensive. The Choice package starts at $84.99 per month and gives you access to almost every team's RSN (for a fee). Some RSNs are only available to local subscribers, so you might also have to utilize a VPN to access games out of your network. The Choice package also includes ESPN, TBS, Fox, FS1, and the MLB Network.
Honorable mentions:
ESPN+ — $9.99/month for select game coverage
YouTube TV — $64.99/month for your first 3 months, then $72.99/month for limited game coverage
Hulu+Live TV — $69.99/month for select game coverage
Fubo TV Elite package — starting at $74.99/month for select game coverage
Which VPN is best for streaming MLB games?
If you need to use a VPN to stream your favorite team, we've got you covered with a few of our top picks. It may not be the easiest way to watch live games, but fortunately, most VPNs are pretty affordable — especially if you take advantage of their introductory rates. They're also pretty advantageous beyond simply streaming from a different IP address (more on that here). Here are the VPNs we recommend for streaming the 2023 MLB season.
Best overall: ExpressVPN — save 49% on a 15-month plan
Read our full review of ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN is our favorite full-featured VPN for a number of reasons: Namely, its massive network of servers, strong commitment to data protection, user-friendly app, cross-platform support, and affordable introductory costs. While it's based in the British Virgin Islands, it offers server locations all over the U.S. in cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami, and more. Just select a city in or out of your network (depending on what streamer you're using) to stream the MLB game of your choice. ExpressVPN is currently offering three months for free when you sign up for a year at just $6.67/month.
Runner up: NordVPN — save 75% on a 27-month Standard plan
Read our full review of NordVPN.
NordVPN offers over 1,970 servers in the U.S., which means there are plenty of options for streaming MLB games. While it's not the best option for VPN newbies, it does offer an unrivaled security feature suite, a Threat Protection feature, double encryption, obfuscated servers that hide the fact that you're using a VPN, and plenty of add-ons to the Standard plan. It's also widely known and trusted. Currently, NordVPN is offering a 27-month plan for only $3.29/month.
Best for streaming: CyberGhost — save 84% on a 26-month plan
Read our full review of CyberGhost VPN.
Great for newbies and for streaming purposes, CyberGhost VPN is user-friendly, feature-heavy, and offers cheap fixed rates. As Mashable shopping reporter Haley Henschel notes, "The rate you see at signup is the rate you'll pay forever — no hidden fees here, folks." With plenty of optimized streaming servers and 1,362 U.S.-based options, watching MLB games live via CyberGhost should be a seamless experience. Currently, you can sign up for 26 months for just $2.19/month.