Some of the most notable controversies in recent Red Sox history were uncovered because reporters were around: Manny Ramirez shoving traveling secretary Jack McCormick; Bobby Valentine alienating his entire roster; David Price feuding with Dennis Eckersley. Access is important in every sport, but it’s especially vital on the baseball beat, where the everlasting season lends itself to storylines and character plots.
For the second straight season, MLB reporters are currently barred from the playing field and clubhouse, due to Covid-19 restrictions. But with 70 percent of Americans expected to be at least partially vaccinated by June 17 — and 90 percent by July 25 — adhering to an abundance of caution may not be a viable reason for keeping the media away all summer long. Red Sox fans love to chastise beat reporters, but they should be rooting for them to get back into the clubhouse as soon as possible. We are much less knowledgeable about the state of affairs without those eyes and ears on the ground.
“Nobody learns anything on Zoom,” Dan Shaughnessy told WEEI.com. “We wouldn’t have known what an asshole Price is. All of that is missing.”
Obviously, there are far greater Covid-induced tragedies than sports reporters losing access. But we play in the sandbox around these parts. Media restrictions have left us in the dark about our favorite teams.
When Tuukka Rask exited the NHL’s bubble due to a family emergency, we didn’t actually know the feeling of the club. If the Globe’s Gary Washburn wasn’t at the NBA bubble, we probably would’ve never found out about the Celtics’ chair-throwing locker room fight.
Last year, the Red Sox slogged through their worst season since 1965, and were coming off a cheating scandal that resulted in their beloved manager’s (temporary) dismissal. Mookie Betts was also traded, and Chris Sale was out with Tommy John. The radically different locker room dynamics were never fully explored.
“This job has changed so much, in the sense that we’re supposed to be the eyes and ears for the fans,” said Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, who’s covered the team since 2014. “We didn’t really see how big of an effect losing Mookie Betts had and Sale and (Eduardo Rodriguez). Why is J.D. struggling so much? Is it really the video he doesn’t have, or is there something else going on?”
For Steve Hewitt, who joined the Herald’s Red Sox beat in late 2019, it’s been challenging to cover the team from his couch and computer chair. Building relationships, the key to beat reporting, is hard when face-to-face meetings aren’t allowed.
“We’re at the mercy of the Red Sox,” he said. “They decide which players are going to be available day-to-day.”
As the public health situation hopefully improves, MLB will likely lift some of its media restrictions, said Red Sox spokesperson Kevin Gregg. But there’s no guarantee access will ever be fully restored.
“The access is never coming back,” said Shaughnessy. "It’s the Pentagon, it’s the White House press room. Everything is kept in-house, exactly the way teams want it. They’ll be able to use ‘abundance of caution’ to stiff-arm us forever now.”
And the question is, do fans even care? There’s great animus towards the press nationwide, with 60 percent of Americans lacking trust in the media, according to Gallup. This troubling phenomenon is exacerbated in sports, where fans routinely lambast reporters and analysts whom they deem unfavorable. Remember: The Wells Report in Context was the original “Fake News.”
With players now accessible through social media, there’s less of a need for the eyes and ears — unless we’re talking about uncovering scandals or hard truths. There isn’t really an appetite for that anymore across society. Republicans love Fox News; Democrats worship Rachel Maddow; Red Sox fans read Jared Carrabis.
“Increasingly, the readers just get angry if we complain about success,” Shaughnessy said. “They see these stories, they don’t know that nobody was there, and they don’t care.”
But readers should care, because personal stories can augment the enjoyment of a season. Terry Francona’s cribbage games with Dustin Pedroia, for example, became something of a Red Sox legend.
Now, beat writers haven’t even met most of the players they’re covering, never mind get to know their idiosyncrasies. “It’s the observations you can make,” McCaffrey said. “You might see a guy playing a crosswords at his locker, and that sparks the idea for a story. Maybe he played them with his grandma when he was 10, or something. You lose the human element.”
Losing the human element of sports reporting coincides with emotion being removed from sports in general. This is most prevalent in baseball, where the shift in analytics have turned games into battles of probability. For that reason, Hewitt thinks MLB would be wise to open up access as soon as it’s safe.
“That would be counterproductive to the game to limit access, especially baseball, where the popularity has sort of been dwindling over the years,” he said. “I think having that access enhances the game and puts it in more people’s eyes. I hope none of this will be permanent.”
Fans returning to Fenway Park is the first step towards regaining some normalcy this season. The next phase will come when players are allowed to be interviewed through more than a Zoom screen.
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Red Sox TV ratings won’t automatically bounce back: After falling more than 50 percent last year, it will be interesting to see where Red Sox TV ratings stand early this season. The pandemic has dramatically changed viewing habits, with streaming up nearly 75 percent year-to-year. The promise of a new baseball season may no longer be enough to get people to flock back to their TVs. In order for that to happen, the Red Sox will have to win early. Otherwise, they could fade to the background very quickly. The NFL Draft is set for April 29.
How will Jonathan Papelbon perform as NESN analyst? NESN held a Zoom call this week with three of its new analysts: Mo Vaughn, Ellis Burks and Kevin Youkilis. But I’m most interested in seeing how Jonathan Papelbon performs behind the desk. Back in 2009, Chris Jones of the Esquire described him the following way: "Papelbon's not stupid. He just hasn't acquired professional mechanisms, an understanding of consequence: He says all the dumb things most of us probably think but keep back.”
That guy sounds like he'll make for entertaining TV, does he not?
Sports Illustrated blew open Deshaun Watson case: The most significant allegation against Deshaun Watson came in the (virtual) pages for Sports Illustrated. In them, an unnamed massage therapist details a now-familiar encounter with the star quarterback: during the massage, she says he removed his clothing and started pre-ejaculating. To corroborate her account, SI reviewed text and social media messages, and interviewed a family member.
These details give additional weight to the 19 women already suing Watson for sexual misconduct. They’re all represented by Tony Buzbee, a flashy star-seeking attorney who reveals evidence on Instagram. This SI story, which undoubtedly went through a legitimate vetting process, makes it more difficult to dismiss the allegations as fabricated.