The network aims for a uniform production while accommodating tech differences in stadiums in Miami, Houston, San Juan, and TokyoThe sport of baseball returns to the global stage as pool play for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) begins in earnest tomorrow with eight games. With four venues across three countries hosting 47 games through March 17, and numerous domestic and international rightsholders in need of broadcast support, MLB Network's production and operations teams are working to implement their reliable world-feed model.
This event has been in the planning stages for over a year, says Tom Guidice, SVP, remote events, MLB Network. With more than 250 technicians and staffers across all four venues, everyone has done an outstanding job working together to make this a very big event for us.
Worldwide Effort: Ops Team Constructs Sturdy Backbone
One of the most difficult tasks of the entire tournament is establishing a plan that services stadiums of various technological capabilities. In the U.S., two Major League Baseball venues will be in play: Pool B - Brazil, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, and U.S. - and two quarterfinal matchups at Houston's Daikin Park, and Pool D - Dominican Republic, Israel, Netherlands, Nicaragua, and Venezuela -and two quarterfinals, two semifinals, and the championship at Miami's loanDepot park.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic began at 10:00 p.m. ET on March 4 with Chinese Taipei vs. Australia at the Tokyo Dome.Houston is a new location on the WBC circuit; Miami has been a mainstay since the tournament's second edition, in 2013. In Miami, operations are led by MLB Network Director, Remote Tech Operations, Steve Dolce; Senior International Operations Manager Samantha Calastro; Senior Production Manager Ryan Delaney; Production Manager Emma Roberts; Operations Assist Megan Cain; and Tech Managers Jason LaManna and Andrew Perez. The Houston site is led by MLB Network Senior Production Managers David Beun and Jen McGinity, Remote Tech Manager Kelly Bournes, Operations Assist Kim Christ, and Tech Managers Jaime Wehner and Chucky Babir.
Internationally, two venues in two countries - San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium for Pool A (Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, and Puerto Rico) and Tokyo Dome for Pool C (Australia, Chinese Taipei, Czechia, Japan, and Korea) - present challenges unique to each. With so many variables, the operations team relies on previous plans to guide their way through a busy group stage.
We're mimicking a lot of what we did in 2023, says Calastro. We're making [our plan] more organized and better since we have more experience under our belts.
In Tokyo, NEP Japan is back with local staffers and compound support. NEP Japan Technical Manager Tajima Takashi, who's working his third WBC, and Senior Production Manager Mika Ido, who played a pivotal role in 2023, spearhead this effort alongside NEP Japan Tech Engineer Cameron O'Neill. Two experts from the league - MLB Senior Director, Technical Production and Special Projects, Jason Hedgcock and MLB Network Lead Production Manager Lacey McKeon - are pitching in as well. The productions will deploy a traditional approach, with onsite mobile units in the broadcast compound of the Tokyo Dome.
For the Puerto Rico games as well, MLB Network has opted for an onsite production, shipping as much gear as possible and NEP NCP10 A and B units by overseas barge through Rock-It Sports. Given only an uplink truck for transmission on the island, these broadcasts needed to be built from scratch, with the help of MLB Network Senior Director, Remote Operations, Brooke Berger; Production Manager Nerissa Brown; and Lead Tech Manager Carlos Gonzalez and FOX Sports Tech Manager Tom Lynch.
Each venue has a dedicated commentary team. Here are play-by-play announcer Stephen Nelson and analyst Jos Mota in Tokyo. We had to ship backup equipment as well because, if something goes down, we need to be ready, notes Guidice, adding, Everyone from our side is traveling to Puerto Rico.
A graphics team will be onsite in San Juan. For games played in Tokyo, Houston, and Miami, graphics will be handled remotely via BitFire from MLB Network's Secaucus, NJ, facility.
Similar to the network's approach at Taiwan's Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in in the previous edition of WBC, additional spots on the San Juan crew - runners and utilities, for example - are being filled from local station WAPA-TV. Having seasoned veterans on the crew streamlines operations and allows the plan to continue despite obstacles.
We've hit some hurdles, says Calastro, but it has been extremely helpful to have this crew to respond to any issues easily and quickly. We've all worked together to make things a lot smoother.
Near and Far: FOX Sports, International Rightsholders Tap League Resources
Not only will exclusive domestic broadcaster FOX Sport - with English-language coverage on FOX, FS1, FS2, Tubi, and the FOX Sports app and Spanish-language coverage on FOX Deportes - rely on MLB Network's infrastructure, but the network's reach extends to international rightsholders as well.
For onsite commentary, for example, coverage by many rightsholders will deploy MLB Network resources throughout the tournament: Pan Latin American on 1 Baseball Network in Miami during pool play, quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship and in Houston during the quarterfinals; Cuban on Radio Marti in San Juan during pool play, Houston during the quarterfinals, and Miami during the semifinals and championship; Pan Latin American, Pacific Rim, and Dutch in Netherlands on ESPN International during the quarterfinals in Houston and the semifinals and championship in Miami; Korean on CJ ENM in Tokyo during pool play; Taiwanese on ELTA in Tokyo during pool play; and Puerto Rican on WA
