On May 8, 2018, MLB announced a two-year agreement to hold baseball games at London Stadium during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.[3]
Participating teams
The inaugural series was played between the Red Sox and Yankees, longtime divisional rivals,[3] who had expressed specific interest in participating in the London games. Salter noted that the Yankees and Red Sox are among MLB's most iconic teams, and contrasted the NFL's reluctance to send its high-profile teams to London, as they would be too disruptive to their lucrative and comparatively limited schedules (with a 16-game regular season in comparison to MLB's 162-game regular season).[4] Via their parent company Fenway Sports Group, the Red Sox are also co-owned with Premier League club Liverpool F.C.[5]
Locating a venue with the correct dimensions required for a baseball field was difficult, especially as the majority of stadiums in the London region are primarily designed for association football. MLB officials had evaluated multiple options (including cricket grounds such as The Oval), before finalizing London Stadium as the site.[4] The facility was originally constructed for the 2012 Summer Olympics; in late-2015, it was reported that MLB officials had measured the stadium's dimensions and considered it potentially suitable for baseball, and had negotiated the possibility of holding games there.[3][6]
MLB developed a plan to make London Stadium for the games resemble an MLB ballpark, via installation of a new baseball field as an overlay on top of the stadium's existing running track and soccer pitch, with a seating configuration to emulate the more "intimate" layout and fan experiences of MLB ballparks. Materials to construct the playing surface include approximately 142,000 square feet (13,200 m2) of FieldTurf, and clay for the pitcher's mound and home plate area sourced from Pennsylvania.[7] As the facility's locker rooms are smaller and suited towards soccer, larger, MLB-style clubhouses were built within the stadium.[3] As done at Toronto's Rogers Centre, dimensions from home plate are posted in feet and meters: 330 feet (100.6 m) to the foul poles and 385 feet (117.4 m) to center field, with a 16-foot (4.9 m) fence.[7] The dimensions have been described as being potentially hitter-friendly.[3][8] The two points in left center and right center where the temporary fences join the wall in center field area are slightly closer than center, marked as 382 feet (116.4 m). As the roof overhangs the home plate area, there is a ground rule that balls hitting the roof are considered dead.[9]
On April 29, 2019, it was announced that ProgrammeMaster, a London-based sports publisher, had secured the rights to produce the official gameday programme.[10] On May 24, 2019, it went on sale online, priced at £10.[11]
Broadcasting
In the United States, television rights for the series were split between Fox and ESPN respectively, with both games called by their lead commentary teams (led by Joe Buck and Matt Vasgersian, respectively). The first game aired as part of the afternoon (U.S. time) Fox Saturday Baseball, and the second aired in the morning.[12]
In November 2018, it was reported that Major League Baseball was nearing a deal with the BBC to broadcast the two games, with a broadcasting agreement similar to that of the NFL's partnership with the broadcaster. The league currently has a television rights deal with BT Sport, most recently renewed through 2021 to cover the London games.[13] In May 2019, the BBC acquired digital rights to the London games for 2019 and 2020, with plans for a free-to-air television broadcast on the inaugural game.[14][15] The two games were streamed live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.[16]
At the June 30 game, the national anthems were performed by the Capital Children's Choir;[26] The Freeze defeated a fan in their footrace;[27] and the mascot race was won by King Henry VIII.[28]
Both teams wore their home (white) jerseys in game one, in order for the Yankees to appear in their well-known pinstripes, despite being the visiting team.[29] The Red Sox wore their home red alternate jerseys in game two, with the Yankees again wearing their famous pinstripes. In late June, MLB announced that both teams would be allowed to have 26 active players on their rosters during the series (one more than MLB normally allows), with the extra man being a position player.[30] Both teams were also allowed to have 28 players travel to London, in case a roster move (such as due to injury) was required.[30]
Game 1
At 4 hours 42 minutes, the game was only three minutes shorter than the longest nine-inning game in MLB history (August 18, 2006, also between the Red Sox and Yankees).[31][32] (The first inning alone, which saw both teams score six times, took 58 minutes.) The 30 total runs scored were the second-most ever in a game between these two teams (31 were scored on August 21, 2009, a 20–11 New York win).[33][34] The attendance of 59,659 was the most at an MLB game since September 28, 2003, when a crowd of 60,988 at Qualcomm Stadium saw the San Diego Padres lose to the visiting Colorado Rockies.[35][36]
Boston had three first-inning home runs, the first time the team accomplished that feat since August 14, 1979.[37][38] New York came from behind to take an 11–4 lead in the seventh inning, when they sent 14 batters to the plate.[37] An eighth-inning homer by Didi Gregorius extended the Yankees' record of consecutive games with a home run to 31.[37] The 50 total runs scored in the two-game series were the most ever in consecutive games between the Yankees and Red Sox.[37]
