New York Mets left fielder Brandon Nimmo (9) celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
MLBRokuBy Sean Keeley on

When it comes to Major League Baseball fan complaints about games being broadcast on streaming services, they tend to fall into one of two buckets.

One is the annoyance of needing to sign up for or download the streaming service in question, something that many viewers have effectively come to accept at this point.

Two is the annoyance of having to listen to a national announcer call the game instead of the TV voice of the team.

New York Mets fans were clearly in that second camp on Sunday, although they could add a unique twist to the equation. Not only were they unable to hear SNY’s Gary Cohen call the game, they had no choice but to hear the game through their opponent’s hometown announcer.

The Mets took on the Miami Marlins at Citi Field as part of Roku’s MLB Sunday Leadoff package. As Roku doesn’t have its own broadcasting team, the announcers are always market-specific. As such, Marlin’s broadcaster Paul Severino was on the call for all viewers, alongside MLB Network analyst Anthony Recker.

Try as he might to set aside his Marlins association, Mets fans sure felt like he brought it with him, especially on a call of Brandon Nimmo’s home run in the sixth inning.

Not only did Mets fans watching at home feel like the call underwhelmed, it also made them miss Cohen’s potential call that much more.

To be fair, Severino did meet the moment when Nimmo had a diving catch in the seventh, so it’s not as though he wasn’t about to give credit where due.

That said, he certainly brought a lot of excitement to the Marlins’ 8-9-4-2 double play, which only lent more credibility to Mets fans’ complaints.

Mets fans’ concerns went beyond the broadcasting and there were plenty of general complaints about the lack of accessibility and/or problems loading the app. Unfortunately for them, the leagues and streamers have written those issues off as a cost of doing business they’re willing to make.

[The Roku Channel]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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