Netflix’s Giants-Yankees Opening Night details revealed

Details are starting to emerge about Netflix’s plans for MLB Opening Night, and it looks like the streaming giant wants to make a big splash with its baseball debut.

literally.

Netflix is ​​reportedly planning to place 73 red kayaks in McCovey Cove behind the right field wall of Oracle Park for the March 25 game between the Giants and Yankees that marks the official start of the MLB regular season.

the plan, It was first reported by the San Francisco Standardis a tribute to legendary Giants player Barry Bonds’ single-season home run record set during the 2001 season.

Nine of Bonds’ 73 bombs that season reached San Francisco Bay — and 35 of his 108 were hit by a Giant, despite playing just seven seasons in a ballpark that celebrated its 25th birthday last year.

Bonds, who rarely gives interviews, has been rumored to be targeted by Netflix to appear as an analyst on the streamer. His name was not among the seven members of the broadcast team revealed on Wednesday, but the announcement sparked the upset of an eighth “special guest” who has not yet been named.

Matt Vasgersian, recently hired as the voice of the weekly Sunday morning game on Peacock/NBC, will provide play-by-play with famous former players from each side serving as color analysts.

Hunter Pence will provide the Giants’ perspective, while CC Sabathia will represent the Yankees. Pence, a folk hero from the Giants’ World Series, still lives in San Francisco and has done commentary for NBC Sports Bay Area, as well as Apple TV. Sabathia went into the Hall of Fame wearing a Yankees cap, but he was born and raised in Vallejo, about 30 miles northeast of Oracle Park.

The broadcast will also include a live on-site set hosted by Elle Duncan with another Hall of Famer, Albert Pujols, on commentary with Anthony Rizzo, the former Yankees and Cubs first baseman. Lauren Shehadeh will report from the field and the team’s dugouts, and comedian Bert Krischer will reprise his role from the NFL broadcast on Netflix.

The streaming company made its first foray into the major US sports market when it broadcast its first game on Christmas Day in 2024. With its global audience, Netflix has recently been speculated to be a natural launching point for the NFL’s growing slate of international games.

Netflix’s baseball strategy appears to be following its football footprint, targeting high-profile major events.

---

Download the California Post app, follow us on social media, and sign up for our newsletters

In addition to Opening Night, Netflix has acquired the rights through 2028 to stream the Home Run Derby and one “special event” per season, starting this year with the Field of Dreams game scheduled for August 13.

The Bay Area-based company appears to be going beyond typical streaming.

As per Standard, Netflix will also host a “pop-up platform,” where fans can test their rigs. The kayak, marked with a red Netflix logo, will reportedly be available for use by fans.

McCovey Cove, one of the sport’s popular attractions, will take center stage.

It remains to be seen whether or not Netflix gets its wish and becomes a hit. The water is about 20 feet behind a 25-foot brick wall in right field, and San Francisco’s marine layer adds another obstacle.

The Giants’ full 26-man roster combined for three kickoffs. No one on the Yankees had ever done that before. The hardest hitter of all time, Aaron Judge, seems like a natural candidate — but only one right-handed hitter has made the leap.