From a sports broadcasting perspective, the most intriguing aspect of the 2022 Major League Baseball season has been the increased use of microphones on players during games. Players being interviewed while on the field was previously reserved for events with nothing at stake, such as the MLB All-Star Game or Spring Training match-ups.
But being mic’d up during play has become a weekly feature on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball coverage, which has drawn positive reviews from viewers and outlets like the Associated Press.
“To see it get rolling this year, along with a tangible enthusiasm from players to be a part of it has been a pleasant breakthrough,” ESPN vice president of production Phil Orlins told the AP’s Joe Reedy.
As Orlins points out, the key is that players have fully bought into being interviewed during play, whether on the field or in the dugout. They’ve embraced the opportunity to show fans and media what personalities are behind the names and faces, while also demonstrating what’s involved in playing baseball at the major-league level.
Yet on this past Sunday’s telecast, ESPN’s in-game interview came close to actually serving a journalistic purpose. The mic’d up player was Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout, who’s made news recently for non-baseball reasons, notably his role as commissioner in the fantasy football league that led to a dispute between the Reds’ Tommy Pham and Joc Pederson of the Giants.
Pham slapping Pederson over a fantasy football tiff might be the most absurd sports story of the year and ESPN had the opportunity to interview someone who was indirectly involved. Could play-by-play broadcaster Karl Ravech ask Trout about the rule which Pham claimed Pederson broke in the league? Would the Angels’ star comment on the teasing from Pederson that upset Pham?
OK, ESPN knew that wouldn’t happen. The network already planned for Trout to be mic’ed up for the SNB telecast, but it’s likely that one of the conditions for wearing a microphone and being interviewed was that the Pham-Pederson spat was an off-limits topic. The proverbial elephant in the room was acknowledged during the bottom of the fourth inning with Ravech trying to sneak a pitch by the three-time American League Most Valuable Player.
“You can throw it out there, just to see what I’ll say,” Trout said. “I know how it goes.”
Trout definitely knows how to handle the media after 12 seasons in the major leagues. But at least he let Ravech tentatively walk toward the subject before waving him off.
Yet the interview still nearly made news, at least of a viral nature, when Ravech asked if Trout’s league used ESPN’s fantasy football platform. Since the rules — or the ability to stash players on injured reserve — were at the heart of Pham’s issue with Pederson, it was natural to ask if the real problem was ESPN’s format. Trout nearly confirmed that before catching himself.
“That’s why there was some confusion, because that website… ah, I can’t say that right now,” said Trout. “It’s an ESPN game.”
Oooh, we nearly had the best player in baseball during a showcase MLB telecast rip an ESPN product on ESPN’s airwaves. That would have been spectacular!
But the interview did still yield some insight and information. Viewers now know it was an ESPN fantasy football league that Pham and Pederson (along with other major leaguers including Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Manny Machado) played in, and ESPN’s format caused the confusion. The audience also learned that Alex Bregman won the league, for which each player paid $10,000 to participate.
At the beginning of this season, I raved about Enrique Hernandez explaining what he was going to do if a ball was hit to him in center field. It added suspense to a potentially exciting moment in the game. When the ball came his way, the Boston Red Sox outfielder did exactly what he said he would. As I wrote, “Hernandez essentially provided play-by-play before the play, then made the actual play.”
A few nights earlier, ESPN mic’d up Reds first baseman Joey Votto for its season-opening telecast. Viewers were almost literally on the field with Votto as he readied himself on defense for a possible ball in play, talked to the Braves’ Ozzie Albies at first base, and talked about his hitting approach going into the 2022 season.
Unfortunately for the Reds and their fans, that on-field, in-game interview might end up being the highlight of what’s been a miserable season. Cincinnati currently has the worst record in the National League (21-39, going into Monday night’s play) and likely won’t improve that place in the standings by the end of September.
Seeking journalism from in-game interviews is surely expecting too much. If that happens, it will almost certainly be an accident, an unintentional confession like the one Trout essentially made about ESPN’s fantasy football website. But sometimes, having a microphone in place at the right moment finds and distributes news. That didn’t occur with Trout this time and maybe some players will be more cautious when they’re mic’ed up.
Yet with those microphones, ESPN still created a fun moment for viewers and provided insight into the players on the field, as it has throughout the 2022 Sunday Night Baseball schedule thus far. Maybe, just maybe, those mics will eventually make some news — even if it happens inadvertently.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
