The most enjoyable part of All-Star games lately has been the unprecedented access to players. When the game doesn’t matter, it doesn’t hurt to put a microphone on a player and have them talk with the broadcast booth during play. And that leads to fun moments like Freddie Freeman spending an inning joking around with Joe Buck and John Smoltz, revealing that he was dreading having to stand next to Aaron Judge.
But wiring a jovial first baseman for sound during the second inning is a lot different from strapping a mike to a notoriously fiery closer as he comes in to shut the door in the ninth—especially if he thinks his microphone isn’t working.