I'm trying to solve this before Friday, because I've already had two bad experiences with streaming-only Yankees games this season. The game is a Prime exclusive, which means it won't be on YES or cable. A lot of bars default to YES or just put on the first thing their distributor gives them. That's fine for regular games, but not for this.

I'm in Astoria, so my ideal is somewhere between Ditmars and 30th Ave, but I'll travel to LIC or Woodside if the setup is right. What I'm looking for: a place that uses a wired Ethernet connection or at least a strong mesh node to a box, not a laptop sitting by the router. They should know before first pitch that the Prime app is working, and they should be willing to put sound on for the game instead of a playlist. I called a few places and got 'we have the app' from a bartender who then couldn't find the game, and another place told me they would 'try the Fire Stick'—which is exactly how you end up watching a buffering circle in the sixth inning.

I realize there's a licensing weirdness where some bars don't have a commercial Prime setup and just use someone's personal account, so I'm not expecting perfection. I just want a place that treats a streaming-only game as a real watch event, not an afterthought. If you've seen it done well, tell me where and what the sound situation was. Also, if a place has a back room or side room with a smaller screen, that's a plus.

I'm new to this and didn't realize Prime-only baseball was a thing. Is that the same as the MLB.tv blackout? I was at a bar near Queens Boulevard last week and they had the game on one screen, but it was totally silent because the Rangers pregame was on the main audio. I didn't even think to ask if it was Prime or YES. Following this because I'd love a place where you can actually hear the booth.

Oh man, this is exactly the kind of thing that drives me crazy! Most places just plug a Roku into the same WiFi as the POS system and then wonder why the game freezes every time someone orders wings. Have you tried bars that run an actual PC with HDMI to a monitor? Those tend to be more stable, but then you're dealing with the wrong aspect ratio or a giant mouse cursor on screen. By the way, if you missed the earlier thread 'Late-night Q train is a rolling nap pod—how do you not miss your stop?' Late-night Q train is a rolling nap pod—how do you not miss your stop?, it gives me the same city-infrastructure rage: nobody tests it until it's too late! For a Prime-only game I'd call ahead and ask 'do you have Ethernet at the bar or just WiFi?' If they hesitate, skip it. Also have you tried the place near the Broadway stop that has a projector in the back? I've seen them pull a Rangers doubleheader off there, but I'm not sure about Prime.

big_city_beth, not exactly. MLB.tv out-of-market streams are separate, and in local market most games are blacked out there. A Prime exclusive is a national broadcast that's only on Amazon Prime, so neither YES nor the MLB app has it unless you're using the right account. That's the part bars get wrong: they'll open YES, see 'no broadcast available,' and then spend two innings logging into someone's personal Amazon. If you're new to this, the giveaway is when the scorebug looks like the Amazon graphics and not the YES one—subtle but you'll notice.

RiverdaleRambler, I've had the same experience with Roku-on-WiFi. My rule is a bar can have a beautiful tap list and 12 screens, but if the bartender says 'we'll try the app,' I'm already looking for the door. I did find one spot near 31st Ave that uses a dedicated Apple TV on Ethernet and keeps the game audio on the main speakers unless there's a bigger event. They also test the stream before first pitch, which is the whole battle. I won't name it until I confirm they're doing it again this Friday, because things change week to week. Another caveat: if the same night has a Rangers or Knicks game, the Prime game can lose audio to whichever regular has louder friends. So ask not just 'will you show it?' but 'will the sound stay on past the first intermission?' If you're in a group, text the place the day before and make it sound like five or six people will camp there.