There’s one upside to playing games without fans.
There’s one upside to playing games without fans
When it became clear in early March that the immediate future of sports featured games without crowds, fans were excited by the possibility that a lack of noise pollution could take them closer to the game. Unfortunately, the NBA has been employing a seven-second delay so that the audio from the court can be dropped whenever somebody swears (which is often). NBCSN’s coverage of the Premier League, one of the live first sports to come back to American television, featured artificial crowd noise that covered up the sounds on the pitch. Baseball, however, hasn’t really bothered to do anything about hot mics, and it’s glorious.
It’s been happening all season but Sunday’s slate of games featured a heaping helping of outstanding profanity.
The majority of the swears you hear during an MLB broadcast are like this one from Joc Pederson—a forceful exclamation after a disappointing outcome.
But Sunday’s MLB action featured some truly exquisite, inspired cursing. Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long, upset with the work of home plate umpire Will Little, managed to squeeze four obscenities into just a four-second outburst. That’s impressive efficiency.
Long wasn’t ejected but Washington pitcher Aníbal Sánchez was asked to leave his spot in the stands, although manager Dave Martinez said after the game that it wasn’t exactly an ejection.
Martinez was apologetic about Long’s outburst and regretted that things usually confined to the field are now broadcast to the whole world.
“Those things happen. It kind of stinks that you can hear everything. I try to muffle everything with this mask,” he said. “If I do say something I try to cover it up with my mouth. It’s just part of the game, but it is ugly. I’m not going to lie to you.”
Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire’s ejection from his team’s game against Cleveland showed that it’s not just the players and coaches using unsavory language. Gardenhire got tossed and home plate up Tim Timmons got caught telling Gardy to “get the f--- outta here.”
Timmons may have a potty mouth but on the other hand, he knows proper mask etiquette. When Gardenhire came out to argue with his mask below his nose, Timmons kindly reminded him to pull it up.
Not to be outdone, Don Mattingly’s frustration with the umpiring crew’s work during the Marlins’ weekend series with the Braves finally boiled over in the fifth inning of Sunday’s finale. Home plate umpire James Hoye tossed him from the dugout and Mattingly came out to get his money’s worth. His extended argument with Hoye was a masterpiece of the hot mic art form.
“You guys f---ed us in every game,” Mattingly told Hoye in a profanity-laced tirade that lasted nearly two minutes.
People with children may not like it, but stuff like this is making it so much more enjoyable to watch games in the empty-stadium era. It’s usually pretty rare to have a hot mic pick up a conversation like Aaron Boone’s “My guys are f---ing savages in that box” or umpire Tom Hallion telling Terry Collins “our ass is in the jackpot.” Now you’re having that happen multiple times per day. It’s a real treat.
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