Phillies spring training 2023: Channel, schedule, how to watch and stream

Spring training is finally here, and for the first time in a couple of years Phillies fans will be able to watch more than half the team’s games on television.

NBC Sports Philadelphia will air 13 of the Phillies’ 30 Grapefruit League games. That’s up from nine last season, but down from 16 in 2019 and 17 in 2018. Games will also air on ESPN and the MLB Network, and the Phillies themselves will stream a couple online.

The Phillies opened spring training Saturday with a split-squad game against the New York Yankees at home at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla., where the team has played spring ball for 77 years.

Spring training will also be the first chance for Phillies fans to get a glimpse of new shortstop Trea Turner, who signed an 11-year, $300 million contract during the offseason. Turner is expected to open the season as the Phillies’ leadoff hitter.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the Phillies spring training games:

The bulk of the Phillies’ televised spring training games will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia, which will broadcast 13 games — four on the main channel and nine on NBC Sports Philadelphia+.

Tom McCarthy, who recently signed a contract extension to remain the television voice of the Phillies, will do play-by-play for NBC Sports Philadelphia. He’ll be joined by a rotation of analysts that includes Ruben Amaro, Ben Davis, and John Kruk.

ESPN is scheduled to air the Phillies’ only spring training matchup against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, March 2. MLB Network is scheduled to broadcast two games.

Radio listeners can tune into 94.1 WIP to hear 12 games. Scott Franzke, who recently signed a contract extension, will handle play-by-play. Joining him will be a rotation featuring veteran analyst Larry Anderson and Kevin Stocker, who will call a majority of Phillies radio games this season.

NBC Sports Philadelphia will stream its 13 Phillies spring training games on the NBC Sports app and the MyTeams app, but a subscription to a cable service is required. Fans in the Philadelphia metro area can also get NBC Sports Philadelphia on fuboTV (which has a free seven-day preview), YouTube TV, and Hulu + Live TV. The network is not available on Sling TV or DirecTV Stream.

What’s new this year is the Phillies will stream three spring training games on the team’s website — March 7 against the Tampa Bay Rays and March 12 and 28 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Those game’s won’t have announcers, so if you crank if your heat up it’ll be just like watching from the stands in Clearwater.

MLB will stream the audio for seven games on MLB.com. MLB.TV is scheduled to stream 25 Phillies games and has eliminated its local blackout rule during spring training. There is a subscription fee you can pay monthly, as well as a free seven-day trial.

MLB is implementing three major rule changes this season, and all will be rolled out during spring training.

The most noticeable change for fans will be the addition of a pitch clock, an attempt to quicken the pace of games.

Players have 30 seconds between batters to resume play. Batters must be in the box and ready to hit with at least eight seconds on the clock, and are allowed one timeout per plate appearance.

Pitchers have 15 seconds to throw a pitch if there are no baserunners, and 20 seconds if someone is on base.

So what’s the penalty for a pitchclock violation? If a pitcher doesn’t throw in time, the batter gets a ball. If a batter isn’t ready to hit, they get a strike.

In an attempt to increase batting average and reduce strikeouts, MLB is severely limiting the ability of teams to shift their infielders based on who’s at the plate.

A shift typically involves playing three infielders on one side of the field (though some teams have used four), positioning players where the batter is more likely to hit the ball. The downside is it limits hits, increases strikeouts (as batters attempt to pull to the opposite field or swing for a home run), and limits athletic defensive plays.

Under the new rules, two infielders must be positioned on either side of second base when a pitch is released. Additionally, all four infielders must have both feet within the infield while the pitcher is on the rubber.

MLB experimented with the new rule in the minor leagues the past two seasons, and said it led to better batting averages. But Baseball America crunched the numbers and found the new shift limitations didn’t have much of an impact.

Not as big a change as the previous two rules, but larger bases could be just as impactful.

The idea is the slightly larger bases (from a 15-inch square to 18 inches) will encourage more base-stealing attempts and improve player safety. MLB says the larger bases reduced injury events by more than 13% in the minor leagues last season.

Thanks to the larger bases, first base and third base are three inches closer to home plate, while second base is 4.5 inches closer to first and third.

» READ MORE: Three new MLB rules, and three Phillies who likely will be impacted

The Phillies are scheduled to open the 2023 season on March 30 on the road against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Single-game tickets to Rangers games go on sale Friday, March 3, at 10 a.m. Eastern.

The Phillies will follow that series with three more road games against the New York Yankees before opening the season at Citizens Bank Park on April 6 against the Cincinnati Reds.

Tickets are already sold out for the Phillies’ home opener, though you can find seats on resale sites such as Seat Geek, Vivid Seats, and StubHub.

The Phillies have had several memorable openers since they were defeated, 4-3, by Old Hoss Radbourn of the Providence Grays on May 1, 1883. The Inquirer looked back at nine of the more memorable season-openers in franchise history.

Overall, the Phillies are 66-72-2 on Opening Day, but they’ve been good recently — after a streak of six straight losses, the Phillies have gone 4-1 in season openers over the past five seasons.