Major League Baseball definitely will look different in 2020, but how will it sound?
If the league is able to get the sport off the ground at the end of July, it will do so without fans in the stands. As teams around the league have started to play intrasquad scrimmages, it’s clear we’ll need some time to get used to seeing empty major league ballparks.
Obviously, when you take fans out of the equation, you also lose the sound they make. The roar will be gone, but the lack of a constant buzz perhaps will be even more awkward. However, it sounds (literally) like MLB will give artificial crowd noise a shot as the 2020 season gets started.
MLB is supplying teams with pre-recorded crowd noise to play during games, The Athletic reported Friday, citing sources.
“MLB is supplying some, and there are also companies popping up and offering it,” an unnamed team executive told The Athletic. “We’re just trying to get it as soon as we can so we can start utilizing it.”
The Boston Red Sox gave artificial crowd noise a test run Friday morning at Fenway Park.
Here’s what it might sound like, courtesy of NESN’s Tom Caron.
The crowd goes wild, as they experiment with piped-in audio here at an empty Fenway Park. pic.twitter.com/rpw9jo9NDg
— Tom Caron (@TomCaron) July 10, 2020
Here’s a little more from TC:
They seem to be playing tracks for different scenarios: a homer, a strike out, the end of an inning. Roenicke has nodded enthusiastically several times after hearing them.
— Tom Caron (@TomCaron) July 10, 2020
Fake crowd is now booing someone. Maybe the fake left fielder from yesterday’s intrasquad game.
— Tom Caron (@TomCaron) July 10, 2020
It’s interesting, to say the least. That’s just another part of trying to play baseball in the middle of a pandemic.
