Live From MLB All-Star 2023: MLB Network, ESPN Welcome Next Generation of Superstars at MLB Draft

This year’s event is held at Seattle Seahawks’ Lumen Field

After traveling to Denver in 2021 and Los Angeles in 2022, fans tuning into the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will witness another large-scale production, this year at Lumen Field in Seattle. Normally the home of the NFL’s Seahawks, MLS’s Seattle Sounders, and other professional teams, the venue will host the tentpole broadcast produced with increased efforts by both MLB Network and ESPN.

“We’ve done this for only three years,” says Tom Guidice, VP, remote operations, MLB Network, “but this set is larger than last year’s, and we’ll be working in the largest stadium we’ve ever had for the MLB Draft. We’re lucky to work with great Draft partners since we decided to take this show out of our studio.”

From left: MLB Network’s Jason Hedgcock, Susan Stone, Tom Guidice, Chris Roenbeck, and Marc Caiafa in Seattle

Go-To Location: Lumen Field Becomes Clear Choice in Seattle

In Seattle, it’s hard to ignore the sound of screaming fans at Lumen Field. Perceived as one of the toughest environments to play in for visiting NFL teams, the venue is an important aspect of the city’s landscape. Since it has become a major sports focal point, MLB Network added the building to its list of potential host sites for this year’s MLB Draft. The production and operations team did their due diligence, considered multiple locales from site surveys, and chose Lumen Field.

“There were three other venues in play,” says Guidice. “After looking at all of them, it made a lot of sense because of its proximity to the ballpark.”

Seattle’s Lumen Field is the home of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Given last year’s layout — L.A. Live was nearly four miles from Dodger Stadium — the short distance from the home of the Draft to the home of the MLB All-Star Game was a nice change of pace. From an operational perspective, the team is reveling in the fact that it’s right next door to T-Mobile Park, but, in a five-day stretch requiring movement of resources and staffers, the physical distance can still pose an interesting and time-sensitive challenge.

“There are a lot of positives about [the two venues’] being together,” notes Jason Hedgcock, senior director, remote technical operations, MLB Network, “but we’re a bit farther apart in real life than what it looked like on paper. You have to be a bit better with your planning. If you have to get a reporter or an operator to a specific location, you have to be on top of your schedule and make sure that everyone’s headed in the right direction with enough time.”

The main operations trailer sits beneath the football stadium.

Despite working within a broadcast-ready facility, the team is not accessing the venue’s permanent infrastructure. Opting for a temporary footprint in the name of greater efficiency, Hedgcock and his transmissions team ran tactical fiber 3,000 ft. from their section of the compound to the main stage in Lumen Field.

“This [running of fiber] not only services our needs,” he adds, “but also supports ESPN and MLB Operations. The MLB Draft is essentially the league’s biggest meeting of the year, and that aspect is sometimes overshadowed.”

With the compound in a convenient location, MLB Network deployed two trucks, the A and B units of Game Creek Video 79, to handle Sunday’s MLB Draft. Onsite editions of MLB Tonight with Albert Pujols, Pedro Martinez, and others and Intentional Talk with Ryan Dempster, Kevin Millar, and Siera Santos will also be handled from them. Talent on the shows will be joined by current MLB All-Stars through the help of VP, News and Production, Doug Jaclin and Supervising Producers Adam Helfgott and Chris Arnowich.

Broadcast Tech: Zoom Brings in Team Draft Rooms, Remote Prospects

Using techniques developed for COVID-era Drafts, MLB Network is improving integration of offsite participants through Zoom. With two dedicated Zoom interfaces, one or multiple feeds can be spliced into the broadcast. One group will feature the Draft rooms of all 30 MLB clubs; the other will be populated by more than 20 picks reporting in from home in real time.

Along with the Zoom feeds, the broadcast will deploy traditional broadcast equipment, including two RF handhelds, an extended jib for the main stage, and a hard camera positioned in Section 136 of Lumen Field. Control rooms at MLBN headquarters in Secaucus, NJ, are handling graphics operations. Content teams are also pitching in to tell the stories of these future MLB stars with highlight packages and other editorial pieces.

An extended jib camera is positioned behind the seating area at Lumen Field.

“Secaucus always plays an important role on this production,” says Susan Stone, SVP, operations and engineering, MLB Network. “They’ll also be involved in a lot of the shows that we’re producing back home.”

In addition, Days 2 and 3 of the MLB Draft will be produced remotely from the New Jersey facility.

Drawing Extra Attention: Stage Layout Mixes With MLB PLAY BALL Park Activation

At field level, MLB has developed a blueprint that meshes the venue’s gargantuan size and the league’s main fan destination in a unique way. A white shell over the MLB Draft stage blocks the seating and overhang from the main sightline of the production.

“Unless we show a beauty shot of the venue, you probably wouldn’t even know that the stage was in a larger stadium,” says Guidice. “[MLB’s events team] did a really great job with the setup and the décor that has been put around it.”

The MLB Network set for Sunday’s MLB Draft

The field itself has been split into two sections: one half dedicated to studio sets, friend and family seating, the main stage, and other MLB Draft-centric areas; the other, to MLB PLAY BALL Park, the league’s premier spot for fans to enjoy the fun surrounding MLB All-Star Week. With Lumen Field easily accessible from the adjacent Events Center, the location has become a campus that leads fans to the MLB Draft stage.

“As we continue every year to try to grow the Draft,” says Stone, “we want to make the best in-house experience for people at the venue as well as draw more interest to our show. We wanted the stage next to PLAY BALL Park to attract some of those fans.”

