MLB Playoffs: The Padres granted Ken Rosenthal his journalistic freedom by losing

The San Diego Padres made it difficult for Ken Rosenthal to do his job as Fox Sports' dugout reporter for their National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Padres banned him from their dugout for Game 3 of the NLDS in response to a column he wrote for The Athletic. After the game, Fernando Tatis Jr. did his on-field interview with John Smoltz and Joe Davis in Fox's broadcast booth. And when the series shifted back to Los Angeles for Game 5 on Friday, Rosenthal was not in the Padres' dugout again. Tom Verducci was.

Tom Verducci will join Ken Rosenthal as sideline reporter for tonight's Padres-Dodgers Game 5.

Fox decided to add a 2nd reporter because it has only one NLDS game 5. If Fox had two Game 5's tonight, it would have stayed with one reporter on each series.https://t.co/igneDxeiEB
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) October 11, 2024

For Fox, it's hard to interpret San Diego's 2-0 loss in the win-or-go-home Game 5 as anything less than a favor.

Forget the ratings bonanza that comes with a New York Mets-Los Angeles Dodgers NL Championship Series. Rosenthal now presumably has the freedom to report from whichever dugout he chooses.

To recap, Rosenthal called Manny Machado's aggressive throw toward the Dodgers' dugout, in Game 2 "punkish." He also wrote that Tatis is "a smiling, dancing peacock," and Jurickson Profar "is the kid who pulls the fire alarm at school and then asks, 'Who, me?' "

Agree or disagree with how he expressed any of those thoughts, Rosenthal should have the freedom to write without any fear of backlash from the dugout. One criticism of in-game reporting holds that the questioners rarely ask anything incisive enough to yield an interesting response. If we don't want reporters who merely toss softball questions at players and coaches, put reporters who are unafraid to be critical into the dugout.

Fans' distaste for impartial national commentators who lack the usual gusto of home broadcasters is well-chronicled. But regular season dugout reporters on local broadcasts are typically employed by the home team, too. Rosenthal's perspective as a national reporter gives him an eye for asking the question a moment demands. Unless the Padres (or any team) decides to take it away from him.

Congratulations to the Dodgers for moving on. And congrats to Rosenthal for his newfound freedom.