The best part of the MLB All-Star Game is always when the players wear microphones on the field. Because the stakes of the game are lower, fans are able to get closer to the action on the field than ever.
This year, Fox added an extra wrinkle by having Dodgers teammates Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts wear earpieces during the same inning so they could talk with each other, as well as with the broadcasters.
Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi also agreed to wear a microphone during his appearance in the second inning, and Fox shared his whole showdown against Braves catcher Sean Murphy.
This was pretty cool:
Listen to the full at bat as Nathan Eovaldi strikes out Sean Murphy while mic'd up 🎧 pic.twitter.com/EADkibDviM
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 12, 2023
It was really interesting to hear Eovaldi’s thought process on the mound. After starting off Murphy with a strike, he let out an exasperated “finally got ahead of a guy.” When he fooled Murphy with a splitter to make it an 0–2 count, he started walking through what he was thinking as he tried for the strikeout.
“Now what? Just threw a really good splitter 0–1,” Eovaldi said. “We got the check swing on it, right there below the zone.”
He missed his spot with the 0–2 pitch, though, and explained, “it’s just one of those things—you’re trying to do too much. Make a good pitch. That’s all you gotta do.”
Eovaldi did put Murphy away with a beautiful fastball on the inside corner, though.
It was also illustrative to hear how hard Eovaldi was breathing during the at-bat. A lot of fans might not realize how taxing pitching is because pitchers stay within an 18-foot circle, but it’s incredibly physically demanding. Hearing Eovaldi labor on the mound helps fans understand the challenges pitchers face as the pitch clock forces them to pick up the pace.
No mic'd-up segment will ever top Liam Hendriks’s profanity-laced appearance at the 2021 All-Star Game, but it was fun to listen to Eovaldi in the heat of battle.
