Major League Baseball and NBCUniversal's Peacock have reached a deal that will see 18 games throughout the 2022-23 season broadcast on the streaming service, per the latter's tweet Thursday.

The listed Sunday games will start between 11:30 am and noon ET, earlier than they would have in the past (sorry West Coast), so as to minimize interference with the Sunday afternoon games that start at 1 pm ET. The MLB already has an existing partnership with ESPN for the broadcast rights to Sunday Night Baseball. The SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game will reportedly be a Peacock exclusive this season was well.

Though the details of the arrangement have not yet formally been announced, Forbes reported in March that this will likely be a 2-year deal worth $30 million annually, available only on Peacock's premium $10/month tier and exclusive, in that only local market viewers will be able to watch without ponying up for a subscription — at least for that month the game you want to watch is airing. Additionally, MLB has struck a deal with Apple TV+ to broadcast its Friday Night Doubleheaders, those games start at 7pm ET, just like ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball matchups. 

All of this broadcast hodgepodge is in addition to the MLB's existing MLB.TV streaming service as well as a rumored "national service" that would purportedly eliminate local blackouts for streamers and attract fans from among cord-cutters. In all, the MLB's national media deals will total $1.96 billion this season, a 26 percent increase from last year, per Forbes. So if you want to watch out-of-market baseball this year, you'd better have your password list and debit card ready.

For well over a century, baseball catchers have signaled pitches with their fingers, but that could soon become a thing of the past in the big leagues. Major League Baseball has approved the use of a system that will allow catchers to send directions to their pitchers electronically.

The PitchCom system centers around a sleeve catchers wear on their forearm. They can press buttons to identify the pitch type and location. The pitcher hears the call through a bone conduction listening device. The channels are encrypted and teams can program codewords to replace terms like "fastball" or "curveball."

According to the Associated Press, MLB is providing every team with three transmitters, 10 receivers and a charging case for the system, which works in Spanish and English. Teams can use one transmitter and up to five receivers at any time. Along with catchers and pitchers, three other fielders can use a receiver, which is tucked inside the cap. The devices can only be used on the field during games — not in clubhouses, bullpens or dugouts.

PitchCom is optional and teams can still use traditional hand signals if they wish. Around half of MLB teams are said to have expressed interest in using PitchCom. Some players tested the system during spring training and it was broadly well-received, as ESPN reports.

"I think it can be beneficial when it comes to August, September and October and you're pushing towards the playoffs, with all the scouts in the stands and eyes on you trying to decipher what you're throwing," Chicago White Sox pitcher Dallas Keuchel said. "It'll be nice not to have to go through several sets of signs."

The tech could help teams ward off the threat of sign stealing by their opponents, an issue that has hung over the sport for the last several years. The Houston Astros were infamously caught stealing signs using a camera and monitors during their run to the 2017 World Series title. Teams have even been accused of using fitness trackers to signal the opposing catcher's pitch calls. Widespread adoption of PitchCom could eliminate such attempts at cheating and help speed up games.

Meanwhile, the creators of PitchCom are working on a version of the system that will provide visual indicators of pitch calls. That's expected to be available next year.

PitchCom Sports

MLB The Show 22 will arrive on April 5th and, for the first time in the series, you'll be able to play on Nintendo Switch. There will be full cross-platform support between Switch, PlayStation and Xbox. You'll be able to transfer Road to the Show or Franchise save files between platforms and have access to items across various consoles (though Xbox Series X/S and PS5-exclusive content will remain locked to those systems).

As with last year's edition, which was the first to land on Xbox, MLB The Show 22 is coming to Xbox Game Pass on its release day. That continues an unusual arrangement where a Sony-published title is available to Game Pass members at no extra cost. Subscribers can play via the cloud as well as on consoles.

This year's cover athlete is Los Angeles Angels megastar Shohei Ohtani. The pitcher and designated hitter had an incredible 2021 season, racking up 46 home runs and 156 strikeouts. It's pretty hard to imagine anyone else gracing MLB The Show 22's cover.

MLB is notorious for blackouts on streaming home games — you still need a cable TV subscription. The league might just loosen its stance in the future, though. As The Vergereports, New York Postsources claim MLB is in "talks" to launch a national streaming service that would offer home games without requiring cable. While details aren't finalized, it would cost between $10 to $20 per month depending on the market. The NBA and NHL are even "considering" partnerships, according to the sources.

If it goes ahead, the service would launch as soon as the 2023 season. MLB.tv would still be available for those who don't mind out-of-market games. A deal is "not yet close at hand," so it wouldn't be surprising if talks fell apart. An MLB spokesperson declined to comment.

The pitch would be simple, according to the insiders: MLB sees this as a service for young baseball fans who are either cord-cutters or never subscribed to cable in the first place. Viewership and in-person attendance have both dropped sharply (12 percent and 34 percent respectively) since 2019, and the pandemic wasn't entirely to blame. This could shore up numbers and keep baseball relevant for an audience that would rather not pay $100-plus for cable just to root for the home team.

There's little doubt this would be a gamble, though. Sports channels and cable providers are highly protective of their broadcast rights, and Sinclair alone owns the digital rights for 14 of 30 teams. Sinclair reportedly asked to run the service for "several years" before MLB shot it down. While MLB is in a strong-enough position to reject Sinclair's overtures, it could face a backlash from cable companies that would pay less to air games.