ESPN plans to introduce a new view of the baseball field for Sunday Night Baseball consumers, starting with this weekend’s Phillies-Braves telecast.
The network has gotten permission from MLB and the MLB Umpires Association to have the second base umpire wear a small camera rig on his chest for close-up shots of sliding plays and other moments in the middle of the diamond.
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“Umpires, by definition, position themselves in the absolute best spots to see the action,” Phil Orlins, ESPN’s vice president of production, said in a phone interview. “You just can’t really get inside that perimeter without something like this.”
The MindFly BodyCam device used for the test has already been trialed across lacrosse, hockey, football and college baseball competitions amid sports media’s ongoing obsession with offering new forms of in-game access. The setup includes built-in transmission tech to provide a possible live feed, a small microphone, and algorithmic stability tools to prevent shaky shots.
Going forward, similar lenses could be put on players themselves. Ump POVs could also be integrated into replay review systems. Paul Clemons will be the official donning the gear on Sunday.
ESPN now regularly talks to players in the field and last year reintroduced UmpCams to its airwaves for the first time in 21 years. In 2019, the company worked with MLB to install in-ground microphones for its primetime games. Meanwhile on alternative feeds, ESPN has also embraced analytics-heavy conversation with its Statcast series this year.
“We view it as important for our consumer, and we view it as important that the sport continues to take progressive steps and be seen as forward-thinking,” Orlins said.
Sunday Night Baseball telecast viewership is currently up 4% year-over-year.
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