MILWAUKEE – If you want to watch the Twins play the Brewers on Tuesday, don't head to Fox Sports North.
To catch Tuesday's Twins-Brewers game, fans must tune in to Facebook
July 3, 2018 at 4:45AM
Head for your computer, smartphone or tablet.
The game will be available exclusively on Facebook, the result of an agreement between Major League Baseball and the social network to stream games on its platform. The Twins-Brewers matchup is one of 25 games that will be shown exclusively on Facebook this season through its video site, called Facebook Watch.
The game will be produced by the MLB Network, with Scott Braun handling the play-by-play. LaTroy Hawkins from the Twins side and Bill Schroeder from the Brewers side will provide analysis.
According to the agreement, Facebook will stream selected midweek afternoon games, most of them on Wednesdays.
"It will look different," Twins President Dave St. Peter said. "It will not look like any other broadcast and that is by design. It's all aimed at trying some different things and certainly trying to appeal to a different demographic as well as a global audience.
"That has been one of the interesting things, that after these games you get a fair amount of data on who's actually watching, how long they are watching and where they are watching from."
While the broadcast will be produced by the MLB Network, Facebook will be add its own special touches. There are no commercials, as the announcers will continue to discuss the game — and whatever else comes up — between innings. Viewers will be able to ask questions in the comments section, and Braun, Hawkins and Schroeder will take turns answering them during the middle innings.
So Dick Bremer, the Twins play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports North, gets the day off.
"It's not much different from what Richard and I do in the booth," said Hawkins, who has repeatedly refused to address Bremer by his abbreviated name. "Just a three-man booth. I have never been in a three-man booth before, that will be different for me."
Facebook, according to reports, is paying MLB between $30-35 million in the deal, as it tries enter the sports viewing market.
"By no surprise, the audiences have skewed younger and I think that is a worthwhile experiment and we want to learn more about it," St. Peter said. "For a Twins perspective, we are happy to be part of the national package, this game tomorrow and hopefully future games."
The eight Twins headed for arbitration are Royce Lewis, Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, Bailey Ober, Ryan Jeffers, Willi Castro, Griffin Jax and Trevor Larnach.
