Mic’d up interviews of athletes during games are certainly nothing new, but Juan Soto took the art to a new level on Sunday Night Baseball.
ESPN mic’d up the New York Yankees left fielder and talked with him during the game. In the bottom of the third inning, Karl Ravech read a question sent in by a fan for Soto to answer.
“You played with (Bryce) Harper, (Aaron) Judge and (Giancarlo) Stanton. Who has wowed you the most with the sound the ball makes off their bat?” Ravech asked.
Soto laughed heartily.
“Oh my god, that’s extreme power right there,” he said. Well …”
At that moment, Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong lifted a fly ball down the left-field line. Soto interrupted his answer and gave chase.
But even before Soto made the catch, he provided his answer.
“Definitely Harper.”
Soto answering a question as he’s tracking down a flyball. 🤣
“Definitely Harper.” pic.twitter.com/iVDV06RxMg
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 17, 2024
It was not a tough catch, with the ball having an exit velocity of 79.1 mph and an xBA of only .070. Still, the fact that Soto chased a fly ball, while presumably pondering the question, and then gave an answer before he even caught the ball, was next-level mic’d up.
Purists argue that these in-game interviews distract players. In fact, Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Kiké Hernández made an error in a recent game on Apple TV while doing a mic’d up interview.
It didn’t happen to Soto, however.
ESPN needs to mic up multiple players and make it like a live group chat https://t.co/Yxdqt0eZjo
— Pro Perdomo (@Pro_Perdomo) June 17, 2024
Does anyone enjoy watching baseball like this? https://t.co/fG9IPkIgLA
— Bread and Rosenstock (@RaucousDukakis) June 17, 2024
These guys just play so carefree all the time. The game comes so easy to them https://t.co/rk2UYusHA8
— Johnny Coy 🇺🇸 (@JohnnyCoy13) June 17, 2024
Baseball can be boring but man these guys are so skilled at their sport it’s on another level https://t.co/T6W1YpZ53Y
— Nadir (@Nadir3887) June 17, 2024
[Rob Friedman’