Doesn’t matter if it’s high-def TV on a 72-inch screen. Don’t believe what you see, believe what you’re told.

Thursday afternoon, in his first at-bat against the Rays, Brett Gardner, 35 years old, struck out looking at a pitch that appeared a tad inside. He seemed convinced rookie ump Brennan Miller was out to get him.

Yet, the batter before, Gio Urshela, had hit a two-run homer to tie the score, and Miller had not called a strike — but four balls — on the three Yankees who proceeded Gardner that half-inning.

Still, Gardner returned to the dugout then went berserk, first slamming his bat against the bat rack then into one of the compartments — as hard as he could — nine times before he stopped.

He was just getting started.

Shouting toward home plate, he next rammed, as hard as he could, the inside top of the dugout with his bat. He did that eight times, each time shifting the roof from its mooring, creating what might have been a dangerous scene on top of what certainly was a disturbing one.

Gardner’s crazed reaction to a common occurrence, especially given his 12 years in the majors, was frightening, far exceeding all reason.

But as Gardner exploded, YES’ Ken Singleton was busy “burying the lead,” complimenting manager Aaron Boone for “not being afraid to say something to the umpire after bad pitches. See? Right there!”

As Gardner continued to commit lunacide just behind Boone, Singleton ignored it until David Cone decided that it was funny, and was joined in the mirth by Paul O’Neill and Singleton who saluted Gardner for not hurting himself during such a long, violent tirade.

So what looked disturbing — Gardner’s rage far exceeded the circumstance — we were told was funny.

Then the trio took the easy path of no resistance, blaming it all on the ump.

One pitch later, Boone was tossed by Miller for persistent and profane verbal abuse, for which he was later suspended for a game.

But modern managers are more inclined to make such public scenes than care for their own houses by, say, insisting that their batters do something as radical as run to first base.

With the game still 2-2, still-doesn’t-get-it Gary Sanchez led off with one of those doubles off the wall that, as YES showed, he jog-watched into what Singleton described as “a long single.”

O’Neill tried to say what he and we saw: “Looks like he was watching it all the way.”

But soon the trio reached the specious conclusion that Sanchez had hit it too hard to have reached second — though Sanchez, who had rounded first, eliminated that logical opportunity when he chose not to run the moment after he struck the ball.

Of course, it all depends. It depends on whether you choose to believe what you see or what you’re told.

Even homer-happy Sterling can’t keep up with pace

These Manfred Meatballs travel so far they’ve even reversed John Sterling’s career habit of signature-calling Yankees home runs that are well short.

Sterling, from his radio booth Thursday, saw what many of us did: a high fly to medium right by Gio Urshela. And Sterling prepared to call it caught — until it landed about 10 rows deep in the seats.

That night, the Blue Jays struck out 15 times, the Padres 15 times, the Braves 14 times. Wednesday, the Angels struck out 14 times.

Friday against the Yankees, though benefitting from the DH, the Rockies struck out 17 times. That night, the White Sox struck out 16 times, the Rangers 15. The impossible has become the new homer-or-strikeout analytics standard.

At the end of last season, even the Commissioner’s Office recognized MLB games were taking on water as a game in fundamental disrepair, a home run-or-strikeout derby often against shifts to which batters comply, surrender.

So what did teams do during spring training to try to fix that? Nothing. The only significant change is that routine fly balls now appear as routine home runs. The Game has grown even more bereft of anything other than homers or strikeouts.

In a crooked way, we can admire TV for its relentless eagerness to invite ridicule.

NBC and NBC’s Golf Channel, during their Open coverage, is still trying to sell the Tour Players Championship as the fifth major — which few, if any, will buy.

Of course, the day NBC loses rights to the TPC, NBC will again recognize there are just four majors.

Friday, with Tiger Woods well outside the cut and his second round finished, Rory McIlroy, 19 back, and Phil Mickelson, nolo contendere, NBC was in a tough spot: It was often forced to follow the leaders.

Best thing about the first two rounds of the Open? Reader David Albanesi: “It was off the air before Mike Francesa comes on, thus denying us the pleasure of having him watch it for us.”

Give ‘hop’ a chance!

As noted here Friday, ESPN and Statcast both claimed that Oriole Hanser Alberto’s ninth-inning base hit through the infield to end the Rays’ two-pitchers perfect game Sunday was assigned a “hit probability of just 16 percent.”

That moved reader A. Masliansky to ask what the percentage was of that Bill Virdon double-play ground ball in the eighth inning of the 1960 World Series taking a wild hop, striking Yankees’ shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat.

That play helped the Pirates score five runs and eventually win Game 7.

Whattya say, Statcast? ESPN? What was the bad hop probability at that moment?

Thursday, the same day the Berkeley, Calif., City Council banned the use of manhole cover as sexist, replacing it with maintenance hole — “Unspecific gender overboard!” “Abandon ship! Women and children, eventually!” — Louisiana judge Nicole Sheppard allowed a lawsuit, filed by a lawyer, no less, to proceed against the NFL for that no-pass interference call late in last season’s Rams-Saints NFC championship.

How will justice be achieved in this frivolous case? Seizure of the backfield judge’s penalty flag? An NFL statement claiming, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims?” Or the one I’d choose: “Grow up!”

But nothing better to do. Again, the demand for justice has been surpassed by the legitimate supply.

Continuing our “What If” ESPN had exclusive rights to the 1969 Lunar Landing seminar:

Reader Tom Piazza reasons that the screen would be covered with “launch angle” and “exit velocity” stats, and Jack Seaman surmises that Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon would have been hidden behind ESPN’s “Bottom Line” scroll.