In an announcement that came out of nowhere on Thursday, Clayton Kershaw announced that he's set to retire at the end of the 2025 MLB season. This means that his last regular season start at Dodger Stadium will take place on Friday, Sept. 19, against the San Francisco Giants. It's the perfect ending for Kershaw to go up against the Los Angeles Dodgers' arch-rivals.
Kershaw might make one more start this regular season, either in Arizona or Seattle, and he might pitch in the postseason, but neither of those things is a guarantee. We could be watching the future first ballot Hall of Famer's final start ever, and even if it isn't, his last regular season start at Dodger Stadium is still one every Dodgers and even MLB fan will want to tune in for. I mean, Kershaw is one of the greatest pitchers ever and arguably the greatest pitcher of his generation, playoff demons aside.
Fans of all 30 teams will presumably want to come out in droves to watch one more Kershaw start, but there's one problem - it's exclusively broadcast on Apple TV+. That's right, for MLB fans to watch this game, they're going to have to pay up. Yikes.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
How to watch Clayton Kershaw's final regular season start at Dodger Stadium
Again, Apple TV has exclusive rights to Friday's game, meaning that even fans in local markets in San Francisco and Los Angeles will have to use Apple TV to watch the game. No, not even an MLB.TV subscription can save you.
Needing a subscription to watch a game of this magnitude is frustrating. Not only is this only Kershaw's final regular-season start at Dodger Stadium, but the Dodgers are trying to clinch the NL West, and the Giants are still fighting for a Wild Card berth. This is a huge game!
As annoying as this is, new Apple TV users are able to watch this game without spending a penny. There is a seven-day free trial for new users, allowing those creating an Apple TV+ account for the first time to watch this game for free. The subscription price for returning users or beyond those seven free days will cost $12.99 per month.
MLB fans get short end of the stick in Clayton Kershaw's final Dodger Stadium start
In addition for paying for the ability to watch regular season games locally, MLB is asking fans to pay for an Apple TV subscription. Yes, new users can get a free trial, but users who have already used a free trial have to essentially decide if they want to spend $12.99 for the ability to watch a total of one game. How is that fair?
This isn't even the first time Dodgers fans have been forced to resort to Apple TV to watch history. In 2022, Albert Pujols launched his 700th career home run on Apple TV with Wayne Randazzo, the same broadcaster set to call Friday's game at Dodger Stadium, on the call.
What makes this even more frustrating for Dodgers fans is that the other game set to be broadcast on Apple TV on Friday night, featuring the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals, will be shown on local programming in Toronto for Jays fans to watch. The reason for this last-second agreement between Apple and MLB is that the Jays are in a position to clinch a playoff spot on Friday if several things go their way.
With that, and the fact that this will be Toronto's fifth time being broadcast on Apple TV in mind, they were able to get the game shown locally in Toronto. Part of the agreement with Apple TV was that Apple would get the rights to exclusively broadcast teams four times in a given year. Friday is the Dodgers' fourth appearance, which is why accommodations to get this game shown locally in Los Angeles will not be made.
This is just an unfortunate reality for Dodgers fans. Some fans who watch every single one of Kershaw's starts in Dodger Blue will have to miss this game because it's being shown on Apple TV. I understand agreements are in place, but exceptions for this game should be made. Cost should not get in the way of history. MLB fans should be able to watch Kershaw's final home start without having to pay an additional $13.
MLB, as it often seems to do, got it wrong.