More at the link.
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/2016/12/red_sox_yankees_pushing_for_dream_matchup_in_london
This would be a fun thing to see happen in my opinion. Tough I'm not sure how large the fanbase is in London
Red Sox and Yankees pushing for London matchup
- Thread starter soxhop411
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http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/2016/12/red_sox_yankees_pushing_for_dream_matchup_in_london
This would be a fun thing to see happen in my opinion. Tough I'm not sure how large the fanbase is in London
Oh course right after I leave!!
You can sell out a game or series no problem with curiosity and ex pats.
No stadium for baseball of course. But no sweat. It'll work
You can sell out a game or series no problem with curiosity and ex pats.
No stadium for baseball of course. But no sweat. It'll work
It would have to be at Lord's or the Oval, right? I don't know how you'd put it together in Wembley.
edit: London Stadium (built for the Olympics; home to West Ham) can apparently be configured for baseball. That would have an attractively large capacity. The cricket grounds are all 25-30,000 in capacity.
edit: London Stadium (built for the Olympics; home to West Ham) can apparently be configured for baseball. That would have an attractively large capacity. The cricket grounds are all 25-30,000 in capacity.
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This is a terrible idea that will mess up both teams internal clocks right before the season. Hate it.
It would be better still, though, if Mike Mussina were still on the roster.
Clearly MLB is throwing me a bone as they know I've never been to a Red Sox-Yankees game. Thanks guys!
Seriously? Club class / luxury charter flights for the players, only 5 hours time difference, and no real need to get into GMT to play evening games. They'll not miss a beat. Might even be a nice mid season refresher.
Exciting proposition. London Stadium would be the best fit, and a series would doubtless sell out. Whether there's an MLB fan base to compare with the NFL support in the UK, we shall have to see
If these are Bronx games that get moved, great
If these are Fenway games that are moved, booooooo.
If these are Fenway games that are moved, booooooo.
Would be tremendously well received I think. I don't dare hope too much it comes off for fear of disappointment but makes a lot of sense.
As far as screwing up internal clocks I can't but too much credence in that. Bos - LHR is really a pretty short flight and 5 hours isn't that much of a time change. Think of all those 2am getaway travel days they're already used to or how much tennis players travel and then compete at a far higher level of exertion.
As far as screwing up internal clocks I can't but too much credence in that. Bos - LHR is really a pretty short flight and 5 hours isn't that much of a time change. Think of all those 2am getaway travel days they're already used to or how much tennis players travel and then compete at a far higher level of exertion.
Up to now, official MLB games outside of US/Canada have taken place in countries where baseball is very popular (Japan, Puerto Rico, Australia...). Having such a game in Europe would be enormous for the development of the in this continent. But holding this match in London would virtually defeat the purpose.
True enough, the huge amount of American expats in England should guarantee economic success of the venture, but it would certainly not help to promote baseball in Europe. In the first place, baseball in England is all but negligible. English baseball could only be considered as a "third division" in Europe. The two strongest baseball countries here are Italy and Netherlands. The next level, as far as level of play and public interest, would have to be Spain, Germany and Czech Republic. Any of these five countries, especially the first two, have the fan base and venues to accommodate official MLB games.
Anything else can only be justified by revenue, not for the good of the game.
Well there are two considerations here: how good the country's domestic league is currently and how much interest there is in the MLB. Certainly UK domestic baseball is played at an inferior level to several European countries, but I'd say there is a significant level of interest in MLB (and MLB teams). I know I would certainly make sure to get my hands on some tickets if this comes off.
It's not the full experience unless someone throws a beer on you from 10 rows up and a drunk pukes on your shoes.
Correct. London really isn't that far, and there are far more strenuous travel days that baseball players deal with on a regular basis. Even after the Sox went to Japan we did not hear much about jet lag after the team's first day back in the US.
As awesome as some of Italy's venues are, they are decidedly more spring training sized, and few of the good ones are in major metropolitan areas. Nettuno is the biggest and less than an hour south of Rome, but a really small town and would need a lot of temporary circus seating added. So Italy would mean playing in Olympico in Rome as a converted soccer stadium. And with RyanAir being cheaper than the fast trains, Italian fans can turn out just as much for London.
Netherlands has some nice stadiums, but again small, and again super easy to show up in London.
Absent a logical venue, going with the shorter flight, lower time difference, and English speaking publicales sense, and European baseball fans will descend en masse.
Very surprised for it to be a big tier matchup. Rays Athletics would seem much simpler and have a much lower bar for success like the Ft Bragg game. But excited to see it happen and generate some buzz.
There definitely isn't. The NFL airs in Prime Time which makes it easy to follow but has little competition (British TV on Sunday nights is famously terrible) and often gets lead-in from EPL games. It's carried on the equivalent of basic cable.
MLB starts the majority of its games past midnight, and they're carried on a specialist US Sports channel that also carries NBA, CFB and NHL. BBC Radio used to carry one game a week and the Series, but does so no longer. The fanbase is expats and people who had insomnia during the 1997-2008 period when it was on a network every week with a cult following and popular hosts (broadcasting regulations changed such that they could show repeats through the night, and now the slot is occupied by utterly depressing premium rate phone line gambling content).
Sorry if you already know all this, unsure if avatar implies residence of just Clash fandom.
I'd imagine they take one game from each team's home slate?
Indeed aware of all the above, as a UK resident. My intro to the game was through the late night Channel 5 coverage as an insomniac student. Same with my NFL interests, although that was more Channel 4 in the early 90s.
I was being polite on the fan base question. Indeed, in agreement with you that it doesn't exist. Baseball scheduling and volume of games will never work for a large UK audience, but a series over here might just sell a few more MLB TV subscriptions and merchandise
While there are some good players here in the Czech Republic, and as much as I would love to see a game here, there is neither a strong enough fan base nor a large enough venue to play an MLB game here. But I have made the trip to London to see the Pats and would certainly make another to see the Sox.
If MLB wants the high ratings stateside that Yanks/Sox normally gets, this would have to be a two-game weekend set, right? During the week a 7pm local game would be 2pm ET and 11am PT. A Sat/Sun set on Fox/ESPN, with Friday and Monday off would seem optimal.
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Great idea. I played baseball in Brighton, down the A27 from London. They have probably the nicest purpose-built stadium for baseball in the country, but it's basically a high school field. Might be decent for an MLB training session, though.
I always loved the symmetry that, while we had a Polo Grounds used for baseball, England had a Baseball Ground used for soccer. Too bad Derby knocked it down a few years ago. Worth reading about.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_Ground
I'd definitely build a trip around this were it to happen.
I always loved the symmetry that, while we had a Polo Grounds used for baseball, England had a Baseball Ground used for soccer. Too bad Derby knocked it down a few years ago. Worth reading about.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_Ground
I'd definitely build a trip around this were it to happen.