Opening Day isn’t the only thing that’s up in the air with Major League Baseball this season. The league is now testing the use of drones for more than just aerial beauty shots during games.
Test runs were conducted during two college baseball games last weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona. The crew used a DJI Inspire 2 with a Zenmuse X7 camera. The footage was available during a livestream on on MLB.tv.
MLB Network is using a drone today for the first time during game production of @MLB4_AZ 😍👀
(via @ErikBacharach)
– @MLBONFOX
Originally tweeted by FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) on February 19, 2022.
Though this was the first time drones have flown in close proximity to players, the MLB would like to use drones all over the field to showcase the action. It will balance safety concerns like foul balls netting, wires, cables and more as it continues to push the envelope.
“Our plan is to do more than just get beauty shots,” Chris Pfeiffer, senior coordinating producer, live events, MLB Network, told Sports Video Group. “That’ll be part of the plan, but the main reason we are out here is to use [the drone] to help in coverage of a baseball game. If there’s a home run, that drone is leaving its perch and following the batter around the bases. It will be over the field during action. We’ll be getting really cool shots while it’s out there.”
Drones Used During Field of Dreams Game
This is not the first time drones have been incorporated into coverage for an MLB game. The league showcased its first efforts to use drones in baseball coverage during the 2021 Field of Dreams game. However, those drones were mostly used for aerial beauty shots – not on field coverage while the players were actually playing the game.
What do you think? Would drone use on the field improve the entertainment value during televised baseball games?
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