World Series 2024: MLB on FOX Lead Producer Pete Macheska: I Don't Think It Gets Better Than This' With Dodgers vs. Yankees, FOX Sports' 27th Fall Classic has a dream matchup By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital Friday, October 25, 2024 - 11:03 am
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One of the most highly anticipated World Series in recent memory is upon us. FOX Sports is back in Chavez Ravine for its 27th Fall Classic, and the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the New York Yankees just may the network's juiciest matchup ever.
For MLB on FOX Lead Producer Pete Macheska, the storylines are obvious: two historic franchises, two of the greatest power hitters in Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, the two largest cities in the country. It's a Goliath vs. Goliath matchup. Now the hope is that the games live up to the hype.
SVG sat down with Macheska prior to tonight's Game 1 to break down how he approaches this World Series, what production tools have had an impact on FOX Sports' MLB Postseason coverage, and how good pacing is his ultimate goal.
MLB on FOX's Pete Macheska: If I had one wish in this series - I really don't care who wins - but I'd like there to be tension. We love tension in a baseball game.
As a storyteller, how excited are you for this World Series matchup?
Every year, we say the Yankees and Dodgers are the favorites, and I'll say to my buddy, Well, that's never going to happen. You could bet against that happening. And here you go, you have it.
We're excited at Fox because I don't think it gets better than this. It has been 43 years [since these teams met in the World Series]. That's amazing to me because it has happened 12 times, but, when you say 43 years, that sounds longer ago than 1981. How many times has the home-run champ in both leagues met each other, right? That's past my lifetime: it's 1956. [Ohtani and Judge] are the two best players in the league; it's the Dodgers and the Yankees. We're very excited.
If I had one wish in this series - I really don't care who wins - but I'd like there to be tension. We love tension in a baseball game. We didn't have that in the Mets-Dodgers [NLCS games], and we didn't have that much of it in the Padres-Dodgers [NLDS]. But you look at the great job TBS did: Yankees and Cleveland [ALCS] had a lot of tension, and that's fun. The Guardians' walk-off. Soto hitting it out, or Judge or Stanton; that was great drama. That's what we live for.
We want the stars, which we're going to build up to be bigger than life, show who they are. We hope Ohtani and Judge have phenomenal series. That's what I'd love to see.
From a producer's perspective, are you digging for deeper storylines, or are you keeping it simple and playing the big cards that you have?
There are plenty of storylines, but we're probably going to keep it a little simpler. I think we want to mix in a little history. We know the moments, but when did they happen? You never know how a game goes, if you can get all of that in, but we want to do justice to the history of it. Then we'll let the game take it where it takes us.
A lot of specialty cameras have made their way into the roster (two-point cabled aerials, DirtCam, UmpCam, drones). Do you have a favorite? What's having the greatest impact on your team's storytelling ability?
[Lead Director] Matt Gangl calls those shots. We've added a lot over the years. It feels like a new toy every year. It started with the X-Mo [slow motion]; then we add the super-slo-mos. We can slot down the pictures to, like, a thousand frames a second.
But, to me, the most impactful is the drone. Don't get me wrong. I love them all, but, every year, we come up with something new, and it's at the point, what else can you do?
I would like to say the people behind the camera are the valuable players: they give you pictures that make you say Wow! Hopefully, we will have a lot of that in this World Series.
Sunsets in LA at @Dodgers #DodgersvsMets #NLCS #mlbonfox pic.twitter.com/irwQTXCiy5
- Beverly Hills Aerials (@bevhillsaerials) October 21, 2024
The MLB on FOX crew has done a lot with drones over the years and has continued to expand that. This postseason, it feels like you are doing so much more than in postseasons past. Licenses and clearances aside, what has it been like spreading your wings on those, and how do you feel it is elevating game coverage?
We've had more access with the drone, and it is allowed to fly a little farther. When we have those games at Dodger Stadium that start at 5:00 (Pacific Time), you get a sunset, and that's really appealing to the eye. To me, those shots are always better in the daytime. I think that's the most dramatic look we have, if I had to pick one.
Is there an element of this series that you feel is being overlooked?
I think how the Dodgers handle their pitching is critical. Will they get length from their starters? Everybody's going to say the Yankees have more pitching. But the Dodgers bullpen is strong; they are just going to need length out of their starters if this thing goes a long series.
That's the thing that's different in the game that I don't like as much: the starters don't go long. If they get in a little trouble the third time through the lineup, they're taken out. It was never the way it [used to be] in baseball, and we don't want to lose that. The starting pitchers were stars. It meant a lot to go to a game because Tom Seaver was pitching or [Bob] Gibson or [Clayton] Kershaw. Baseball has got to get back to that, in my opinion.
Looking back on the first two rounds of the postseason, is there a television moment that showcases what MLB on FOX is all about?
You know, our Mets-Dodgers s
