Hangin' Out In London Town
I'm on location for the MLB London Series 2024 between the Mets and the Phillies this weekend...
LONDON - Hey TSSB Patrons!
I’m going to be in London for this weekend’s MLB London Series.
The Mets are playing the Phillies in a two-game set and it should be a great weekend in England’s capital city.
I was at the Cubs-Cardinals series last year and, man, Brits love their baseball. As someone who was born and raised in England, it is super cool to see America’s National Pastime and a sport I’ve fallen in love with so warmly embraced in a country more known for soccer.
We’ve seen the NFL absolutely explode in popularity in the United Kingdom, and it would be neat to see the same happen with Major League Baseball
This should be a really fun series too. The Phillies are one of the best teams in baseball and they entered the weekend with the second best record in all of baseball. Heading into Saturday, Philadelphia is averaging 5.08 runs per game - the second-best mark in baseball. The pitching staff owns a stellar 2.92 ERA - also the second-best in the league. They are getting contributions from up and down the lineup and everything is clicking for a team that resembles an absolute juggernaut right now.
As for the Mets, they have been the perfect picture of ineptitude for the most part in 2024. They’ve consistently found new ways to lose games, and dysfunction never seems too far away with this franchise. We’ve already seen one pitcher launch his glove into the stands and swear and lie on TV before swiftly losing his job. Just another day in the life of the Amazin’ Mets.
However, New York has actually been playing some pretty good baseball as of late. The team swept the Nationals in Washington before jetting off to Blighty, and this weekend represents another opportunity to persuade the front office not to pull the trigger on a fire sale at the trade deadline.
All in all, all the ingredients are there for a two-day spectacle of baseball for the fine people of England. Let’s hope that’s the case anyway.
In terms of my plans, I’ll have some free time on Sunday so please feel free to reach out if you are at the game and want to say hi. I’d love to catch up with as many of you as possible and talk baseball!
It really is a great setup at London Stadium - at least it was last year - and there are plenty of places to stop and have a chat and some refreshments. The weather should be pretty good by British standards, so we’re in for a doozy of a day.
I’ll be bouncing around outside the stadium right up until game time so, again, it would be great if you wanted to come and say hi. I never turn down the opportunity to talk baseball.
In terms of content, I plan to have a couple of pieces on the importance of the London Series to MLB up on the site early next week. Maybe a little something on Bryce Harper given his stature in the game, coupled with how he’s been central to the Phillies’ success so far this year.
Anyway, I hope if you are in town you are having an absolute blast and I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday!
It’s going to be a whole lot of fun.