In The Internet Land That Time Forgot

Shockingly, there was a time when MLB.tv didn’t exist and pitching information wasn’t related with startling accuracy. This was a time known as “the 90s.”

Arne Christensen of Misc. Baseball tracked down a few newspaper articles from 1995 telling tales of the first internet radio broadcast. And boy, are they weird to read. From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on August 31, 1995:

“The Mariners will make Internet history when two games against the New York Yankees hit the worldwide computer network. The games, Tuesday and Wednesday in Yankee Stadium, will be Major League Baseball’s first foray into live Internet broadcasts….

The experimental simulcasts will be available to anyone who has a computer with sound capability, access to the Internet’s World Wide Web and a subscription to ESPNET’s new premium service, which costs $4.95 a month.

Last year the Mariners became the first baseball club to become part of the Internet, making photos, news releases and information about the team available to fans beyond the Northwest.”

Things that made me laugh out loud:

1. The phrase: “The Internet’s World Wide Web.”

2. There were computers, of which I once had one, that didn’t have sound capabilities.

3. The Mariners had the first website.

Thanks to the Wayback Machine, this is what that webpage looked like in 1996:

While we like to complain about the flaws and blackouts that make MLB.tv suffer, we should remember that it wasn’t so long ago when having your favorite team’s radio broadcast wasn’t available. And be sure to check out Misc Baseball for more hilarious reports on “cyber-radio.”