With the cost of cable TV steadily rising, more and more sports fans are looking for ways to watch their favorite teams without breaking the bank. Thankfully, there are a number of legal ways to stream MLB games for free online. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through all of your options so you can catch MLB action all season long without paying a dime.
Watch on the MLB TV Website and App
The MLB provides a ton of free live baseball content on their official website MLB.tv and mobile app. Each game day during the regular season, the MLB streams one Free Game of the Day on MLB.tv for all users without a paid subscription. The free MLB.tv game is typically the day’s marquee national matchup. You can watch on either the MLB.tv website or by downloading the MLB app on your phone, tablet, smart TV, or streaming device.
In addition to the Free Game of the Day, the MLB.tv web site and app offer free access to MLB Big Inning. This whip-around style program jumps between the biggest moments of up to 10 games airing at once. It’s a great way to catch all the home runs, web gems, and other highlights happening league-wide on any given night. MLB Big Inning streams for free during MLB.tv’s regular season blackout windows from Monday to Friday.
Use a Free Trial of a Live TV Streaming Service
Live TV streaming services like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and AT&T TV NOW carry local regional sports networks (RSNs) in select markets. These RSNs air regular season MLB games that are blacked out from MLB.tv. Most of these services offer free trials for 5 to 7 days. If you time it right with the MLB calendar, you can sign up for a trial during the first week of the regular season and potentially watch several baseball games for free before the trial period ends.
Here’s a closer look at some of the top options:
- YouTube TV offers a 5-day free trial and includes channels like ESPN, Fox Sports, and TBS for nationally televised games. They also provide regional sports networks in many markets. YouTube TV costs $64.99/month after the trial.
- Hulu + Live TV provides a 7-day trial and carries national MLB channels plus regional sports networks in select markets where local games air. The regular monthly cost is $69.99.
- AT&T TV NOW offers a 7-day trial but you’ll have to choose one of their channel packages that includes sports channels and RSNs. Plans start at $69.99/month after the free trial ends.
- Sling TV provides a 3-day free trial. For MLB games, you’ll need their Sling Blue package and the separate Sports Extra add-on to get national channels like TBS plus access to some regional sports networks. Regular cost is $35/month for Sling Blue and an additional $11/month for Sports Extra.
Check each service’s web site to see which local RSNs are available in your area before signing up for a trial. And be sure to cancel before the trial ends if you don’t want to be charged.
Use a Free Trial of fuboTV
Another solid option for MLB streaming is fuboTV. This sports-focused live TV streaming service carries national MLB broadcast partners and regional sports networks in many markets across the country. Unlike other options, fuboTV provides a 7-day free trial with no strings attached. You don’t need to input any payment information to test it out. Just sign up and you’ll have a full week of free access to local baseball telecasts.
In addition to local RSNs, fuboTV includes MLB Network plus over-the-air channels like Fox, FS1, and ESPN that air national games. The standard fuboTV package runs $69.99 per month after your free trial. But you can cancel anytime without cost if you decide it’s not for you.
Try DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream is yet another live TV streaming service that can help you watch in-market MLB games for free. They offer new users a 5-day trial including local RSNs and national sports channels like ESPN, Fox Sports, and MLB Network. Plans start at $69.99/month but you can cancel anytime before the trial expires.
Watch Nationally Televised Games
For MLB games airing nationally on broadcast TV or basic cable channels, you have a few free options:
- Fox and FS1 are available for free with an over-the-air (OTA) antenna in most areas.
- ESPN is accessible on internet-based TV services like Pluto TV and the Roku Channel.
- TBS can be watched for free on the TBS website and app by logging in with your cable or live TV streaming provider credentials.
Your local library may also lend out MLB broadcast antennas you can borrow and hook up to a TV or tablet to watch national Fox and FS1 games over the air.
Listen on the Radio
When all else fails, you can always fall back on good ol’ fashioned radio. MLB broadcasts every single regular season game on radio stations across the country. Listings are available on the MLB website and mobile app. There are also smartphone apps like MLB At Bat and TuneIn Radio where you can stream MLB radio coverage from anywhere.
Watch Highlights and Clips
If you can’t dedicate 3 hours to watch a full live MLB game, the next best thing is streaming highlights and video clips. All of the following options offer MLB highlights for free:
- MLB YouTube channel
- MLB website and app
- Bleacher Report app
- ESPN website and app
- CBS Sports app
YouTube highlight comps are typically around 10 minutes long and condense all the best parts of a game down to the key hits, strikeouts, and catches. Bleacher Report and other sports apps tend to clip shorter individual highlights of home runs, double plays, etc. Either way, it’s an easy free option to catch up on all the MLB action.
Use a VPN
A VPN (virtual private network) can help you get around the MLB blackout restrictions to watch more out-of-market games for free on MLB.tv. Here’s how it works:
A VPN masks your real IP address and location, allowing you to virtually appear as if you are in a different part of the country. If you connect to a VPN server located outside of your favorite team’s broadcast territory, MLB.tv will no longer detect you as being in the local blackout zone. This will grant access to stream those normally blocked games live on MLB.tv at no cost.
There are a variety of reliable VPN providers like ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, and others. They each offer different deals on subscription plans starting under $10/month for unlimited use. While connecting through the VPN, just link up to MLB.tv and enjoy the games.
Split MLB TV Subscriptions
To gain full access to all out-of-market games, you’ll need an MLB.TV subscription. These don’t come cheap at a cost of $25-$130 for the season depending on the plan. However, you can split the cost with family or friends to save money. MLB.tv allows you to stream on two devices simultaneously per account, so sharing logins with one other person works seamlessly.
The only catch is that you’ll both need to be outside of the blackout radius for the same teams in order to watch those local games. As long as you’re rooting for different squads in different cities, this can be an effective strategy to get MLB streaming on the cheap.
Conclusion
With the wide range of options covered here, every baseball fan can find a way to watch MLB games for free without too much hassle. Strategies like free streaming trials, radio broadcasts, and VPN access offer plenty of opportunities to catch live MLB action on a budget. And condensed highlights packages allow you to enjoy all the most exciting plays from around the league in just minutes each day.
Baseball provides entertainment and community for millions of people each summer. Thanks to the resources outlined above, you can now take part without breaking the bank. So try out some of these tips and enjoy MLB baseball for free!