Everyone hated ESPN's in-game interview with Christian Yelich

You can't please everyone – let's dispel that stereotype first – but baseball fans don't want to be complacent in the playoffs; they want to be entertained. And for them, watching or listening to an in-game interview in the middle of a playoff game isn't entertaining.

When every pitch counts in October, listening to a player who's been sidelined since July isn't exactly appealing to the average baseball fan, regardless of whether he's rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers or the New York Mets.

Although Christian Yelich is one of the better personalities in the sport, few were interested in hearing the Milwaukee Brewers' All-Star outfielder rave about his team calling itself “Average Joe's” while his manager, Pat Murphy, who uncannily resembles Patches O'Houlihan. If you wanted to watch Dodgeballyou would turn on FX in the middle of a weekday afternoon, not during the MLB playoffs.

ESPN has successfully managed to integrate players with microphones into its programming Sunday Night Baseball reporting, and Karl Ravech is incredibly proud of it. It worked (except when it didn't work), but overall it's an enjoyable piece of ESPN's MLB coverage.

With the playoffs approaching, there is a possibility that players will be mic'd. However, since every pitch counts, the financial incentive to do so when players already have playoff contention may not mean much.

While we don't know what will happen in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Round between the Mets-Brewers, something similar to what happened with Yelich will not be well received by those watching a playoff game. On Tuesday they were anything but satisfied.

My television production finds that the television producers (understandably) don't care.

It's the offseason. Baseball fans don't want many interviews during the campaign. We want to concentrate on the game. The next in-game interview that provides true insight will be the first.

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) October 1, 2024

Nothing against Christian Yelich other than removing him from my screen. Why do I have to physically see him speak in this absolutely pointless game interview?

— Marc Luino (@GiraffeNeckMarc) October 1, 2024

Why does ESPN spend about 10 minutes during the game interviewing a player who isn't even playing in this series?

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) October 1, 2024

For 60 percent of the screen, you'll see Christian Yelich spouting the most generic platitudes ever

— Jarrett Seidler (@jaseidler) October 1, 2024

I love that we're just ignoring a playoff game and instead doing a general interview with a guy who hasn't played in three months

— Jarrett Seidler (@jaseidler) October 1, 2024

This is Game 1 of a playoff series and the announcers ask Christian Yelich about “Dodgeball” during an in-game interview.

This happened in the half inning after they missed part of an AB for an in-game pitch

— Danny Abriano (@DannyAbriano) October 1, 2024

While most of the explicit reaction on social media understandably came from Mets fans, the overwhelming opinion on X (formerly Twitter) seemed to be that this unnecessarily marred a meaningful part of Tuesday's game. And ultimately, playoff baseball is not the time for distractions.

Fans are locked in, living and dying with each pitch, and the last thing they want is a random interview taking them away from the action. Sure, Yelich has tons of charm. But it just doesn't fit when he talks about it Dodgeball while the game is on the line.

In October, fans are not prepared for banter. They want drama, tension and every ounce of intensity.

So giving the game some air and allowing fans to enjoy what they came for – baseball in its purest form – could make a big difference.