That all changed when the MLB realized they could make a few bucks off the Internet. They even forced blackouts on the feeds of stations that broadcasted baseball.

Flash forward to now. I’m living in Austin, the YES network isn’t offered here and I’m starved for some Yankee baseball. What’s a displaced New Yorker to do?

The answer came in the form of a $10 iPhone app called MLB AtBat 2009. For my ten bucks, I get audio of every single game through the playoffs. I can even pick which team’s announcers I get. Of course, I always pick John Sterling.

Next year I might buy the MLB.TV package, as it will let me watch the games in HD on my Mac and in SD on my iPhone. But I’ve discovered something this season.

I really like listening to baseball games.

There’s a neat feeling, hearing someone describe the action, fill in stats, and make idle conversation while a pitcher waits to deliver. It’s a very old school feeling, one that’s hard to duplicate.

It really hit me when a Saturday afternoon Yankees-Red Sox game was on Fox. I saw that Tim McCarver would be calling the game and winced. Rather than just watch the whole thing on mute, I hooked up the iPhone to my receiver and listened to Sterling call the game. Sure, the Yankees lost, but he is so good and so unique that I could listen to him read the phone book.

So here’s the the Yankees, having their best season in years. Here’s to the Texas Rangers, who might give the Red Sox a run for their money in the Wildcard race. And jeers to the Red Sox, because they’re the Red Sox.