Tribe to play in Williamsport in 2021

Tribe will face Angels in 2021 LLWS Classic

The Indians and the Angels are scheduled to meet in the MLB Little League Classic on Aug. 22, 2021, in Williamsport, Pa., MLB announced. The game will be played at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.

The Indians on Aug. 23 had some uplifting news to reveal looking forward to next summer, when fans might be back in the stands and things might return to normal.

The Indians and Los Angeles Angels are scheduled to meet in the MLB Little League Classic on Aug. 22, 2021, in Williamsport, Pa., Major League Baseball announced. The game at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field will count as a home game for the Indians.

“We’re very excited to be selected for what has become a highlight of MLB’s unique lineup of annual showcase games,” Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti said in a statement. “The future of baseball will be determined by the next generation of players and fans, so to have the opportunity to engage these young athletes to celebrate and continue to grow this great game will have a powerful and lasting impact on our organization and especially our players.

“It’s a young baseball player’s dream to play on the Little League World Series stage in Williamsport and only a select few get the opportunity. We look forward to bringing our Major League team to participate next August and fulfill some of those young baseball dreams we had when we were just getting started in this game.”

The game will be televised on ESPN starting at 7 p.m. It will be broadcast on ESPN Radio.

“Investing in the future of our game has always been a central focus for our organization,” Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno said in a statement. “We are honored to participate in this special event that unites MLB’s brightest stars with the game’s next generation.”

A significant portion of the seating capacity at Historic Bowman Field for the Little League Classic game will be reserved for the players and families of the participating Little League Baseball World Series teams, as well as local Williamsport youth baseball and softball organizations. Players from the Indians and Angels will be in the stands for Little League World Series games played earlier in the day.

The Little League Classic featuring Major League teams has been an annual event in Williamsport since 2017, but not this year because the novel coronavirus forced canceling the Little League World Series. The Pirates hosted the Cardinals in 2017, the Phillies hosted the Mets in 2018, and the Pirates hosted the Cubs in 2019.

Historic Bowman Field opened in 1926. It was given a multi-million dollar facelift by Major League Baseball and the state of Pennsylvania prior to the inaugural Little League Classic three years ago.

More than 560 Major Leaguers played in the Little League World Series, according to the news release, including Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Bill Mazeroski, Jim Rice and Jim Bunning.

Historic Bowman Field is home to the Williamsport Crosscutters, a Single-A short season affiliate of the Phillies in the New York-Penn League.

Historic Bowman Field is 288 miles from Progressive Field.