How did we get here? The evolution of MLB broadcasts

How the f*** did we get here

We got umpcams. We are changing shots every couple seconds. There are over 40 different camera angles

Clocks are ticking down everywhere I look. I can see information about pitch speeds, exit velocities, spin rates, launch angles

multiple ads physically and digitally plastered everywhere. Then the game ended. Go Brewers

And my brain had a second to breathe. Is this actually a better experience for a fan than it used to be

So, I went back through the archives of Major League Baseball history and took a look at the tech involved in creating these experiences for fans

Starting from the very beginning, the very first World Series. So put on your favorite Boston Americans or Pittsburgh Pirates hat because we are going to dash back into the first ever World Series game in 1903

I know it sounds crazy, how did a Pirates team make a World Series? But they did, I swear

And if that offended you and you were a Pirates fan watching this, I have even worse news

you're actually going to get heckled out of winning this series by some

quote, escaped patients from an insane asylum, end quote. It's good to see some things never change, even if they are called Red Sox fans now

The story is actually pretty awesome. I'll link it down below in the description if you're interested. But if you actually wanted to watch this game

you would have had to travel to the grounds to watch. Or you would just have to check the newspaper the next day to see the scores and what had happened

Or there was a third option for diehard fans, of which there were many, you could go out and brave the October weather conditions to listen

to the predecessor of modern broadcast booths. That's right, the Megaphone Man. This beautiful

loud man was backed by the technology of Morse code. A telegraph operator would send reports of

every pitch to which the Megaphone Man would announce to the crowd. Reportedly, they even

developed their own unique and dramatic styles to keep crowds entertained between the action

I just quickly also want to shout out the Playograph here. When I first read about it, I thought, oh, that's kind of cool. And the more I think about it, it was actually really cool. So

it was an electro mechanical scoreboard that was usually put up at a newspaper building or somewhere

that was already equipped with telegraph equipment because they would get the telegraph and then two

operators behind the scoreboard would mechanically move those little pieces around to show you who's

on base, how many outs, strikes, balls, et cetera. And it would be a huge social gathering. So you

would go with your family and friends over to this building to watch the game basically live on the

first version of Gamecast. If only there was a way to not have to stand outside to hear this

What if I could listen to the game while I comfortably sit on my couch and eat snacks? Did they even have snacks back then? Well bud, it would be just a short 18 years before this was

the reality. I call this Land Before Picture Time. The radio baby! It's here and it's so f***ing

cool Sound can travel through the air dude How is that possible How did these bros figure that out over 100 years ago The first baseball game on the air happened on August 5th 1921 Guess what Games are still being broadcasted on the radio today

That's over 100 years of baseball broadcasts via the same technology. The megaphone man walked so radio could run

A 25-year-old man named Harold Arlen did the first ever play-by-play of a Major League Baseball game

He sat in a box seat behind home plate at Forbes Field with a converted telephone used as a makeshift microphone

But the equipment didn't matter. It's the voice, the stories, the action, and making the game accessible to anyone who could listen prove that radio was the future

Well, at least it was the future until a new technology took over. And you already know what I'm talking about

Lights, cameras, action. It's August 26, 1939, and it's this day that the first ever televised Major League Baseball game is broadcasted

Red Barber is on the microphone, calling the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers

However, there is one big problem. Television is a brand new technology

Regular programming did not exist yet, and why would it? It's estimated there are only about 400 television sets in the entire New York area

It would be another seven years until regular network broadcasting was getting popular

TV sets weren't the norm for every American household until well into the 50s and even early 60s

So what gives? Why was this regular season matchup broadcasted on TV at all

Well, it's because the 1939 World's Fair was being held in New York at that time

which absolutely ripped, by the way. The television was one of the World's Fair's main exhibits

and what better way to show it off than with a ball game? Don't get too excited, though

As you can imagine, it was still nothing like today's broadcasts. There were only two stationary camera angles

The main angle was placed high above home plate with a wide-angle lens to show the entire field

The other was positioned in foul territory on the third base side, pointed at the infield to show the throws across the diamond

The ball was basically invisible, but regardless, it was a complete and utter success

pushing television technology to go further and further. Fans wanted more. And by 1947, they had more

Game one of the World Series between my New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers

was broadcasted on NBC network. This was the first ever televised World Series game

According to the Sports Broadcast Journal, there were about 44,000 television sets in the United States at this time

Coverage was limited to select northeastern markets. But even so, Billboard estimates nearly 4 million fans watch the games on television, either at home or at public venues like bars

By contrast, even more millions of fans followed along on the radio

Our next major leap forward would be in 1951 when CBS televised the first MLB game in color But even more interesting to me is what happened at the end of the 50s At this point in time networks really found their stride But there are two more major innovations that happened that have redefined how we watch baseball today

