Royals manager Mike Matheny thinks piped-in fan noise at stadiums may protect players
It’s been a weird year for baseball, so it’s maybe not so surprising that Royals manager Mike Matheny added another role to his summer-camp duties last week.
He got some work as home-plate umpire and got an earful. But not in the sense most baseball fans would expect.
In empty Kauffman Stadium, Matheny could hear all that was being said by the players.
At one point, Danny Duffy chastised himself for not locating an inside pitch against Whit Merrifield. Stepping out of the box, Merrifield said to Matheny it will be an adjustment hearing everything a pitcher says.
Duffy noted the strangeness of the situation as well.
“I think I had him punched out. I think they gave him an extra strike, but it was definitely odd,” Duffy said. “It was weird hearing the echo without any fans. It was weird being able to hold a full conversation with my center fielder, basically.
“Just an interesting time, man, but I think we can normalize anything if we put our mind to it. And that’s kind of where we’re at right now.”
During a recent call with Major League Baseball, Matheny made the case for pre-recorded fan noise to be piped in at the stadiums, which will have empty stands because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
MLB apparently listened to Matheny.
The Athletic reported MLB will supply teams with recorded fan noise but details of how it will be used during games are being worked out. Matheny says that’s better than players hearing what opponents are saying under their breath.
“My concern is how much it’s going to be heard from both sides,” Matheny said. “And we’ve got men out there that this is their livelihood, and they take it very serious. And I think we appreciate how these guys compete. And with that raw emotion, I’m just not so sure that’s something we all want to hear every bit of. I don’t think necessarily our fan base needs to hear everything either.
“I don’t think this is about creating a better atmosphere for the player. I think it’s about just kind of masking some of the stuff that you wouldn’t normally hear. Because there’s enough change that’s organically having to happen right now anyhow.”
Matheny also wonders how umpires would take hearing what players say under their breath. Matheny heard plenty when he was behind the plate.
In one intrasquad game, outfielder Khalil Lee objected to being called out on strikes and it led to a funny exchange.
Lee told Matheny he didn’t like the call.
“He didn’t like my response to him not liking it either,” Matheny quipped. “I told him, he’s never seen an umpire who’ll throw a guy as fast as me so he better watch himself. He turned around and said, ‘Yes sir,’ and kept walking.
“I said, ‘This guy’s a quick study, I like it.’”