In front of the stage, MLB Network’s main studio set will be the home of instant analysis and reactions to each pick. The desk features Greg Amsinger, Melanie Newman, Dan O’Dowd, Harold Reynolds, and College World Series winning LSU head baseball coach Jay Johnson. MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis and Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo will also report onsite.

More-Efficient Draft: MLBN Works With ESPN To Further Refine the Broadcast

As with previous iterations, ESPN has its own presence at the MLB Draft. Three years ago, the broadcaster’s first coverage of the event was dictated to by pandemic limitations.

“When we first came on in 2020,” says Phil Orlins, VP, production, ESPN, “it was a last-second decision because we were looking for live event programming. Now that we’re in our fourth year, [the Draft] has grown into an onsite event as part of the MLB All-Star Game.”

ESPN’s MLB Draft set is located next to MLB Network’s set.

To better serve the baseball community, the viewing audience, and the individuals attending the event in Seattle, ESPN worked closely with the league and the MLB Network staff to adopt a streamlined approach to the proceedings.

“Major League Baseball wants a consistent cadence that allows both us and MLB Network to optimize our coverage,” adds Orlins. “It also allows the in-house experience to be more timely for the fans in the venue.”

This adjustment includes a standalone set and dedicated camera feeds that will be shared with the MLB Network broadcast. One of the biggest changes includes a shared feed of draftee interviews with analyst Xavier Scruggs, a former professional ballplayer who works with both media entities; the respective broadcasts will use the same conversation rather than two separate ones. Other feeds include the main podium camera, an RF Steadicam, an ESPN-operated drone, and additional aerial shots.

Alongside Scruggs, Karl Ravech will host with analysts Eduardo Perez, Jessica Mendoza, Kyle Peterson, and Chris Burke; ESPN Senior MLB Insider Jeff Passan; and ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel.

New Face at the Front Bench: Chris Roenbeck Joins as Coordinating Producer

The league will be gaining a lot of new names this weekend, and MLB Network has added a new face to its production team as well. Having worked as producer of MLB Tonight since the broadcaster launched in 2009, Chris Roenbeck assumes the role of coordinating producer of the Draft. Moving from a live studio show to live coverage of an event this size can be daunting, but Roenbeck has prepared extensively.

“I found out about this assignment in late January,” he explains. “I immediately dove into last year’s show and took in as much as I could. I created this idea of how we can improve our show and shared it with [SVP, Production,] Marc [Caiafa] and a couple of other people. We had an open conversation about it, so we’re all on the same page.”

Game Creek Video mobile units are parked in MLBN’s compound at T-Mobile Park.

Those new concepts include leaning on the energy and passion of Reynolds, who will be returning to the city and stadium in which he became a two-time All-Star with the Mariners. Enabling him to roam the venue to interact with fans and prospects, the team built a dedicated position for him at MLB PLAY BALL Park as well as a seat at the main set. “It’s a five- to six-hour broadcast,” notes Roenbeck. “Keeping our team as well as the prospects in attendance energized is one of the hardest tasks that we have.”

Each year, the studio team adds new perspective in the form of new talent. This year, besides knowledge of the game, LSU’s Johnson will provide insights on having recently won the National Championship as well on as the possibility of seeing two of his former players — pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews — drafted first and second.

“From MLB Pipeline to Baseball America, he was highly recommended by a lot of people in the industry,” says Roenbeck. “Over the past couple of days, we’ve noticed how great a person he is and how much respect everyone has for him.”

Teaming up with Senior Coordinating Director Mike Martin and Producer Ian Theodoridis, Roenbeck and his colleague will shed light on a handful of promising storylines. Two notable prospects, shortstops Arjun Nimmala and Jacob Wilson, are sure to capture fans’ attention.

Nimmala, for instance, is the son of two immigrants from India and picked up the game of baseball as he grew up in the U.S. “He was originally a cricket player, so his father signed him up for Little League as a kid,” says Roenbeck. “Now, as a 17-year-old in Florida, there’s a chance that he can go in the top 10.”

Wilson, who played for Grand Canyon University and was a semifinalist for the 2022 Golden Spikes Award, has the pedigree and guidance of a former Major Leaguer behind him. His father is 2004 All-Star and Silver Slugger Award–winner Jack Wilson. Coincidentally, Jack played with MLB Network analyst Sean Casey on the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006 and also played for the local Mariners from 2009 to 2011.

Another Chance at Growth: 2023 Draft Is MLB Network’s 15th To Cover

MLB Network will welcome the next wave of baseball’s greatest players for the 15th consecutive year. The production team gets stronger with each show, boosted by collaboration between operations and production. Caiafa and VP, Production, Josh Bernstein oversee content strategy, backed by a stellar behind-the-scenes team: Stone; Guidice; Hedgcock; Senior Director, Remote Operations, Brooke Berger; Senior Production Manager Samantha Calastro; Director, Remote Technology Operations, Stephanie Perone; Senior Remote Technical Manager Zaac Christopher; Production Managers David Beun, Emma Roberts, and Ryan Delaney; and Remote Operations Specialists Howard Goldberg and Megan Cain.

This multi-day stretch of activations is one of the most difficult on the MLB calendar, and Stone lauds the relentless dedication of the entire staff: “These events are a challenge for Jason and our unbelievable operations team. It takes a village to know which feed goes to each broadcast partner as well as to understand the entire transmission plan.”

The 2023 MLB Draft will begin at 7 p.m. ET on MLB Network, ESPN, and ESPN+ on Sunday, July 9.