With the MLB Postseason on a viewership tear this year, the Royals/Mets battle royale in the World Series takes the mound tomorrow night at 8p in Kansas City, with all broadcasts set to be carried by FOX and FOX Deportes. The league announced, following the Royals win over the Blue Jays, that the slate of games will then take part on Oct. 28, Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 with potential telecasts on Nov. 1, 3 and 4 as well, all at 8p.
FOX Sports, of course, hits sweet 16 in its coverage of the 111th World Series, bringing in Joe Buck, Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci to call the action for one of sport’s crown jewels. On the digital front, FOXSports.com and Just a Bit Outside, FOX Sports’ baseball blog, will feature game previews, expert predictions, analysis on game defining plays, and game recaps with coverage led by Ken Rosenthal, Jon Paul Morosi, and Rob Neyer. Cynopsis Sports spoke with John Entz, President, FOX Sports Production and Executive Producer, to preview what fans can expect from the telecast, as well as the additions of Pete Rose and Alex Rodriguez and what a championship would mean for the Mets.
Entz on studio plans: We will be putting forth as much effort into the World Series as any telecast we’ve ever had. For our studio shows, Kevin Burkhardt will be our host for every show and we’ll be using a combination of Alex Rodriguez, Pete Rose, Frank Thomas, Raul Ibanez beside him. We’ll be mixing and matching depending on what’s going on. Once the game ends on the broadcast channel, we’ll steer people toward FS1 with continued coverage with that same crew.
On Pete Rose’s return: Pete is a fascinating guy who lives and breathes baseball and I think he’s felt reinvigorated by being around our group all year but especially now that it’s October. As far as a television analyst, he’s really unique in that he’s himself on the air as well as off the air. Very unpredictable. You never know where he’s going. At times, that can be daunting but overall it is the kind of banter and feel and vibe you try to shoot for in a studio show where, hopefully, everything doesn’t feel scripted.
On adding Alex Rodriguez: Alex has an incredible baseball mind and he loves the game. There are a ton of players who, when they aren’t playing, they aren’t interested but with Alex that couldn’t be further from the truth. Alex is a baseball junkie and watches games, and he’s done that throughout his career. The insight that he can provide is really interesting and he loves to break down the mechanics of baseball. This isn’t something where he is felling like he is forced to do it, it is something that he loves to do. You can tell the enthusiasm he has for it by just being around him. When he is finished playing, you know that he’ll be watching every night and when you combine that kind of motivation with the kind of player he has been, it is really unique to get that.
On the Mets return to the World Series: Obviously New York is a fantastic baseball town and the Mets haven’t been to the World Series in many years, so we expect the atmosphere to be incredible. You can see that they are ready to celebrate. From our end, you can’t ask for much more than going back to New York and having them involved because it is as good a baseball town as there is in the country.
On tech for the games: One of the things we get the best feedback all year on is our Phantom Cam for the baseball playoffs, and that’s that beautiful shot that gets you the cinematic view of the ball hitting the bat or the flight of the ball and other various things. The shot people remember the most is when Hunter Pence hit that ball a few years ago. We’ve got HawkEye ball tracking, we’ve got the 4K superzoom, and we’ll be using the Dirt-Cam, buried near the first base foul line. Statcast, in conjunction with MLBAM, is another element we’ll be tapping into.
