In a move that is sure to please baseball purists (insert extreme sarcasm here), Andrew Marchand of the NY Post is reporting that FOX will use virtual fans on their nationally televised MLB games:

It was reported back in May that FOX had been exploring the possibility of virtual fans and crowd noise to normalize the feeling of NFL telecasts, but this marks the first time it’s been effectively confirmed for their MLB coverage.

In Marchand’s story, Fox Sports executive vice president Brad Zager said of the decision to use virtual fans:

The original concept sounds like something that would never even happen — pie in the sky. Pretty quick after this pandemic hit we thought we could be in a position to produce games without crowds. We were dead set on trying to make the broadcast with no crowd feel as authentic and organic as possible. We want to give people an escape.

The use of virtual crowds is something we’ve discussed on Crossed Up, Snow The Goalie, and It’s Always Soccer in Philadelphia, citing the previous usage by La Liga in Spain:

Quite frankly, there’s no comparison between the two. The graphics disparity is like comparing SEGA Saturn v. PS3. I do wonder if it’s an unfair advantage for a company with the resources of FOX to utilize the technology on national telecasts alone. Will they pass it along to their Fox Sports RSNs across the country? Will MLB try to license the technology for other non-FOX RSNs like NBC Sports Philadelphia? Imagine how jarring it’s going to be going from virtual fans and crowd noise on FOX to the cardboard cutouts behind the plate at Citizens Bank Park.

Then again, there’s no guarantee this ends up being a home run for FOX. We shall see.