Jolly good show on tap
Red Sox-Yankees in London is a natural
FORT MYERS — As long as “anywhere but Tokyo” is the guiding light, the more international showcases Major League Baseball can create, the better.
And that especially goes for the Red Sox-Yankees series in London in June 2019 that is expected to become official later this year.
The matchup is compelling enough — as ESPN proves year in and year out, there is no more compelling one in baseball — and London’s close enough that the series should be a smashing success.
The Red Sox’ 2008 trip to Tokyo at the end of spring training was a success only if you apply the standard that the team flew there and flew back without incident.
Otherwise, the twogame regular-season split with the A’s was a needless wash. The 17-hour journey from here to Chicago for re-fueling and then on to Tokyo was a body-zombifying, melatonin-churning journey that turned a reigning world champion team into a staggering crew of ballplayers by the time the team returned to North America. They recovered, sure, and went on to play in the ALCS that year, but there was no real benefit from the trip.
Flying to London is a shuttle flight in comparison, and it’s no wonder the Red Sox and Yankees, as well as the Mets and several other teams, wanted to be part of such a trip.
Ever since a London series became likely once the latest collective bargaining agreement was hammered out a couple of years ago, the Red Sox and Yankees have each been clamoring for that first invitation.
It’s a natural fit, especially for the Red Sox, owned by Fenway Sports Group that also owns the Liverpool Football Club.
And the Yankees see themselves as belonging in London as well.
“The Yankees have been at the forefront of suggesting that we bring the great game of baseball to London,” team president Randy Levine said in an email to the Herald in December 2016 when the possibility of a London series first was discussed. “There have been some meaningful attempts to do so, and we are hopeful and confident that we can play there soon. Playing the Red Sox in London would be a special and unique event.”
The games would be played in the Olympic Stadium, built for the 2012 Games. Its dimensions aren’t suited for baseball, but it could be modified enough to make it good enough.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora cringed a bit recalling the 2008 trip, which briefly was at risk when the Red Sox players went Samuel Gompers on MLB and threatened a boycott unless the coaches were compensated for traveling.
He recalled a story about the team’s popular barber, Monster, showing up in Tokyo and also that Sean Casey, then 33, returned with a stiff neck “because he was old,” reasoned Cora.
A trip to London sounds good to him.
“It’s super cool,” said Cora. “My mom called me right away, she’s never been. She actually wanted the Pirates to go, for a family reunion.” Cora’s brother, Joey, is Pittsburgh’s third base coach.
Nobody seems to believe the British are clamoring to see some baseball. MLB has attempted to spark interest there, and will no doubt haul out its heavy publicity artillery to drum up interest from the average British sports fan, whether he or she is a cricket, rugby, football or American football aficionado.
MLB does not want to make this a one-off experiment. It would be a one-off for the Red Sox and Yankees, but MLB would like to stage a series on an annual basis.
“In simple terms, one of the marketing questions is if any entertainment entity brings a whiz-bang super high-profile event once, what are the subsequent steps — what’s the encore, what’s Act 2, what’s Act 3, what’s Act 4?” Chris Park, MLB’s senior vice president for growth, strategy and international said two Decembers ago.
As Act 1’s go, seeing the Red Sox play their archrivals is as good as it gets.
And in the name of international exposure to a uniquely American game, it makes all the sense in the world to open with the best you’ve got.
The World Baseball Classic is a true international event with bragging rights that may not be appreciated by many in the U.S., but is elsewhere.
Cora gets that.
“I love it, I’m a big fan of that tournament,” he said. “I think that’s the coolest tournament ever, not because we were part of it, but as a baseball fan, you have a bunch of kids that dye their hair blond, and they play baseball hard, and they’re cocky and they love it. I don’t care, it’s awesome.”
The Red Sox playing the Yankees in London would also be awesome.
The Red Sox playing the Yankees anywhere would be awesome — as long as they’re not playing them in Tokyo.