Imagining a World of Mic'd up MLB Players in 2020 Regular Season

If you've ever wondered what MLB players were thinking (or at least willing to say out loud) during a game, your moment is here.

On Wednesday in a spring training contest against the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso became the latest player to get mic'd up and interact with the announcers. Not in the dugout or on the sidelines, but during the game itself.

Here's a brief snippet, per Cut4:

It was an amusing experiment, and it wasn't the first time MLB has toyed with this notion.

Chicago Cubs stars Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant were mic'd up during a spring game against the Los Angeles Angels on March 2, and a decent amount of levity ensued. In 2018, Mike Trout wore a mic on-field during the All-Star Game.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Those examples came during spring training or a midseason exhibition when the scores don't matter. But what if this was a trial balloon on the part of MLB to see if such an option is viable during the regular season?

The league is searching for ways to ramp up interest. It may never again be the national pastime, but it doesn't want to get left in the dust by football, basketball and soccer when it comes to eyeballs and attention.

There are a lot of ways to generate more attention. One is to aggressively market the biggest stars and make subtle rule tweaks that speed up the pace of play and slightly alter the dynamics of the playoff system without upending the traditionalism baked into the sport. Another is to get radical and throw caution to the wind.

Hearing what players have to say during game action falls somewhere in between.

On one hand, it's fun, innovative and interesting, and it doesn't inherently impact the outcome or the stats accrued by players over the course of the season. 

Obviously, if everyone were analyzing the action in real-time while trying to pitch, hit and catch, there would be distractions and issues galore. But a player doing so for an inning or two in a handful of regular-season games?

Don't pretend your interest wouldn't be piqued, and don't say it would turn baseball on its head.

Per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, Alonso gave the league permission to place a mic near first base at Mets games this season to pick up conversations between himself and the baserunner.

"I think it's fun to actually share kind of like live, almost like first stream of conscious type deal going on," he told reporters. "It's interesting for sure."

There would be problems. Alonso dropped an f-bomb on the air that might raise the hackles of the FCC. And, of course, there's the matter of whispered conversations between coaches and teammates that could be intercepted by live mics.

The Houston Astros taught us all the perils of allowing technology to reach deep into on-field action.

Rizzo even joked about the Astros' sign-stealing scandal while on the mic: "I'm doing some math in my head what he's going to throw. ... Someone bang for me."

That's a trash can reference, in case you missed it.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

It may seem silly and against the old-school spirit of the sport.

Yet these kinds of advances⁠—including instant-replay review—have been a net positive for baseball. Purists will balk, but evolving, attracting younger viewers and building lifelong fans should be among MLB's top priorities.

Athletes have personalities. They're entertainers. They're paid a fortune to play a game, and while we shouldn't force them to stoop too low, fans and viewers expect a higher level of access in today's social-media culture.

Plus, admit it: You want to know what they're saying. As a lifelong baseball fan, I've also become an amateur lip-reader.

If Alonso uttering the occasional naughty word on live television or the next iteration of the Astros trying to snoop on the opposition is the collateral damage, so be it.