Cubs and Cardinals are revealed as opponents for 2023 London Series

Three months after London announced plans to host Major League Baseball games in 2023, 2024 and 2026, the city is now in the midst of the Route 66 rivalry.

The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, opponents of the National League separated by 300 miles of highway, will play a set of two games in the British capital on June 24 and 25 of next year, the commissioner’s office and the players’ union said. announced on Thursday.

The resumption of the London Series, as it is known, is part of MLB’s ongoing efforts to grow the game abroad, having previously held a pair of sold-out Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees games on the West property. Ham United in 2019. Follow-up series in 2020 have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It was such a cool experience to be able to play in the UK,” former Yankees pitcher and American League All-Star CC Sabathia said on a conference call ahead of Thursday’s announcement.

Frankly, the 42-year-old southpaw didn’t play in the two games: 17-13 and 12-8 Yankees wins.

Sabathia was in his final season in the majors and made the transition to the bullpen after nearly two decades as one of the top baseball players with the Cleveland Indians and Yankees.

But as he recalls, the chance to play in London was a big influence on his decision to return for the final season in 2019.

“I didn’t come back until 2019 because we played in London,” said Sabathia. “I thought it would be a cool experience: Red Sox, Yankees. I was on my way to retire, they announced the series, and I was like, ‘Woah, maybe I’ll come back for another year,’ and it was one of the best baseball experiences I’ve ever had.

‘I didn’t take part in that, which was even better,’ laughed Sabathia, reminiscing about exploring London with his wife and four children. ‘So I got a chance’ [to be a tourist]. I went to the Harry Potter studios and took my family all over London. I saw Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace and all these different things so I got the chance to be a tourist and hang out with my family which was a great experience. And we won both games, so that was cool.’

Baseball and Britain have traditionally been strangers to each other, although the sport was first mentioned in an authentic English journal dating back to 1755 – half a century before it was first mentioned in American texts.

And even if the game wasn’t technically invented in England, baseball’s roots are clearly tied to sports like cricket and rounders, as British sports fans are quick to remind Americans.

There are obvious obstacles to baseball. In particular, the modern audience has complained about the length of games.

The 2019 London Series certainly didn’t help. The first game — a 30-run slugfest — lasted nearly five hours and was nearly the longest nine-inning game in MLB history.

However, Sabathia doesn’t mind the length of the game, as long as there is action.

“I don’t really remember the games being that long, because so many points were scored,” he said. “If you remember that first game, we came out and hit some home runs and they came out and hit some home runs. It was just super entertaining. I don’t mind a long game if we get some runs.

“The crowd was very lively and hyped,” he added. “We didn’t see any dead time in the crowd.”

MLB games have clearly been played outside of the continental US and Canada before.

For example, in addition to the 2019 London Series, there have been regular season fights in Tokyo.

But Japan is already a baseball-loving country. To grow the game in Europe, where the sports scene is dominated by football, Sabathia thinks MLB needs to keep adapting its format. In particular, he encouraged officials to ban the defensive shift — something that has been blamed this season for dwindling offense around the majors — and implement a pitch clock to increase the pace of play.

Both issues have been much discussed around baseball in recent years and Sabathia thinks they could hold the secret to reaching new fans.

“I think that’s the way to grow the game,” Sabathia said. “The first question I got here was how long the games were, so I think if we can make some of these rule changes, get the game going a little faster and get more action into the game, I think that the best way is to let the fan base grow.’

As for the players, Sabathia recommends getting some sleep on the plane to avoid jet lag, and to prepare for a high-scoring match, as London Stadium is definitely a ‘hitter’s park’.

“The ball flew,” said Sabathia. “Guys saw the ball very, very well that day. ‘I remember [Yankees outfielder] Aaron Hicks was the first man to hit a home run and he came in and said ‘oh my god I can see the ball so well here’. It turned out to be so, as those first innings lasted an hour and a half and there were about 10 to 15 homeruns in those innings. When the ball started flying I thought ‘Man, I’m glad I’m not throwing these two days’.

The fans, Sabathia said, will see one of baseball’s greatest rivalries.

The Cubs are currently among the best baseball teams, while the Cardinals remain in the playoffs at 55-48 thanks to a strike with sluggers Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.

“It’s very intense,” said Sabathia. Both teams played against each other in the [National League] Central for a long time. I hadn’t really realized how big the rivalry between Cubs and Cardinals was until I got there in the Central. It’s like the Yankees and the Red Sox, those two teams hate each other. There’s been a lot of bad blood between the two, and I think it’s great that we’re trying to match the classic rivalry and take it to the bigger stage.”

Yes, it’s only two games, but Sabathia insists the stakes increase when you play on a bigger stage, like a rare game in London.

“I think the most important thing about playing abroad is that you want to win,” he said. ‘Of course it’s nice to come to London, but you don’t want to travel so far to be fooled. It’s mid-June and if you’re playing in these big events that you want to win, being able to play in these special events gives you an extra boost.”