Paul Sassone

How about that game against Pittsburgh?

Wasn’t that series against the Cardinals something?

Or the National League Championship Series as the Cubs battled the Mets in a playoff to decide who will represent the National League in the World Series?

Pretty exciting stuff, huh?

Me, I wouldn’t know.
I don’t have cable TV, or some other premium pay TV service, so I am barred from watching the playoffs.

And I am not alone.

Eighteen percent of all homes with TV  (21 million) watch only free TV. This is a jump of 19 percent in five years.

In 2012, 6.9 million homes abandoned pay TV. Americans watching only free TV climbed from 46 million to 54 million.

When asked why they dropped pay TV, 70 percent of those surveyed cited cost. Add to this the number of Americans who couldn’t afford pay TV to begin with and you have a very large minority of Americans who are denied access to something — television — that used to be free to all.

Yes, I know a lot of TV programming still is available free.

And one of those free TV offerings should be baseball.

Baseball is, as philosopher Morris Cohen called it, America’s national religion. Baseball goes back in this country to the 1830s. It is embedded in the culture in so many ways — in our language, in songs, movies, novels, musicals, plays, documentaries.

Baseball is as American as hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.

Nowadays people dispute Baseball’s title of America’s Pastime. Football, they say, is America’s favorite sport.

I am not equipped to argue the point.

But even if conceded that the violence of football more accurately reflects the country we have become, baseball still is a major aspect of American life. And certainly, Major League Baseball considers itself the National Pastime.

So it is offensive that Major League Baseball, just to make a few extra bucks, will jeopardize its position in society by putting the playoffs on pay TV, thus turning its back on millions of baseball fans, millions of Americans.

This slap in the face is doubly offensive to Cubs fans, who have loyally waited and waited and waited to see their team in postseason play.

Major League Baseball has become yet another accomplice into dividing Americans by income. The well-to-do can watch the playoffs. The less-well-to-do can listen to the radio.

Two societies, separate and unequal.

A fall-back solution to this problem might be broadcasting playoff games on free TV after each game.

But that is distinctly second-best.

Baseball broadcasts ought to be available to all.

Baseball belongs to America.

Free baseball!

–Baseball strikes out by not offering playoffs on free TV–