TWIL: This Week I Learned Luiz

Hi, my name is Luiz and This Week I Learned that MLB has been using artificial crowd noise during Baseball games.

Sports are back! Well, sort of. Although MLS, WNBA, and MLB all resumed their season, there are some major differences when compared to past seasons. The most notable though is that we will not see fans return to stadiums until 2021 as safety measures stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic remain in place.

To that end, as published by CNBC, MLB has been using artificial crowd noise provided by Sony since all teams are playing in empty stadiums.

Clubs are required to use some form of fake sounds designed to emulate regular contests with spectators, since games will be held in empty stadiums. Sony has made available 75 samples of crowd sounds from its MLB video game. The league will provide teams with an iPad filled with the samples that will be controlled by an audio technician during games.

First off, this is not the only initiative by MLB to improve both fans and player experience, but it’s one of the most interesting ones. Other leagues such as Bundesliga in Germany and MLS here in the U.S. have been using cardboards to replace fans and even some kinda artificial crowd noise during the transmissions.

However, what is significant about this is that the artificial crowd noise is played in the stadium and everyone, including the players can hear the sounds. Moreover, it also requires a dedicated person to control the noise with an iPad. Perhaps the most important thing is that, with or without sound, sports are back and I’m looking forward to watching this unique season.