London Calling!

[stevejrogers]

Mets and Phillies next year



https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-london-series-mets-and-phillies-set-to-square-off-in-england-in-2024-per-report/amp/https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-london-series-mets-and-phillies-set-to-square-off-in-england-in-2024-per-report/amp/

[kcmets]

Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls

[Benjamin Grimm]

If you've never been to London, and have the means to go, do it! You'll have a great time.

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: If you've never been to London, and have the means to go, do it! You'll have a great time.

My daughter and her family got back from London a few weeks ago. They would heartily agree.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Philly fans vs soccer hooligans.

Put a fence around them and charge admission to watch.

[Tamora]

Frayed Knot wrote: Philly fans vs soccer hooligans. Put a fence around them and charge admission to watch.

Then I would advise seeking out the Millwall area.

[nymr83]

Frayed Knot wrote: Philly fans vs soccer hooligans. Put a fence around them and charge admission to watch.

Phillies fans are soft shit, NOT A WORD to me as I paraded through their decidedly family friendly ballpark in Mets gear. Same for the Eagles as I've been there in Jets gear. I'm sure Veterans Stadium drew a hostile crowd, but those folks have been priced out of the new parks.

[Tamora]

Gotta be honest your more likely to get jumped out and about in London itself than get into trouble at the football. It's not the 80s anymore.



If you're coming all the way you could even hop across to Paris for a couple of days. Loads to do. It's one of those cities no matter how much you do you always find more for next time.

[MFS62]

=Tamora post_id=124850 time=1683664677 user_id=172]
Gotta be honest your more likely to get jumped out and about in London itself than get into trouble at the football. It's not the 80s anymore.



If you're coming all the way you could even hop across to Paris for a couple of days. Loads to do. It's one of those cities no matter how much you do you always find more for next time.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Guest

[cal sharpie]

I was there just a few weeks ago and in one of the tube stations I went through there were giant screens advertising the upcoming Cubs-Cardinals series. Yeah, going to the Mets-Phillies there would be pretty great. I might try to figure out a work-related reason to be there coincidentally at that time. We'll see.

[Edgy MD]

Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, and England. Mets have done some travelin'.



I believe the Dodgers and Padres (?) have been scheduled to open next season in South Korea, which would be a first.



Instead of aiming for nations that are already baseball-friendly, wealthy, or highly cross-culturally engaged (or all three) I'd like to see some wildcards. Send two teams to Uruguay or Montenegro or Botswana.

[A Boy Named Seo]

The presale email went out and we registered. No idea how much tickets will be, but hoping we can make it happen. Anyone else thinking about it?

[Benjamin Grimm]

I thought about it, but I'm not going to go. It just won't be practical for me in 2024, but London is a wonderful city and I encourage anyone for whom it's doable to go for it.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

we also considered but wussed out.

[TransMonk]

I've considered the idea of taking the family on a London vaca centered around that weekend, but as I add up the costs, my head spins.



Maybe...but prolly not.

[Lefty Specialist]

We got tickets to both games.



Going with the missus and Lefty Jr. We're in center field so I don't know what kind of a view it'll be, but it's all about the experience. And we love London, so this was a perfect excuse to go. Also taking a side trip to Wrexham just for the hell of it.

[Edgy MD]

That's great. Enjoy.

[Lefty Specialist]

I have to admit it was her idea.



I was all, "What if they're ten games under .500 and Alonso and Lindor are hurt and the pitching sucks again?"



And she was, "Let's do it anyway."



Meanwhile Jr. was like, "I'm in if you're paying."

[Frayed Knot]

Lefty Specialist wrote: We got tickets to both games. Going with the missus and Lefty Jr. We're in [CROSSOUT]center[/CROSSOUT] centre field so I don't know what kind of a view it'll be,

Fixed it for you.

[A Boy Named Seo]

We did not buy in the presale but may get tix amongst the 7 Line allotment so we can feel like proper futbol fanaticos in London. Let's hope Jim Bruer keeps his QAnon ass at home.

[metirish]

Lefty Specialist wrote: We got tickets to both games. Going with the missus and Lefty Jr. We're in center field so I don't know what kind of a view it'll be, but it's all about the experience. And we love London, so this was a perfect excuse to go. Also taking a side trip to Wrexham just for the hell of it.

