MLB: Rise of Internet forces ballplayers to guard private lives

Hey, if you want a safe haven from the evils of the Internet…just go hide out in the WFAN studios!

Cell phones. Camera phones. Digital cameras and recorders. Ubiquitous Internet blogs. YouTube and the like. All of them all-too-frequently at the ready to document and display every unflattering photo and verbal slip-up. The Digital Age, which allows people worldwide to stay so connected with one another, is creating a disturbing disconnect between athletes and their fans.

In short, the fairly new wave of technology is prompting players to reconsider how they interact with the public at large.

“Oh, yeah, it better. It better for everybody,” Cardinals pitcher Jason Isringhausen said. “You never know what’s going on out there. You’ve got to watch yourself. There’s a lot of people that want to bring you down, that’s for sure. There’s a lot of jealous people out there, people who will do anything to bring you down.”

...“You can be in a club, and a woman comes up and says she wants to have her picture taken with you,” said Angels outfielder Garret Anderson. “Twenty minutes later, it’s on the Internet somewhere, and you might have a lot of explaining to do.”