This is what I think about the Yankees on Roku (in the morning!) | Klapisch

NEW YORK — I couldn’t help but notice Will Warren’s kidding-but-not-kidding reference to Sunday morning’s start against the Orioles.

Yes, morning. No typo there. In case you hadn’t heard, the game belonged to Roku, so hopefully, you were not planning to tune in at 1:30 p.m. — YES’ regular slot on Sundays.

If that were the case, you missed most of the Yankees’ 4-2 win over Baltimore. Good game for everyone, notably Jazz Chisholm, whose two-run double in the eighth not only proved decisive, and he lost his cleats scoring from second base.

But back to the matter at hand: Warren winding up to throw his first pitch at 11:35 a.m., a ludicrous hour for baseball.

“I woke up really early (Sunday) morning to make sure that I was awake and ready to go,” the rookie said. “I think that helped out.”

This is the second year of Roku’s three-year agreement with Major League Baseball. I bet most fans still don’t understand why it was necessary to boot YES off the air for a streaming service they’ve never heard of.

I wonder how many of those YES viewers made the one-game migration to Roku. My guess is not that many.

YES is the outlet of choice for nine million households in this market. The audience isn’t exactly young or adventurous. Unlike the NBA or the NFL, MLB’s base is 55-64 year old males. That’s Boomerville.

So why is their loyalty being tested? Don’t be naïve. You know exactly why (cold, hard cash) and who’s behind the change.

Right. Rob Manfred, The commissioner who brought you the third wild card, an extra round of playoffs, the pitch clock and the ultimate insult, the 10th-inning ghost runner.

Manfred’s term doesn’t expire until 2029, so there’s plenty of time to complete his mission — making baseball as unrecognizable as possible to those who grew up watching the Core Four.

Robo umpires will be arriving next year. Who knows what else Manfred has up his sleeve. My personal red line would be another round of expansion to 32 teams. Such a move would dilute the sport’s level of play like never before.

Look, I’m not opposed to change. I realize baseball has to evolve, as do all sports. But someone at MLB’s headquarters has convinced Manfred that relevance must come as the expense of the traditional fan base.

He’s more interested in younger, more casual fans who don’t watch cable. But all Manfred’s done is split up as many games as possible over multiple outlets, like Apple and Amazon and Roku. All paid for separately.

I know the rejoinder that’s coming. A stinging criticism of Roku is met with full force:

“The Yankees game was free on Roku!”

That’s true, no subscription necessary. But you need to install the app or have Roku on devices like Amazon Fire, Samsung and Google TVs.

Note to the commish: Not everyone is a sheep. Some (many) will eventually get tired of playing hide and seek.

They’d like you to leave YES alone. They prefer the familiarity of Michael Kay’s voice over Matt Vasgersian, who called the game on Roku.

They like Paul O’Neill’s twang and David Cone’s smart-but-not smug seminars on pitching. The seventh-inning Name That Yankee quiz has become a rite of summer. None of that was found on Roku on Sunday.

But I also want to be fair to MLB’s power brokers. Roku is paying for those broadcasts. Not a lot (an average of $10 million a year through 2026) but enough to wet Manfred’s beak.

MLB also cashes in on Apple for its “Friday Night Baseball” package ($85 million annually) and Amazon (the outlet doesn’t make that figure available) and ESPN (a whopping $550 million a year).

The ESPN deal, which was forged in 1990, is being terminated after this year, however. That partly explains why Manfred is looking elsewhere for revenue.

ESPN wasn’t happy with MLB’s reduced-cost packages with the streaming services. The Roku contract, in particular, incensed the executives in Bristol, Connecticut. ESPN believed it was being over-charged by comparison.

Manfred fired right back. According to documents obtained by The Athletic, the commissioner pointed out ESPN reaches only 53.6 million homes in 2025, roughly half the level of 2011.

“We do not think it’s beneficial for us to accept a smaller deal to remain on a shrinking platform,” Manfred wrote in a memo to team owners in February.

He thinks ESPN has done a lousy job promoting MLB outside of its Sunday Night broadcasts. He’s not wrong about that. But good luck finding another outlet for 2026.

One industry source told me, “No one’s going to fill that (ESPN) void with a strike coming (after the 2026 season).”

The probability of a long work stoppage is sky-high. A salary cap will be on the table, and both sides seem willing to sacrifice the 2027 season to win the coming war.

Question is, do YES viewers care?

Not now. Not yet. The Manfred-ESPN divorce isn’t their problem.

The more important issue this weekend was the Yankees’ take-down of the Orioles and, of course, Chisholm’s missing shoes.

Damn shame if you missed it. That’s the price you pay for being a non-sheep.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Bob Klapisch may be reached at bklapisch@njadvancemedia.com.