After Boston’s 8-7 loss to the White Sox and the Yankees’ 8-7 win against the Blue Jays, the two teams are going to London to play two games in the new London Stadium.
Personally, I would love to be there. It looks like a fantastic venue for America’s past time being shown to a European audience. The issue is, the Europeans will be getting the best professional sports rivalry as their first taste of the sport.
It most likely will not be the type of intensity the Yankees and Red Sox are used to since it is not being played in Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park, but they are still two of the best teams in Major League Baseball right now. The Yankees have the best record in all of baseball and the Red Sox are in the thick of Wild Card after a slow start.
What is going to happen when someone from London thinks to themselves ‘Ok I am going to start following baseball. Let’s see what is on’. Once they try to find an interesting game to watch, the only thing to watch is the last place Mariners playing the last placed Orioles. Do you think that is going to draw them closer to the sport of baseball?
The NFL has done a good job of this by sending very average teams to London every year. Sending the likes of the Jaguars, Browns, Giants, and Lions across the pond shows Europeans what the sport can be, but when they go to find more teams to watch, they stumble across the elite level teams.
It was announced that the Cubs and Cardinals would be playing in London in 2020, but the same question arises. Why give them two of the best baseball franchises when they do not know the difference?
A good matchup for the London Series would be the Houston Astros against the Los Angeles Angels. Two of the biggest cities in the country would be on display, while also showing what a great team looks like, and what a hovering around .500 team looks like. Add on to that, Mike Trout would be on full display for Major League Baseball. When people get more interested in the sport, then they discover the real Yankees Red Sox rivalry and what the sport is really about.