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Baseball: U.S. WBC warm-up game Aaron Judge C of the U.S. national baseball team lines up for the national anthem prior to a warm-up game against the Colorado Rockies in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 4, 2026, ahead of the upcoming World Baseball Classic. PUBLICATIONxINxAUTxBELxBIHxBULxCZExDENxESTxFINxFRAxGEOxGERxGRExHUNxISLxIRLxITAxLATxLTUxLUXxLIExMKDxNORxPORxPOLxROUxSVKxSUIxSRBxSLOxESPxTURxUKxUAExONLY A14AA0005351146P
Imago
Baseball: U.S. WBC warm-up game Aaron Judge C of the U.S. national baseball team lines up for the national anthem prior to a warm-up game against the Colorado Rockies in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 4, 2026, ahead of the upcoming World Baseball Classic. PUBLICATIONxINxAUTxBELxBIHxBULxCZExDENxESTxFINxFRAxGEOxGERxGRExHUNxISLxIRLxITAxLATxLTUxLUXxLIExMKDxNORxPORxPOLxROUxSVKxSUIxSRBxSLOxESPxTURxUKxUAExONLY A14AA0005351146P
D-Day has arrived for the MLB fans. The World Baseball Classic final is here, and the two teams that have fought for the final spot will be facing off each other at loanDepot park in Miami. The 2017 champions and 2023 runners-up, Team USA, will be hosting Team Venezuela, who punched their first-ever Classic final tickets by defeating Italy. So, the atmosphere is already heating up, and guess who is going to make it more interesting by calling the games?
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Who are the announcers for the USA vs. Venezuela WBC game? Meet Joe Davis and Smoltz
The FOX Sports MLB coverage guru and the lead play-by-play announcer, Joe Davis, will hit the commentary box with his signature talent of engaging the audience. What makes it even better? He walks in with the experience of having worked alongside three-time Pro Bowler Greg Olsen in 2024. His play-by-play announcer role also gave him the golden chance to share the podium with three-time Super Bowl champion Daryl Johnston in 2023.
Why is Davis the ideal one to rev up the energy in the WBC game? He has been a known face in the booth for FOX Sports’ Division Series since 2017. It was back in 2014 that he earned the job at FOX Sports as a play-by-play announcer for the network’s college football, college basketball, and MLB coverage. So, it has been almost a decade now that Davis has been into commentary. And with the WBC, another feather will be added to the hit commentator hat.
Davis will be sharing the box with a first-ballot MLB Hall of Famer, an eight-time All-Star, who won the National League Cy Young Award, John Smoltz. Later on, this fame earned him a role as FOX MLB’s lead game analyst. Even though he is still known for his contribution to the Atlanta Braves, who reigned over the National League in the 1990s and early 2000s, the analyst job also gifted him great fame.
As he gets the chance to cover the WBC, Smoltz is generally in charge of the postseason games, including Division Series, League Championship Series, and World Series assignments. As Smoltz will be taking the commentator’s chair, he will be bringing the knowledge of a legend who was voted to eight All-Star Games. Do you know he who owns a lifetime postseason ERA of 2.67? Not just this, he racked up 199 career strikeouts and 15 wins, which holds a second all-time rank in MLB playoff history.
Who are the other superstars involved in the game? All to know about Jeter and the crew
Derek Jeter will also be joining Davis and Smoltz for the WBC game. Before taking up the role as analyst for FOX Sports’ coverage of MLB, he had spent a historic 20-years playing the sport. After he stepped away in 2014, he was honored after being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the class of 2020.
Even though he has tried different roles, he has been mainly connected to MLB. For instance, between 2017 and 2020, he was the part-owner and CEO of MLB’s Miami Marlins. In that role, Jeter looked after business and baseball operations for the team. However, he has also gained a footing in the field of multimedia.
He founded The Players’ Tribune, a subsidiary of Minute Media, where he also serves as a member. Jeter also collaborated with Simon & Schuster in November 2013 to announce the Jeter Publishing imprint. It is the source behind many New York Times bestsellers. That’s how, when it comes to WBC announcing, fans can expect Jeter to bring more than baseball knowledge.
According to the reports, Ken Rosenthal will be in charge of reporting from the sidelines. However, lately, he has found himself in the hot seat. He has been the big name who covered important events for Team USA. For instance, interviewing manager Mark DeRosa on the group-stage rules confusion. But in the latest episode of Pardon MY Take, Rosenthal caught the heat from Barstool’s Dan “Big Cat” Katz. The analyst tagged the FOX MLB insider as “loser” and a “j – – -.”
Keeping the controversies aside, he has been handed the role to cover the WBC because of his three decades of experience as a sportswriter. His bond with MLB Network’s programming has run since 2009. That’s how MLB fans will not have any dull moments, with the best talent of the industry announcing games in WBC.