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 ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
28/09/2026
Net Insight has added the Nimbra 1020G to its pan-Asian live media trial network, giving customers and partners in the region a way to evaluate ST 2110 and JPEG...
28/09/2026
Vindral has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category of We...
28/09/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (Stand B2-37, Dubai Exhibition Centre, October 5-7), demonstrating its BATON QC platform, ORION monitoring solutions...
28/09/2026
Two years into its new production facility, the TOUR is expanding centralized wo...
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 
