Royals pitcher blasts Major League Baseball over its TV blackout restrictions

You can add Royals pitcher Tyler Zuber’s name to the list of people unhappy with Major League Baseball’s blackout restrictions.

Zuber, who is at the Royals alternate site in Springdale, Arkansas, planned to watch Monday’s game against the Angels at Kauffman Stadium. Oddly, the problem is Zuber has MLB.tv, which has blackout restrictions that go well beyond the area where Bally Sports Kansas City is available on cable.

This is a common lament among Royals fans who live in parts of the country outside of Kansas City.

Zuber aired his grievances on Twitter, writing: “Love the blackout restrictions @MLB can’t even watch the @Royals play #FixIt #BeBetter”

A fan noted there are sites that offer a VPN (virtual private network) that will serve as a workaround, but Zuber wasn’t happy.

Zuber wrote: “Ridiculous that you have to go to those links just to watch a game. @mlb has to fix this.”

Another fan tried to explain why MLB makes it difficult for its fans who cut the cord to watch their league.

“But, you pay for MLB.tv to watch your respected team play and now it’s blacked out in areas. That makes 0 sense,” wrote Zuber, who was 1-2 with a 4.09 ERA in 23 games out of the bullpen a year ago.

Last week, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard also expressed his frustration when he couldn’t watch New York’s home opener.