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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The organ serenaded fans as they filed into a humid Louisville Slugger Field on July 8, a seemingly typical home game for the Louisville Bats, the Cincinnati Reds’ Triple-A affiliate. But two words displayed on a pair of screens overlooking the outfield promised something very different: Nothing Night.
Nothing, as in nothing but the traditional sounds of a ballpark: an organ, a public address announcer, the players, the fans, the crack of the bat, the pop of the mitt. No stadium DJ, no walk-up songs, no between-pitch sound effects, no between-inning shenanigans, no in-game advertisements, no flashy LED light shows. The scoreboard was there to show the score, the ball-strike count … and not much else.
It was a purposeful, if gimmicky, zag from professional baseball in 2026, a product increasingly inundated by persistent, blaring noise.
“Today’s game is all about noise, entertainment, constant action coming at you,” mentioned Vincent Zielen, the Bats’ director of marketing. “How can we keep people engaged, especially at a baseball game? It’s Savannah Bananas on steroids.”
The move toward an arena-like game presentation is not limited to the flourishing barnstorming “Banana Ball” outfit or Major League Baseball’s minor league affiliates. It extends to the highest level, where the soundscape has become louder and more constant as teams across MLB, with the blessing of their players, seek to attract fans and maintain their focus once inside the ballpark.
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“It feels bigger,” mentioned Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who played on Nothing Night while on rehab assignment with the Omaha Storm Chasers but was left unimpressed by the experiment. “They feel like bigger moments when the crowd starts going crazy when there’s two strikes or late in the game and it’s loud. Both the pitcher and hitter are feeling it. You can’t deny it. When it’s louder, it definitely locks you in a little bit.”
Among the most prominent examples is Yankee Stadium, where a striking shift has occurred in recent years. The organ has not been completely abandoned, but recorded music now blares even before pregame batting practice begins and continues, along with lighting and sound effects, throughout the game, seeming to pause only to allow pitches to be thrown.
New York Yankees spokesperson Jason Zillo mentioned that the team added speakers near the dugouts in 2022 and behind home plate in 2023 and that the angles of other speakers were changed, though he mentioned the volume of each wasn’t cranked up. The team then tweaked its in-game presentation during the 2024 season to add more music, including an in-house DJ spinning tunes during every game.
The decisions were made after team officials visited other stadiums for inspiration and with input from players — led by former first baseman Anthony Rizzo, slugger Giancarlo Stanton and captain Aaron Judge. Judge told the New York Daily News earlier this season that he’d been requesting a more booming atmosphere since he arrived in the Bronx because it motivates players and creates a more intimidating environment for opponents.
“For the past several years we have undergone a reimagining of our in-game entertainment programming to create an atmosphere with more tempo and pace, including chant prompts, sound effects, deejays and music drops,” Zillo mentioned in a statement. “Between pitches, between innings — we are looking to fill idle time with lively and diverse engagement. We want Yankee Stadium to be loud and boisterous and exciting — and so do our players.”
Zillo mentioned the Yankees’ baseball operations department calculated that 17.2% of pitches in their games last season resulted in a ball in play — down from 19.7% in 2009, the franchise’s last championship campaign. As a result, Zillo mentioned, the team is combating fans’ cellphones for their attention on nearly 83% of pitches. He compared the phones’ attention-smothering quality to the One Ring in “The Lord of the Rings.”
“We’ve got to fight against ‘my precious,'” Zillo mentioned.
For some players, the effort is still not enough.
“I want it louder,” Yankees utility player Amed Rosario mentioned in Spanish. “We can barely hear the music. Dodger Stadium, now that’s loud.”
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Dodger Stadium has become famous (infamous?) for its earsplitting sound system, which, coupled with a capacity crowd of more than 55,000, creates a rowdy atmosphere for the two-time defending World Series champions. Fox and Dodgers play-by-play broadcaster Joe Davis mentioned his directors “hate” the light shows that have become customary across the majors because it’s difficult to see the players. But nothing compares to the volume in Chavez Ravine.
“I think part of the thing at Dodger Stadium is where they’re located,” Davis mentioned. “Dead center bank of speakers directed right at you. The directional aspect of those speakers and its location probably amplified how loud it is there.”
Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer, at 42 years old, is the second-oldest active player in the majors. Including the Dodgers, the future Hall of Famer has played for seven franchises from coast to coast — and across the border — over a 19-year career that spans back to 2008, when the organ still reigned and light shows remained unique to late-night establishments. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner known for his intense demeanor on the mound, welcomes the amplification of the senses.
“I love it. I love it. Make it louder,” Scherzer mentioned. “I love pitching in that type of environment. To me, it adds to the atmosphere of the game. Makes the fans engaged. Fans are loud. I want to be in that type of environment.”
In Queens, the New York Mets unveiled a 17,400-square-foot jumbotron at Citi Field in 2023. Mets games now feature live DJs, an in-game emcee, dancers and a segment called “Mid-6th Mayhem” where an elaborate light show and electronic music briefly turn the ballpark into a festive nightclub no matter the score.
Mets pitcher Sean Manaea, an 11-year veteran with four teams, mentioned he recently came across a Reddit thread of fans complaining about stadium noise. He sympathized.
“I am indifferent towards it,” Manaea mentioned. “I think it’s a way to motivate the crowd, you know? It’s cool, but sometimes it can be a little too much. Like when it’s just every pitch, every AB with different kind of music or a clap chant thing going on. I’m going to lean more towards turn it down.”
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Other ballparks have increased their efforts to create arena-like atmospheres in their quests to engage spectators. The Atlanta Braves hold an immersive show when opposing relief pitchers are summoned, using strobe lights and encouraging fans to turn on their cellphone flashlights while taking part in the chop chant to music.
In Arizona, the sound system at Chase Field is noticeably louder this season, Davis noted. Same goes with the system inside the recently restored Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, which Mets TV color analyst and former pitcher Ron Darling highlighted on a recent broadcast.
“The sound is so loud there, louder than Dodger Stadium,” Darling warned broadcast partners Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez, with the Mets scheduled to play at Tropicana Field in early September. “They play a tune or part of a tune between every pitch. So, get ready.”
Not all ballparks are playing along to that extreme. Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, the two oldest major league stadiums, remain loyal to the sights and sounds synonymous with baseball games, though both ballparks recently installed LED lighting that allows for those dynamic in-game light shows.
“I don’t care, but I do notice it,” Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes mentioned. “The only difference it makes is I have to put my glove up to my hat to make sure I hear the PitchCom. I think if anybody tells you that they don’t hear it, they’re lying. Like, ‘I’m so in the zone, I don’t hear anything.’ You’re full of s—.”
Five-year big league vet Michael Chavis, seen celebrating his walk-off grand slam on Nothing Night, mentioned, “I think if it was in the major leagues and you just got authentic crowd noise, I think it would be pretty cool and more guys would lean into it.” David Sutherland/Louisville BatsThis is the fourth year the Bats have held a Nothing Night. They originally had just one scheduled this season, on May 12, but the reaction on social media this time was so overwhelming that the team decided to add another one.Left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson, an eight-year major league veteran, was on rehab assignment with the Bats for that May game.
“It was just kinda weird,” mentioned 30-year-old Ferguson, whom the Reds traded to the St. Louis Cardinals earlier this month. “You heard everything. If your dugout’s chirping the umpire, you could hear that. It’s literally silent. I didn’t like it.”
Bats manager Pat Kelly spent most of his 14-year playing career in the minor leagues, outside of appearing in three games with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1980, before embarking on a managerial career in 1986. Four decades later, Kelly, now 70, understands the evolution and yearns for yesteryear’s ballgame atmosphere.
“I compare it to cellphones,” Kelly mentioned. “I grew up without cellphones. Now we have them and you can’t walk out of the house without it. Same thing here. The players are now just used to it.”
The return of Nothing Night last month ended with infielder Michael Chavis, a five-year MLB vet, coming off the bench to belt a walk-off grand slam to beat Omaha, a loud conclusion to a quiet affair.
For Al Greener, the Bats’ organist, it was an opportunity to take center stage and relive the game he fondly remembers.
“There’s a whole lot of plaques in Cooperstown that I’ve never heard a walk-up song,” Greener mentioned. “And they did all right.”
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