
MLB, ESPN Take Player-Miking to a New Level Ballplayers on the field are happy to share what's on their minds By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Friday, May 20, 2022 - 10:54 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Baseball players are just plain chatty. Perhaps it's the relatively slow pace of the game, or maybe the pitcher is in a groove, and three outfielders find themselves a bit bored by the third inning. In any event, that's working in ESPN's favor this season: the broadcaster is wiring athletes for sound at a new level.
Sometimes, fans get a sharp analysis of a moment in the game, punctuated by the player's going zero to 60 to make a play he'd just been speculating about. On April 7, for example, Boston's Kik Hernandez was ruminating on two Bronx Bombers in scoring position just before he bolted to catch up with the line drive that would send them home at Yankees Stadium. Or, a week later, Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies chatted amiably with the announcers in San Diego about well, microphones on baseball players.
"Well depending on how hard it s hit. If it s hit hard he s probably not gonna go home. Here it is!"
This mic d up moment with Kik Hernandez was awesome pic.twitter.com/M1osm0BDgD
ESPN (@espn) April 11, 2022
From Novelty to Normal What had been a novelty is rapidly becoming routine content. It has also become a category of its own for broadcast-sports audio. It has had that status with the NFL for years and, more recently, with the NBA. But baseball's leisurely pace makes it particularly well-suited for conversations during games.
We especially appreciate that MLB has let us have the latitude in order to use this and get the most out of it, says Kevin Cleary, remote operations specialist, ESPN. He notes that, ever since Reds first baseman Joey Votto first donned a Q5X PlayerMic transmitter and Countryman B6 microphone element, along with an earpiece for foldback, for Cincinnati's April 7 season opener in Atlanta, baseball players haven't stopped talking on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. The ballplayers have really picked up on this and are enjoying it. Some of them seem like they're auditioning for their next careers as broadcasters.
At its core, it's about storytelling, something that baseball is both good at and needs, says Cleary: There is some secrecy to field strategy in baseball, but there's not a ton of strategy to playing first base. What this does is let the ballplayers tell us about the nuance of what they're doing, engaging not just the TV crew but the viewers, too.
He credits ESPN SNB analyst Eduardo Perez for getting athletes - many of whom can be skittish about wearing a wire on television - on board for the process.
But that's just the start of it, Cleary points out. The new audio needs its own ambient context, layering the sound around it in the mix as the crowd sound ebbs and flows during the game, keeping it part of what he calls a symphony of sound rather than an isolated moment in a game. That includes using EQ to keep speech separate from the other effects elements, such as bat cracks, and to make the wired ballplayer sound like, as he puts it, a fourth member of the announce team.
It's how to keep all the other microphones that are scattered around ballparks, such as in-ground mics around the mound and home plate, on their side of the effects line. That's especially important since there is no submixer on the REMI production, which is directed and produced at ESPN's Bristol, CT, facility, where EVS replay and graphics operations also are located. The audio, however, is mixed onsite by A1s Brian Shannon and Brian Deardorf.
Unlike the NFL, which controls access to on-field audio, MLB has granted ESPN control over the player microphones, and the broadcaster works with the league and teams in determining which players don the audio gear and when. A minimal profanity delay is applied.
Sound on the Field Putting microphones on athletes has become one of broadcast sports' favorite pastimes, though one fraught with technical and legal complications. The contemporary version dates to 2010, the year the NFL moved its umpires to the offensive backfield. The change was made for the safety of the officials, who had lined up on the defensive side of the ball, in the middle of the field and 4 or 5 yards from the line of scrimmage, putting them at greatest risk of getting hurt in collisions over the middle.
However, the move also eliminated the microphone worn by the umpire, which was discovered to be a key source of on-field audio for televised games. And it led to a decade-plus of wiring players to pick up key spoken-word sound (notably, the quarterback's pre-snap cadence) and the close-up crunch of helmet and shoulder-pad contact in scrimmages. The act of improving officials' safety had created a new dimension in sports audio.
The NFL (whose media arm NFL Films had been wiring players for sound since 1967) kicked off an audio phenomenon that has spread throughout pro sports, notably with up to two NBA and NHL players per side now miked for each game. The process is also part of collective-bargaining agreements between player organizations and leagues, which spell out who, how many, and when microphones are worn and by whom they're controlled.
Baseball has been the latest to embrace what has come to be known as Mic'd Up, or, as ESPN more prosaically refers to it, live in-game player interviews. It started with 2018 Spring Training in Arizona, when ESPN miked Boston's Mookie Betts, who, during an in-game interview, saw a ball hit over his head and told fans, I ain't getting this one, boys. Previously, the promise of miking players in the field had been on display during the 2017 All-Star Game, when Nationals
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
25/03/2026
The company expands leadership team under Chief Revenue Officer Amilcar Perez
S...
