Baseball’s biggest stage hosts some of its absolute biggest names, and this year’s World Series is a true “world” affair for the first time in more than three decades.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have endless commercial allure. MLB’s reigning champions put Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts at the plate; Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani (yes) star atop the mound. On the other end, the underdog Toronto Blue Jays go for their first title in 32 years, and the Canadian crew carries a nationwide fandom.
Questions abound. Can Vladimir Guerrero Jr. keep launching moonshots off elite pitchers? Are there different TV setups given the separate host countries? Will this be the soft revival of Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake? Here’s what viewers need to know about the upcoming World Series coverage.
The 2025 World Series schedule
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All games start at 8 p.m. ET.
LAD at TOR (G1)
Fri., 10/24
Fox
LAD at TOR (G2)
Sat., 10/25
Fox
TOR at LAD (G3)
Mon., 10/27
Fox
TOR at LAD (G4)
Tues., 10/28
Fox
TOR at LAD (G5) *
Wed., 10/29
Fox
LAD at TOR (G6) *
Fri., 10/31
Fox
LAD at TOR (G7) *
Sat., 11/1
Fox
*if necessary
Fox is available free over the air. It also streams on Fox One.
The two markets
American audiences will watch each World Series game on Fox, the Fall Classic’s sole network home since 2000. Fox’s hold on the World Series runs through at least 2028. Canadian households will tune in on Sportsnet. That station is headquartered in the Rogers Building … a short drive from the Rogers Centre, where the Jays will host Game 1. A full list of other international markets can be found here.
The announcers
Joe Davis is the play-by-play voice for Fox. He’s been on the call since 2022, succeeding longtime October orator Joe Buck. While Buck was a classic minimalist, Davis tends to hit a higher vocal register and rev up on two-strike moments. In his short World Series run, Davis already has a two-disc greatest hits: “This game has turned upside down!” and “Gibby, meet Freddie!”
Of note for this matchup: Davis also calls regular-season games for the Dodgers on Spectrum SportsNet. He knows this team’s narrative arc better than just about anyone.
Hall of Famer John Smoltz is on commentary. He’s been in the World Series booth since 2016, and he won a World Series with the 1995 Atlanta Braves. Smoltz is uniquely qualified to talk baseball: He earned Cy Young, Reliever of the Year and Silver Slugger awards during his career.
Fox’s Spanish-language broadcast is on Fox Deportes, led by sportscaster Adrian Garcia-Marquez.
Dan Shulman takes play-by-play for Sportsnet. He was born in Toronto and began covering the Blue Jays in 1995. Shulman’s broadcast partner is Buck Martinez. The former big league catcher was born in northern California, but he played for the Blue Jays in the 1980s and managed them from 2001-02. Shulman’s son, Ben, is the voice of the Jays on radio.
The rest of the broadcast
From the field level, Fox viewers will hear from two veritable baseball analysts: Tom Verducci and Ken Rosenthal. Readers will recognize Rosenthal by his byline on The Athletic (or his colorful bowtie rotation). This column reliving the George Springer American League Championship Series triumph is well worth the read. Rosenthal and Verducci will conduct interviews and relay clubhouse updates. Hazel Mae leads the Sportsnet field report.
Fox’s pregame studio is loaded. It has Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez, three generational stars of the 2000s. Collectively, that trio won nine World Series championships. Kevin Burkhardt anchors the program.
The presentation
Fox’s main MLB theme is an earworm. This is music to march to. Baseball lifers can pick it up from the opening horns. It will be inescapable for the next week or so.
Nothing is guaranteed, of course, and baseball telecasts usually don’t tap into hip-hop. But the Fox (and Sportsnet) producers will need spectacular restraint to avoid Kendrick Lamar or Drake for bumper music. Their rap beef erupted into a culture-defining moment in 2024, and their home cities now face off for eternal glory in 2025. Lamar was born in Compton. “Not Like Us” is played at every Dodgers home game to trumpet the starting lineups, and his album cut “Dodger Blue” is an ode to Los Angeles. Drake hails from Toronto, and he once used Joe Carter’s 1993 World Series walk-off for cover art. Let’s see if either is evoked in the madness to come.
The odds
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