During the Dodgers and Cardinals game on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, fans could hear a PitchCom device signaling Gavin Stone’s pitches before they left his hand. Notice how audible the word “changeup” is during this interview with infielder Kiké Hernández, who was mic’d up for the inning:
Kiké Hernández tipping pitches (well, his PitchCom device is). 🔊🤣 pic.twitter.com/EUkcClPSOK
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 1, 2024
The volume level of Hernandez’s PitchCom device was high enough that his microphone was able to pick up the sound. As a result, the Dodgers’ pitches were being given away on a live broadcast.
The PitchCom device was on the right side of Kiké Hernández's cap – and Hernández had the mic at the top center of his jersey. Volume must've been cranked all the way up. https://t.co/mmnUGq3XEm
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 31, 2024
What’s unclear is how, or if, the error affected what happened on the field. The first two batters of the inning, Victor Scott II and Masyn Winn, singled off Dodgers pitcher Gavin Stone.
The next batter, Brendan Donovan, popped out. But the next batter, Paul Goldschmidt, singled to score Scott with the Cardinals’ first run of the game. Stone came back to strike out Nolan Gorman and get Nolan Arenado to fly out to left field.
The simple, innocuous reason why Stone’s pitches were audible on the broadcast begs an obvious question: why hasn’t this happened before?
PitchCom was approved for use by the MLB Players’ Association in time for the 2022 season. By 2023, the system had gained broad acceptance around the league. ESPN has been mic’ing up players in-game for years now, so perhaps the simplest explanation might also be the most accurate: no mic’d up player had turned up his volume as loud as Hernandez did Sunday night.
