MLB Parks Will Use Crowd Noises From MLB The Show

Major League Baseball is starting up next week, but the players will be in empty stadiums due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. They'll still get to hear the roar of the crowd, though, as stadium engineers have rigged up the system to play sounds from MLB The Show.

ESPN reports that engineers have set about 75 different effects and reactions, so players can get a big reaction when they score a home run or simulated disappointment when they strikeout. The sounds are borrowed from Sony's San Diego Studios, which has been capturing the sounds over the course of several baseball seasons. The move imitates one that European soccer leagues have used with the FIFA series.

MLB executive vice president for strategy Chris Marinak said they made sure the sounds would be able to match the game's action, so that it wouldn't be distracting.

"You're still focused on the game, but that noise is very helpful. I could tell the first few scrimmages with pure silence was tough for some guys," Brewers infielder Eric Sogard said. "You could hear the other dugout talking, and it was kind of awkward."

Similarly, the NBA has reportedly been in touch with 2K Sports about borrowing the NBA 2K sound library when it starts playing games again.