Remember the olden days when an MLB manager and umpire argued a call, and fans wondered what they were saying?
No one had to wonder about Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider’s argument with home plate umpire Will Little during Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+.
In the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles, Blue Jays second baseman Andrés Giménez swung at a pitch in the dirt and missed, striking out. Giménez argued the ball had hit him in the foot and he had checked his swing.
Schneider emerged from the dugout for an explanation. Thanks to Apple TV’s hot mic, fans clearly heard everything.
“He’s saying the ball hit him,” Little said. “But we’ve got a swing, so we’ve got a dead ball.”
“How the f*** are you gonna call that?” Schneider said.
“How the fuck are you gonna call that?”
Apple TV mics picked up a lot of this exchange pic.twitter.com/C7Nsym98Hq
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 28, 2025
The conversation continued for a while, but the audio of the discussion got muted a few seconds later.
Boom mics, mic’d up players, and high-tech production have led to more and more slips like this in recent years, but Apple TV+ broadcasts seem to have a real gift (or a curse?) for picking up such awkward moments. Just last year, a broadcast picked up the Philadelphia Phillies’ radio announcers mocking the Atlanta Braves’ PA announcer.
And during an MLS match last year, Portland Timbers radio announcer Adam Susman was caught on a hot mic mocking the Major League Soccer team’s head coach, Phil Neville.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.