On June 24th and 25th, MLB hosted a regular season series in London between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. This series was part of MLB’s World Tour, a program meant to bring baseball to other countries to expand the baseball fanbase beyond the US market. Although London may not seem keen on baseball, the city has a history of hosting baseball games and events dating back to 1892.
I was fortunate enough to travel to London this past weekend to experience this historic series, and it was one of the coolest baseball experiences I’ve ever had.
The fun began on Friday when MLB took over London’s Trafalgar Square. This event hosted many different activities, from batting cages to target practice for pitching to creating your own baseball card. The venue had various food trucks representing highlights of the different foods of St.Louis and Chicago. The centerpiece of the Trafalgar Square takeover was the Home Run Derby X, a twist on the regular Home Run Derby where batters hit in a batting cage against live pitching and their hits are recorded in an augmented reality version of Trafalgar Square. MLB veterans such as Nick Swisher, Jonny Gomes, Hanley Ramirez, Dexter Fowler, and David Eckstein participated in the Home Run Derby X.
Although I didn’t get a chance to hit in the big batting cage with live pitching, I did have the opportunity to hit off a machine in the smaller batting cages! I’ll take any opportunity to take some free swings.
The games took place on Saturday and Sunday. Both games were hosted at London Stadium, a multi-purpose venue that has hosted the 2012 Olympics, rugby matches, and concerts and is currently home to West Ham United FC. The stadium was converted to a regular baseball field for the series. Before the games, the exterior of the stadium held activities similar to the Trafalgar Square event, with food trucks, pitching, and hitting. There were also vendors walking around selling popcorn, donuts, candy, and beer.
On Saturday, the Cubs defeated the Cardinals 9-1, and on Sunday, The Cardinals defeated the Cubs 7-5.
To me, the coolest part of the entire experience wasn’t necessarily the games or the events, it was the people who came to enjoy the weekend of baseball overseas. I saw people wearing jerseys and hats from every MLB team. There wasn’t one team that wasn’t represented in London. I also spoke with fans from other parts of the world besides the United States and learned about their baseball fandom. They expressed how it is hard to be a baseball fan and live in another part of the world where baseball is not as accessible to watch on a daily basis, but how events such as this London series is so great for the game and these worldwide fans. It was so wonderful to see people from all over come together for these two games. Whether they were Cardinals/Cubs fans or not, there was a sense of unity for the love and fascination with the sport.
Next year, MLB will have another London series with the New York Mets and the Philidelphia Phillies, which if you know me, you know how exciting this news is. I’m already putting in my PTO :)
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So happy to have shared this experience with you. The entire time we had ear to ear smiles in a beautiful country watching our favorite game together. I encourage baseball fans to try to attend in 2024. London is such a friendly city and being with fans throughout the MLB community there was magical. ❤️