25/03/2026
Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony features in top 10 programmes of the month...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
Providing wide view timing visibility across the entire production chain...
25/03/2026
Continuing development drives advances in security, availability, access and connectivity...
25/03/2026
Caudalie, the renowned French cosmetics brand, has unveiled a state-of-the-art 200-seat auditorium at its new headquarters in the historic Marais district of ce...
25/03/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced expanded integration with Adobe Premiere, Adobe Media Encoder (AME), and Frame.io, d...
25/03/2026
Marshall Electronics is expanding its lineup of high-performance POV cameras designed for broadcast, live production and professional AV applications with the d...
25/03/2026
OOONA, a global provider of professional management and production tools for the media localization industry, announced today that it has been awarded the TPN G...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
SipRadius, specialists in secure, low-latency media transport, will drive innovation and interoperability still further with the launch of the SipMX Alliance at...
25/03/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote contribution solutions, will showcase its award-winning StudioPro ecosystem at The 2...
25/03/2026
Alfalite, the only European manufacturer of LED screens, will once again be present at NAB Show, the leading global event for the broadcast, media and entertain...
25/03/2026
PC, a leading provider of integrated communication solutions, will make its NAB 2026 Show debut in Booth C 3341. The company will highlight the newly branded On...
25/03/2026
Open video transport network simplifies satellite transition with new partnerships and global reach as spectrum auction nears
LTN will demonstrate how its purp...
25/03/2026
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, will present the full range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix T&M solutions at the NAB Show, which takes pl...
25/03/2026
MNC Software, a global leader in network management and operational support systems tailored to the broadcast and media industry, today announced the appointmen...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/03/2026
Starfish highlights flexible TS Splicer releases and new Monitoring Dashboard at...
25/03/2026
XLNTSOUND Elevates Video Production with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 24, 2026
0 Comments
Audio company upgrades workflow with Blackmagic Cine...
25/03/2026
First Time Exhibitor IPC Introduces One Link Keypanels for One Connect Intercom ...
25/03/2026
At the half-time whistle of the UEFA EURO 2020 round of 16 football match betwee...
24/03/2026
Utah Scientific to Showcase a Variety of Hybrid SDI/IP Innovations at the 2026 N...
24/03/2026
Mediaproxy will showcase an updated version of its LogPlayer interface at NAB Sh...
24/03/2026
C gep de Jonqui re, a public college in Qu bec, has upgraded its TV studio complex with five Calrec Brio consoles and a Dante IP network. The installation was c...
24/03/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has announced new and r...
24/03/2026
National Telecom Public Company Limited (NT) used Ateme's KYRION platform fo...
24/03/2026
Grass Valley has expanded its relationship with ImSoPROD, the TV production entity of FDJ United, with the deployment of LDX C98 compact cameras across its nati...
24/03/2026
The E.W. Scripps Company is launching Scripps Sports Network (SSN), a free, ad-s...
24/03/2026
NEP Group has launched NEP Platform, a new software orchestration system that un...
24/03/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the Arizona Diamondbacks to design, manufacture and install a new LED video display and three ribbon boards at Chase Field in Phoe...
24/03/2026
Grass Valley has completed an upgrade of University of Pittsburgh Athletics'...
24/03/2026
Daktronics is upgrading eight LED displays at Wrigley Field in Chicago, totaling more than 8,300 square feet, using the Daktronics Renew product line. The upgra...
24/03/2026
Advanced Systems Group has appointed Kevin Poole as Senior Project and Support Manager within the ASG Workflow and Tools practice. The position is newly created...
24/03/2026
In an increasingly streaming-centric world, protecting high-value live sports co...
24/03/2026
Mediaproxy will showcase an updated version of its LogPlayer interface at NAB Show, April 19-22 in Las Vegas, booth W1423. The update includes AI tools, native ...
24/03/2026
The production studio has worked with content juggernauts such as MrBeast, The R...
24/03/2026
The event will also feature a State of the Industry address from sports-media veteran and strategic advisor Patrick Crakes....
24/03/2026
Victory , a free sports streaming service owned by A Parent Media Co. (APMC), has launched its NWSL Sunday Night Soccer franchise. The platform says the launch ...
24/03/2026
Sports content in free streaming is still relatively scant, but it's growing, right along with its monetization capabilities
Streaming-tech company Wurl re...
24/03/2026
Directed by Greg DeHart, the doc will feature Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famers...
24/03/2026
For the first time ever, Tubi - Fox's free streaming service - is working w...