Americans in Paris win again
It’s time for first MLB games played in Europe
United States’ Megan Rapinoe celebrates after scoring her side’s second goal during the Women’s World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and the United States at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Friday. The U.S. team won 2-1 and advances to the semifinals to face England.
LONDON — Aaron Judge is learning the limits of his fame. Walking around London the last two days, the 6-foot-7 face of the Yankees’ franchise would run into people wearing Yankee hats, simply as accessories.
“They had absolutely no idea who I was. So I said, ‘Hey, I am Aaron, great to meet you,” Judge said with a laugh Friday afternoon. “I guess I’ve got to start introducing myself around to people with Yankees hats.”
That, essentially, is why the Yankees and Red Sox are here this weekend, playing the first-ever regular-season Major League Baseball games in Europe. “An old rivalry on new ground,” the tagline for the London Series is a subtle reminder that this is all about how MLB sees the European market as a fresh ground for growing their potential fan/customer base.
That is why Aaron Boone took part in a local clinic for kids on Thursday while his family was out sightseeing.
“We want to grow our game,” the Yankee manager said. “I feel like if we can light a few more fires with fans, with kids
about our game, that helps.
“… We do have a responsibility to grow it and continue to pass it on and hopefully something that starts to grow it in London, in England and all across Europe.”
Friday, the Yankees and Red Sox got back to work — kind of. They worked out at Olympic Stadium on the freshly created ballpark in the home stadium of the West Ham football team. They took batting practice and did some defensive drills on the turf field. It was still focused on the promotions with players, coaches and executives mingling on the field with media and some celebrities. Manchester City star Raheem Sterling chatted with CC Sabathia before the workout. In between songs.
Amid all the chaos on the field Friday, however, guys were seriously testing out this newly created field. Gary Sanchez was hitting batting practice balls over the batter’s eye in dead center field just 385 feet away (with the 117.4 meter mark just below it to make the game more friendly to the European audiences). Didi Gregorius and DJ LeMahieu were testing the hops of ground balls off the turf onto the dirt, which was described as “hard and fast,” by several players. Aaron Hicks was trying to figure out how far back he will play defense in center field (starting at the warning track, probably) and Brett Gardner was examining the nooks and crannies of the huge amount of foul territory.
Because after all the promotional events, the sightseeing and meeting European fans is done, the Yankees and Red Sox are also still in a race, albeit not a very tight one, for the American League East. The Yankees go into today’s game with a nine-game lead over the Red Sox.
The real business side of this trip was easily lost in the fanfare Friday, with the questions about sightseeing, Yankees logos as fashion accessories, cricket, rugby, soccer and their responsibility to represent the game here in Europe. It was, however, apparent in those detailed preparations the players were making.
“I think tomorrow it will be easy to remember, once we get between the lines, it’s a Yankees-Red Sox game,” Hicks said. “That always gets you going.”