Oh man, that's great, enjoy, make a CPF sign so we can see you

[Edgy MD]

I just realized how pleased I am that MLB thought to schedule this in June, rather than at the top of the season, when London would likely be chilly and rainy. It strikes me that they might have ameliorated some of the travel issue by scheduling it adjacent to the All-Star Break, especially now that the break is four days long.



Also, I'm wondering if these showcases are kind of outre, and it's time for MLB to take the next step, with each team picking a foreign city as their second home, hosting one or two series there every year.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

NBA and NFL have done that, granting teams foreign markets where they are allowed to market locally. That's why you see the Cheifs play in Germany and the Jaguars play in London.



Eventually these leagues would like to expand globally, there's been talk of establishing a division of NFL teams in Europe.

[Gwreck]

Edgy MD wrote: I just realized how pleased I am that MLB thought to schedule this in June, rather than at the top of the season, when London would likely be chilly and rainy.

Fair, but also it's more a function of money. Nice weather = people paying. I sure wouldn't be going if it was in April.

Edgy MD wrote: It strikes me that they might have ameliorated some of the travel issue by scheduling it adjacent to the All-Star Break, especially now that the break is four days long.

Agreed in theory, but that 4-day break is particularly favored by the players and unlikely to be allowed to be impinged upon with international travel.

[Edgy MD]

Mostly random spitballing of potential homes away from home.

[th]MLB TEAM[/th]	[th]FOREIGN HOME[/th]	[th]MLB TEAM[/th]	[th]FOREIGN HOME[/th]
	BAL		Prague		ATL		Sydney
	TBR		Melbourne		PHI		Rome
	TOR		Kingston		MIA		San Juan
	NYY		London		NYM		Liverpool
	BOS		Dublin		WSN		Milan
[th][/th]	[th][/th]	[th][/th]	[th][/th]
	MIN		Stockholm		MIL		Tel Aviv
	DET		Munich		CHC		Barcelona
	CLE		Mumbai		CIN		Dakar
	CHW		Madrid		PIT		Johannesburg
	KCR		Lisbon		STL		Paris
[th][/th]	[th][/th]	[th][/th]	[th][/th]
	HOU		Rio de Janeiro		LAD		Mexico City
	TEX		Buenos Aires		ARI		Santiago
	SEA		Yokahama		SDP		Monterrey
	LAA		Seoul		SFG		Tokyo
	OAK		Manila		COL		Hamburg

Alternatively, they could make each US division analogous to a global region, so the teams of one division could all partner with Pacific Rim cities, and another could all partner with Western European cities, etc., and so reinforce local rivalries abroad.

[ashie62]

Is Toronto Kingston NY?

[Edgy MD]

https://imgc.artprintimages.com/img/print/postcard-folder-beautiful-jamaica_u-l-q1hrexd0.jpg?artHeight=350&artPerspective=n&artWidth=550&background=fbfbfb>

[Frayed Knot]

Both Kingstons are in a foreign country for the Blue Jays so it works either way.

[Edgy MD]

FUN FACT:. The Derby County FC, who we meet at the beginning of the highly recommended (by me) film Damned United (2009), spent over 100 years playing at a stadium called "The Baseball Ground". The stadium opened in 1890 as the home park of Derby Baseball Club, then part of the burgeoning British National League, an upstart UK baseball circuit. The stadium operated as such for only five years, but continued on hosting football for 107 years while retaining the name based on its long-neglected original purpose. It was sort of the British version of New York's Polo Grounds.



It was sadly demolished in 2003 and 2004, the baseball diamond it once hosted being long grown over.



https://i0.wp.com/staceywest.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Aerial-view.jpg?resize=588%2C381&ssl=1>

[Benjamin Grimm]

Here's a picture from 1895. It looks like it was more spacious then, but it's hard to tell for sure. I would imagine that the configuration we see in the color photo wouldn't have worked well for baseball, even in the 19th Century.



It appears that home plate was in the corner of the ballpark that's in the lower right of Edgy's photo.



https://i0.wp.com/staceywest.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Baseball-in-1895.jpg?w=810&ssl=1>