Home-plate umpire Angel Hernandez is wearing a microphone for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, although where he is wearing it is a mystery (it is not visible to the naked eye on close-up shots of Hernandez). You might suspect that many of the conversations involving the home-plate umpire are such that players and managers would rather they not be made public.
One clear indication when a player does not want others to know what he is saying is when the player puts his glove over his face when talking, so that the sound does not travel and no one is able to read his lips. You often see pitchers do this when meeting with their catcher and/or infielders during a game.
At the end of the third inning, the Red Sox starting pitcher, Jon Lester, approached Hernandez before heading to the dugout and indicated his body language after his first pitch to Bobby Abreau was, in his words, "his fault." He had this conversation with the glove over his mouth, which should be a clear indication he did not want people to know what he was saying.
And yet, ESPN saw fit to broadcast that conversation during the 6th inning. You have to wonder, do the players know Hernandez is wearing the microphone? If it isn't visible, it would only seem fair to make certain everyone knows when their conversation might be public knowledge.
Further, it would seem pretty clear Lester was trying to keep the conversation private if he was speaking with the glove over his face. You would think some producer at ESPN would recognize this, air on the side of caution and not broadcast what was said. Bad enough the managers are required to talk to the broadcast booth during the game.
Insight into the game is one thing, but invading conversations that are meant to be and expected to be private is a clear violation of journalistic ethics.
Keywords: Boston Red Sox, ESPN, New York Yankees
