Fair Balls and Foul Language

Jack Hicks, the longtime engineer for the Washington Nationals’ radio broadcast, said if people on the field were talking close to one of the microphones near each dugout — which are directed toward home plate and meant to pick up the crack of the bat — he shifts to another microphone or turns it down to avoid airing any private or unfiltered conversations. In situations when there could be a lot of swearing, Hicks said, the studio can trigger a delay of a few seconds on the broadcast to filter out any profanity.

And, Hicks said, he does not want any fans, especially children, to inadvertently hear anything inappropriate. “We’re in the entertainment business, and I’m not looking to alienate any listeners at all,” he said.

Despite his best efforts, Hicks said it can sometimes be impossible to avoid airing a player screaming an obscenity, particularly in the worst possible spot — right in front of a microphone. He said he had a reel of 15 years’ worth of such incidents, with the commentators Dave Jageler and Charlie Slowes doing their best to make light of those moments.

Tyler Glasnow, a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, admitted he probably utters profanities after home runs more frequently than most. He did so after he surrendered a solo home run to Atlanta’s Dansby Swanson, in his first start of the season, on July 27. It was the only run he allowed over four innings that game.

Even though he knows microphones may hear him more this season, Glasnow said he just cannot help himself.

“I just do it, as bad as that sounds,” he said. “You only have so much mental capacity of what you can focus on, especially when you’re pitching.”

Last summer, Yankees Manager Aaron Boone produced a viral, profane moment even with fans in the stands when microphones caught him reprimanding the umpire Brennan Miller about his strike zone with some naughty words. A phrase Boone used — “savages in the box” — during the tirade to describe the Yankees’ powerful lineup came to define the team’s 2019 season and was printed on T-shirts and signs.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/sports/baseball/mlb-swearing.html