Suppose it’s the offseason and…you want to watch some baseball. Well, that might be tough to do in the winter, especially when it comes to the live action. However, there’s plenty of archived MLB games to find online. But, where exactly can one go to find old, classic MLB games? There are several different places one should look to go, and we’ll go through all the best options on how to watch archived MLB games.
Contents
YouTube
The first destination in our quest on how to watch archived MLB games is an obvious pick: YouTube.
YouTube is arguably the best way to watch not-too-recent games. That is because the league archives many games on the platform, something that many people likely don’t know.
This practice started in 2009. Major League Baseball launched several “MLBGlobal” YouTube channels that ended with the last two digits of the calendar year. For example, “MLBGlobal11” and “MLBGlobal12.”
This practice ended after the 2013 season. From that point forward, MLB stealthly added games on their official MLB YouTube channel. These games are not unlisted. Simply just type in a request in the search bar and look around.
To find these games significantly easier, type in the two teams’ names plus the date & year in the search bar. However, use specific lettering to find them, as these games are labeled peculiarly.
For example, the New York Mets are labeled at ‘NYN,’ while the Yankees are ‘NYA,’ to distinguish the two teams by league. There are other odd ones, like ‘SLN’ (Cardinals) and ‘TBA’ (Rays). And, use ‘AT’ in the search, rather than versus or ‘VS.’
For ease of use, here are the abbreviations for all teams.
| Team Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks | ARI |
| Atlanta Braves | ATL |
| Baltimore Orioles | BAL |
| Boston Red Sox | BOS |
| Chicago Cubs | CHN |
| Chicago White Sox | CHA |
| Cincinnati Reds | CIN |
| Cleveland Guardians | CLE |
| Colorado Rockies | COL |
| Detroit Tigers | DET |
| Houston Astros | HOU |
| Kansas City Royals | KCA |
| Los Angeles Angels | LAA |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | LAN |
| Miami Marlins | MIA |
| Milwaukee Brewers | MIL |
| Minnesota Twins | MIN |
| New York Mets | NYN |
| New York Yankees | NYA |
| Athletics | OAK |
| Philadelphia Phillies | PHI |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | PIT |
| San Diego Padres | SDN |
| San Francisco Giants | SFN |
| Seattle Mariners | SEA |
| St. Louis Cardinals | SLN |
| Tampa Bay Rays | TBA |
| Texas Rangers | TEX |
| Toronto Blue Jays | TOR |
| Washington Nationals | WAS |
As of 2024, regular season and playoff games from the late 2000s through 2018 are available on YouTube.
TV
Another option is through traditional television, whether it be cable or satellite.
Traditionally, MLB Network has aired classic games from baseball’s history during the offseason. Make sure to check local listings. Additionally, a regional sports network (RSN) could also air older games. However, this will ultimately depend on whether one’s RSN in a particular market opts to do so.
In the New York City market, for example, YES regularly airs “Yankee Classics” contests, and SNY does the same for the Mets.
Streaming services
However, the best — or easiest, depending on one’s viewpoint — option might be through streaming services. Here’s a look at streaming services that show archived games.
ESPN+
ESPN+ does have some games available on-demand. By some, we mean very few. ESPN typically pulls games off their service about a month after air date, much like with the NHL. However, keep in mind that ESPN+ doesn’t have many games on file to begin with. The streaming service usually airs one to two games a night in the regular season.
Other games have to be accessed with an MLB.TV subscription, which we’ll get to in a minute.
Pluto TV
Several treaming services have their own agreements with MLB to air 24/7 channels of Major League content. One of those services is Pluto TV.
Pluto TV regularly airs classic games, typically either playoff games or ones with some sort of milestone involved. These games can vary vastly by years but typically range from the 1980s to modern day.
Check the sports section on Pluto TV to find the live channel. Additionally, there are games in the on demand section.
Tubi
The same deal applies to Tubi. Tubi is a similar streaming service and offers its own 24/7 channel dedicated to MLB content.
The Roku Channel
There’s also The Roku Channel.
The Roku Channel is slightly different in terms of how it runs its 24/7 channel, as it offers recently-aired games. In fact, Roku aired 2024 MLB Postseason replays during the playoffs, making it a streaming service to keep in mind.
However, those who regularly watch MLB during the active season are likely well-aware of The Roku Channel. The Roku Channel aired select live, regular-season games on Sundays in 2024 thanks to an agreement with Major League Baseball. The deal replaced MLB’s “Sunday Leadoff” deal with Peacock, which ran from 2022-23.
It should be noted that Pluto TV, Tubi, and The Roku Channel are all free streaming apps. No fee is necessary to access the content. However, users can create a free account to either save their preferences or save progress with content.
MLB.TV
The last option I’ll touch on here regarding how to watch tan archived MLB games is MLB.TV.
MLB.TV is Major League Baseball’s official streaming service for out-of-market MLB games. However, it also offers an archive of regular-season contests from the very recent past.
As of 2024, all preseasons and regular-season games from 2023 and 2024 that aired on either a regional sports network or national network are available on MLB.TV. This also includes the playoff games. And, these archives are not region-blocked. What I mean by that is this: you can watch old games featuring one’s team in a local market.
However, be mindful that MLB.TV does come at a cost. MLB.TV costs $150.00 (as of 2024) for a full-year subscription, which is made available at the beginning of the new baseball year. Baseball fans could also opt for a short-term package for $29.99, which also includes La Liga Domincana and 2025 Spring Training games.
But, those who already have the package can simply head into the app and access the games.
Make sure to check out our other MLB coverage all offseason long.