Mar 16, 2025; Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning at Tokyo Dome. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
FoxMLBBy Sam Neumann on

Remote broadcasting isn’t going anywhere, no matter how much we wish it would.

Major League Baseball will open its regular season overseas for the second straight year, but this time, both games will air live across Fox Sports platforms. And unlike ESPN, which has since seen its relationship with MLB dissolve, Fox will not send its announcers to Japan for this week’s Tokyo Series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will play a two-game series at Tokyo Dome on March 18 and 19, roughly a week before most teams begin their seasons. It will be the sixth time in MLB history that Opening Day takes place in Japan, a country where baseball is more than just a sport — it’s a way of life.

But Fox’s announcers won’t get the chance to experience the action up close.

According to Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times, everyone will broadcast remotely.

Jason Benetti, who will call Game 1 at 6 a.m. ET on Fox alongside A.J. Pierzynski, has NCAA Tournament duties for Westwood One. Adam Amin, who will handle the call for Game 2 on FS1, will cover the Chicago Bulls’ upcoming West Coast trip.

Meanwhile, Pierzynski will be the color analyst for both games while juggling his daily Foul Territory show.

Remote broadcasts became the standard during the COVID-19 pandemic — and for good reason. But today, they’re often implemented as a cost-saving measure for networks. While they’ve been a fixture in college basketball and other sports for some time, Major League Baseball has increasingly followed suit. Not long ago, the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels didn’t even send their radio teams on road trips.

But this isn’t just radio — it’s a live television production.

Ultimately, the broadcast will be technically sound, but it will still feel a little less alive and more detached from the moment.

And that’s no fault of the announcers.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann