MLB, London announce long-term partnership
Major League Baseball is headed back to London.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and London mayor Sadiq Khan announced a long-term partnership between the league and the city Monday that includes regular-season games in 2023, 2024 and 2026, along with other major events over the next five years.
MLB’s first venture into the United Kingdom came in 2019, when the Red Sox and the Yankees took part in the MLB London Series, two games at London Stadium that each drew nearly 60,000 fans. The Yankees won both games, during which a total of 50 runs were scored.
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“All aspects of the inaugural MLB games in London were an overwhelming success,” Manfred said in a statement. “It was clear that sports fans in London had a great appetite for baseball and that passion was shared by Mayor Khan as well as the business and media community. We are confident in making a long-term commitment to London and are looking forward to returning to the city with more MLB games, special fan events, and other opportunities to play and watch the game.”
Said Khan: “Today is an historic day for London and baseball. … This long-term partnership with Major League Baseball is ambitious and includes regular-season games as well as a legacy program designed to grow the number of Londoners watching and playing baseball at a grassroots level in London.”
To complement these events, MLB Europe will continue to conduct new London-based fan engagement events, expanded UK-focused content, baseball participation programs and other city-specific media arrangements to help continue the growth of baseball’s popularity across London.
A prime example of this is Home Run Derby X, which will take place at London’s Crystal Palace Park on July 9, 2022. The competition will feature four historic franchises: the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Cubs. Each team will include a former player (Legend), a softball or women's baseball star (Superstar), a player from that region's local development system (Rookie), and an influential content creator (Wild Card). This unique, points-based derby contest will also take place in Seoul on Sept. 17 and Mexico City on Oct. 15.