The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Baseball looks to Asia and England
MLB attempting to grow the game internationally.
Major League Baseball plans to start the 2019 and 2020 seasons in Asia and play regular-season games in England in June of both years.
The collective bargaining agreement reached in November was finalized and sent to the clubs Friday, and it contains a schedule for international play through 2021 along with how much extra money each player will receive for making the trips.
“Playing major league games abroad is critically important to growing the game internationally, and we are very pleased that the parties were able to agree on a very comprehensive international play plan in bargaining,” MLB Chief Legal Officer Dan Halem said in an email.
The agreement calls for the season opener to be played in Asia in 2018 and 2020 and specifies Japan for 2019. However, plans have not progressed for a 2018 Asian opener and those games are now unlikely, according to a baseball official familiar with the planning.
A two-game series between Cleveland and Minnesota in San Juan, Puerto Rico, already has been announced for next April 17-18, and the agreement calls for an additional series in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic in May 2020.
Series in Mexico are planned for each April from 2018-21 and for May 2019 and 2021.
London’s Olympic Stadium has been looked at as a possible venue for the games in Britain, and the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are the most likely teams for 2019.
Mariners: Right fielder Mitch Haniger was hit in the face by a 95 mph fastball from Mets starter Jacob deGrom on Saturday. Haniger was down in the batter’s box for a couple of minutes, then was able to walk off the field with blood dripping from his mouth. He was taken off-site for further examination.
Blue Jays: Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (sprained right ankle) was placed on the 10-day DL and infielder Rob Refsnyder was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.
Mets: Closer A.J. Ramos was acquired from the Marlins in exchange for two prospects late Friday. Ramos, a former All-Star, had 20 saves and a 3.63 ERA this year. In the last three seasons, he has 92 saves, a 2.79 ERA and 207 strikeouts in 174 innings.
Nationals: Outfielder/ infielder Howie Kendrick was traded to Washington from the Phillies on Friday night for minor-league pitcher McKenzie Mills.
Hall of Fame: Two Hall of Famers with health issues have reported positive news.
During last year’s Hall of Fame weekend, Rod Carew was dealing with health scares, from needing heart and kidney transplants to an aching back. On Saturday in Cooperstown, N.Y., Carew, 71, appeared as the ambassador for the American Heart Association, and he said he feels like a new man thanks to the transplants he received last December. “I feel great. My heart is roaring. It was a long journey, but a good journey,” Carew said.
And Cardinals great Lou Brock says he is free of cancer more than three months after announcing he had been diagnosed with a type of blood cancer. Brock, 78, said Friday that a doctor’s diagnosis that he had conquered multiple myeloma was “the greatest news ever.”