This year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) is still playing out. Regardless of which team ends up as champion, one particular game should be placed in the tournament’s time capsule. The March 9 matchup between Mexico and the United States showcased everything that is good about the WBC and everything that is good about FOX’s coverage.
With sluggers like Kyle Schwarber, Aaron Judge, Roman Anthony, Cal Raleigh, and Bryce Harper, tape-measure talent highlighted early WBC performances for the USA. Their domination was tested in Monday’s game vs. Mexico, a team laden with MLB and international All-Stars. America’s 5-3 win was hard fought and perhaps took the wind out of its sails, resulting in a loss vs. Italy the next night.
FOX’s coverage of the Mexico vs. USA game opened with a strong voice-over describing the United States’ power barrage. It also highlighted the challenge Mexico presented. The dramatic video opener served as a powerful prelude to the game. Recent success by the United States men’s and women’s hockey teams in the Winter Olympics fueled a surge of American passion. That energy carried into this star-studded and entertaining USA lineup.
The team has played baseball with an all-out fever, diving for balls in the field, swatting baseballs over the fence, and bringing A-game pitching to the mound.
Players on every team have embraced the ideal of representing their respective countries. FOX’s cameras captured this childlike enthusiasm with shots of players jumping up and down with fists in the air when a teammate made a huge play.
The WBC, and the Mexico vs. USA game in particular, truly brought back the purity of baseball. The rapt fans of both teams in Houston’s Daikin Park added to the excitement.
FOX play-by-play announcer Joe Davis called the game “the matchup that everyone’s been waiting for” as both teams entered with 2-0 records in Pool B play. Increasing the allure of the game was the fact that Pittsburgh’s 2025 Cy Young Award-winning phenom Paul Skenes was making his WBC debut for the USA.
It was a terrific open for Davis. He brought the drama and anticipation of the game to the airwaves. Davis was joined in the booth by John Smoltz, one of the best baseball analysts in the business. Adding to the pressure on the American team, Davis said that the only real expectation for the USA is to “win the whole thing.”
Smoltz offered a nice line, saying that March Madness was usually reserved for college basketball, but this year it’s about baseball. He stressed the hitting and pitching balance of the American team and discussed USA manager Mark DeRosa, a media star himself on MLB Network.
Smoltz also provided background, stating that the USA team had lost its last three WBC games to Mexico and had not beaten its neighbors to the south since the first WBC some 20 years ago.
While Smoltz did solid work adding factoids to the fanfare, Davis continues to take the elevator to the top floor of play-by-play announcers. He does not merely call a technically sound game, but also brings tremendous balance and vocal accentuation to his performance.
He and Smoltz played off each other terrifically. Smoltz averred that Mexico is not afraid of the United States at all. They beat the Americans in the WBC in 2006, 2013, and 2023 and entered this game scoring 12 runs per game with six home runs from six different players. Led by the likes of Jarren Duran, Randy Arozarena, and Alejandro Kirk, Mexico’s lineup is nearly as potent as that of the United States.
Television is all about visuals. With fans of both Mexico and the USA in the crowd, Daikin Park became a raucous sea of red, white, green, and blue. As FOX’s cameras captured excellent crowd shots, Smoltz said that the game would be unlike any other WBC matchup for those in attendance and watching on TV.
FOX’s production team brought real intimacy to the contest with close-ups of fans’ and players’ faces, as well as informational graphics that helped set the scene.
Clearly, this was not your run-of-the-mill extracurricular baseball game. Baseball runs deep in both countries, and national loyalties can sometimes come between MLB teammates. That was evident when Arozarena stepped into the batter’s box. He reached out to shake hands with Raleigh, his Mariners teammate, behind the plate.
Raleigh ignored the gesture completely, spurring some postgame angst from Arozarena.
Such was the attitude and atmosphere of Mexico vs. USA on this night in Houston. Great baseball is about moments, and this game was not lacking in that area. Skenes established his presence early, mowing down Mexican batters with four strikeouts in the first 2 1/3 innings. Aaron Judge crushed a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning to put the USA ahead 2-0.
In that same inning, Roman Anthony slugged a three-run blast that gave the Americans a commanding 5-0 edge. It was amazing to see Judge, a Yankee, jumping up and down with glee as Anthony, the 21-year-old Red Sox star, touched home plate and headed to the dugout.
FOX showcased all the action as enemies became friends and vice versa. Anthony’s Red Sox teammate Jarren Duran, playing right field for Mexico, hit two home runs to keep his team in the hunt. Neither team got cheated. The passion, emotion, and drive of the players on both teams were apparent. It’s not often that we see professional athletes operate from a standpoint of love and loyalty.
More often, it’s about renegotiation and royalty. Both the USA and Mexico teams set aside salaries and endorsements and simply played baseball with their country’s name on their chests.
This was a fun game to watch, and FOX was up to the task. Davis and Smoltz called a near-perfect game. They sensed the spectacle and sentiment of the matchup — the battles between Skenes and Mexico’s batters, and the feeling that United States players were simultaneously competing with and inspiring each other.
Who would get the next home run? What pitcher would deliver the next big strikeout? It was beautiful baseball television.
Mexico vs. USA in the World Baseball Classic was a star-making game. If anyone out there did not know Kansas City Royals stalwart Bobby Witt Jr., they do now. Playing shortstop for the USA, Witt made two diving stops and laser-beam putouts that would have forced Ozzie Smith into retirement.
If Witt does not make those plays, his team could very well have lost this epic game.
The broadcast was also lifted by Ken Rosenthal, FOX’s dugout and baseline reporter extraordinaire. Rosenthal was not only sartorially splendid with his signature bowtie, he also brought substantive content to his role.
Right off the bat, he reported that it would be a WBC one-and-done for USA starting pitcher Tarik Skubal. The two-time defending Cy Young Award winner would return to Detroit Tigers camp. Rosenthal said that Skubal struggled with the decision to leave his USA team but decided to stick to his original schedule and not risk injury for the 2026 season.
Just as on-air talent rises to a big-game occasion, so too does a production crew.
FOX highlighted the nationalistic energy with a sweeping pan of the Air Force Academy baseball team cheering for the American club. The broadcast also made strong use of replay on defensive and offensive plays. It also used the home plate umpire camera to show pitch movement and the ferocious swings of batters.
Winning baseball emanates from a team effort, and so does winning television. From commentary to close-ups to camaraderie, FOX made this WBC game a true classic.
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