First off, the center field camera. This may seem obvious to us now, but it wasn't until the 1957 World Series between the Yankees and Milwaukee Braves that this angle was used

It didn't become the standard angle until the 1960s. This angle puts the viewer inside one of the most intense duels in sports

That's 60 feet and 6 inches between pitcher and batter. And number two

Emma Bee first showed a sports instant replay on a television broadcast in 1959

Yankees announcer Mel Allen asked the local WPIX station director to replay the ninth inning single

that had broken up Ralph Terry's no-hitter. Mel Allen knew that the videotape was being saved for the post-game show

but had asked director Jim Murphy if they could somehow replay the moment. They were able to show the audience at home the first ever replay in a game

even though it wasn't exactly instant. The next few decades improved on the systems, camera angles, replays, and more

And it's not until the 1990s that we have our next giant advancement in our modern day viewing

That's what I am calling the revolution of information. By the 1990s, baseball's broadcasting had somewhat of a major problem

If you stopped paying attention for a bit or stepped away to get another round and then came back to the game

you wouldn't know what had just happened, or if anything had happened at all. That's right, there wasn't a constant score graphic until the Fox box debuted in 1996

The Fox box not only gave the viewers a constant score display, it also tracked important real-time details, like the inning and outs

This was actually first used for the NFL by Fox in 1994. Even more interesting to me is when this first debuted

baseball purists hated it, saying it was distracting and that it cluttered the screen

However, it didn't take long at all until the audience attitude shifted. Suddenly everyone loved the bug because it meant they didn't have to wait for the score to be talked about

or the announcer to tell you how many outs there were to know what was going on in the game

Just a couple years later, every single major sports network was forced to copy Fox and build their own version

That brings me to today, the modern super broadcast. Well, speaking of information, welcome to today

The center field camera is still the mainstay at least. But besides that, broadcasts have changed dramatically

There are now more than 40 cameras capturing the World Series today

Oomps have cameras. There's mini cameras that are hidden in the bags. And other parts of the infield too

There are cameras in the dugouts, cameras in the stands, camera on the foul pulls, and more

Oh, of course, there's drones now too, both inside and outside the stadium

Then there are handheld setups and rigs on wires. and don't forget the high frame rate, super slow motion cameras too

These can be used to track real bat speed attack angle of a swing pitch movement spin rate exit velocity and launch angle All metrics that we really need to know at home We can use these metrics like

that though to estimate how far a home run would have gone. Maybe most importantly, we have that

built-in K zone. We can see a strike zone for every pitch, knowing better than the hitter

the pitcher, and the umpire if the pitch was a strike or a ball, which is now even more crucial

than ever since challenging balls and strikes are finally allowed in the sport. At home we basically

have a greater real-time understanding of the game than anyone on the field could ever have

It's a very interesting time and I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I like the K-Zone and I do like

seeing the metrics too. The camera angles are beautiful and watching a game can feel very immersive and futuristic. You can feel like you're on the field, in the crowd, or above the stadium

all in a matter of seconds. But there are times that it just feels like too much. Sometimes it

feels more about the stats and the metrics than it does about the game. Like broadcasts are doing

everything they can to keep my eyes on the screen rather than letting it breathe and letting me

enjoy the moment and the sport for what it is. I don't know. Overall, I think broadcasts are in a

great place, but sometimes if you're a big fan of the sport like me, it is nice to step back a bit

I listened to a handful of Yankee games on the radio this year and it was really great. There

still truly is something magical about that. I do think we could strike a better balance on these

broadcasts with old and new. In fact, I think NBC actually hit a sweet spot earlier in the playoffs

by having local booths call the games together. For example, Joe Girardi from Yes Network and

Lou Merloni from NESN called the Wild Card Series together, two familiar voices for fans who have

been watching and listening all year. For me, hearing stories about the Red Sox season this

year from a guy who watched every one of their games can just provide such a deeper insight

that you can't get from these national broadcast booths. And this is one of the things, too

It's not just the great catches that this outfield does, but it prevents guys from going first to third

It takes doubles away, turns them into singles. And he gets a fastball middle in, and he's ready for it

I think during the course of the season, at times, he's been late on the heater

But you look at his last 60 games, his OPS has really ticked up

However, I know many fans just come to watch the postseason. They may not even know who is in their local booths

And I think that national broadcasts still do a fantastic job, even if it is just a little more surface level

However, if these metrics and camera angles and all this new technology is helping to get more people interested and watching this sport that I love, then hey, I love it

Keep doing it. This game is great. Many of the relationships in my life have come from this game one way or another, whether playing it through college or watching it at a bar or playing an adult league or playing catch with my dad growing up

I have baseball to thank for so many of the beautiful things in my life. So here's the past, present, and the future of this sport

Now let's enjoy one of these teams, hopefully the Brewers. win their franchise's first ever World Series

I'll see you guys in the next one