Major League Baseball Productions and Fox Sports are getting fans ready for the playoffs and World Series via a collaborative effort on a new series, “Mission October.”
The eight-episode production is intended to “give baseball fans an exclusive look behind the scenes with a specific team fighting to reach the post-season and win the World Series.”
The first episode will air Aug. 26 on Fox Sports 1 (7:30 p.m. ET) with the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team seeking to reach the postseason for the first time in 21 years. Unfortunately for Giants fans, their team seems destined not to make the playoffs this year,
The teams featured in subsequent episodes of “Mission October” will be determined each week depending on how the races for playoff spots develop.
Camera crews will follow players, coaches and front office personnel over the course of a weekend series, and each show will be produced and edited as the series unfolds, allowing for quick-turnaround episodes to air on Monday evenings each week, according to MLBP and Fox.
“Our fans crave behind the scenes access to their favorite stars, and they want to see it right away,” Chris Tully, SVP of broadcasting for Major League Baseball said in a statement.“‘Mission October’ satisfies both of those desires, and we know MLB Productions is up to the task of this extremely quick editing schedule.”
According to Michael Bloom, SVP of original programming for Fox Sports 1, “This is what the pennant race is all about. Fighting tooth and nail to get the opportunity to play in October. It’s a privilege that MLB and the players have let our viewers be this close to the action at this most crucial and exciting time of the season. You will really get to see the race for October from the inside out.”
Fox will air the 2013 American League championship series, which is scheduled to begin on October 12, and then the World Series, which is scheduled to begin October 23. TBS will broadcast the National League Championship Series.
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