CINCINNATI — The corridor was nearly silent as Mark Carlson and three other major league umpires clopped toward the field last month. For a few more moments, they were out of earshot of almost everyone else at Great American Ball Park.
A microphone, nestled atop Carlson’s chest protector, threatened to change that after the first pitch: It could allow Carlson to address everyone watching the game in the ballpark or on a screen or listening to a broadcast.
Umpire crew chiefs in baseball no longer simply call balls and strikes, safe or out, fair or foul. This season, after hours of training and in-the-shower rehearsals and, for some, more elaborate efforts to limit stage fright, they were asked to explain some of the sport’s trickiest rule interpretations to stadiums thick with rancorous crowds.