London calling...
The Mets enjoyed an off day in London before their two-game series against the Phillies starts on Saturday
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets landed in London and took in some of the sights with their families (New York Post)
If things continue to go south for the Mets, a few GMs will be calling the team ahead of the Trade Deadline about Pete Alonso, Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, J.D. Martinez, Harrison Bader, Jake Diekman, Adam Ottavino, Reed Garrett and Sean-Reid Foley (New York Post)
Edwin Díaz is feeling good after making a rehab appearance with Brooklyn on Thursday (Newsday)
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Edwin Díaz (High-A, rehab assignment): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K
RHP Mike Vasil (No. 11 prospect, Triple-A): 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
RF Ryan Clifford (No. 4 prospect, Double-A): 1-for-3, HR
BOX SCORES
Single-A STL | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR Game 1 | Triple-A SYR Game 2
Today’s Game 🗓
The Mets are off on Friday as they prepare for their two-game series vs the Phillies starting on Saturday in London.
Major League Baseball needs to continuing supporting baseball around the world ✍️
The Mets and Phillies are in London this weekend as part of MLB’s World Tour series. They will play two games in a home-and-home series Saturday and Sunday before returning to the US early next week.
The 2024 season opened in Seoul, South Korea with a series between the Dodgers and Padres and the Astros and Rockies played in Mexico City, Mexico a month later. The first in the 2024 World Tour series actually took place during Spring Training when the Red Sox and Rays played in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Coming off a highly successful World Baseball Classic in 2023, this world tour is a great way to grow the game and showcase the game’s best to audiences around the world (although that might be generally debatable with the Mets being in London right now). Baseball has truly become a global sport and since it is no longer an Olympic sport, these series are a great way to reach its global audience or introduce it to other audiences who might be otherwise unfamiliar with the game.
The Czech Republic is one example that qualified for the first time in last year’s WBC. They were made up of a team of players that all had regular day jobs in addition to being baseball players for their home country. They made headlines when pitcher and electrician Ondřej Satoria struck out Shohei Ohtani when they faced off against Team Japan in the 2023 WBC. With the Czech Republic’s success in the WBC, former Met Dennis Cook is hoping to do the same for Team Poland and hopefully help them qualify for the next WBC.
Baseball is also growing in the remote country of Bhutan where few of the participants have ever seen a Major League Baseball game.
Any additional exposure is only going to help grow the game, but there also needs to be an investment of time and resources to make the game more accessible to those wanting to play both at home and abroad. While it is cool seeing major leaguers play in different venues around the world and under some different ballpark conditions, it is only the first step in the attempts of MLB to expand it’s reach and grow the game’s popularity, that which has been lagging behind basketball specifically over the last few years.
The Japanese are continuing to support the Czech Republic as they look to keep growing their program. MLB needs to follow suit if they truly want to grow and nurture the sport we all love around the world.
And so, this weekend is another step in that direction. Not only will there be two games, but MLB created the European Development Tournament which is designed to grow and promote baseball and softball throughout the United Kingdom and beyond. The tournament began this week and ends today but includes 86 of the best amateur baseball players (ages 15-20) from 13 countries across Europe.
It’s been a slow roll for MLB, but their presences around the world are helping to expand the reach of the game beyond the United States.
Who knows? Maybe one day MLB will expand into Europe.
Around the League 🚩
Yankees slugger Juan Soto exited the game in the sixth inning with left forearm discomfort
The Rockies placed both IF Kris Bryant and OF Sean Bouchard on the 15-day IL
The Red Sox offense recorded 24 hits in their 14-2 win over the White Sox
Reds star Elly De La Cruz hit a three-run shot on the one-year anniversary of his MLB debut
MLB has a lot of fans here in the UK, who are enthusiastic for games to come over. Going tomorrow myself, just a shame the Mets aren’t great at the moment! Would love to have seen Scott pitching