MLB’s Little League Classic could help popularize baseball among youth
The 2019 MLB Little League Classic will feature the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Major League Baseball first introduced the Little League Classic in 2017, featuring the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. It was a highly important game, as both teams were still in the Wild Card hunt.
The game was nationally televised on ESPN in an effort to expand baseball’s popularity among the youth. ESPN’s regular Sunday Night Baseball panel of Matt Vasgersian, Alex Rodriguez and Jessica Mendoza did the play-by-play.
The game is hosted at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. Bowman Field, first opened in 1926, is home to the Williamsport Crosscutters, a Class-A minor league team. Maximum capacity at the ballpark is just 2,366, but the bulk of the tickets to the Little League Classic are reserved for the kids playing in the Little League World Series.
This season’s Little League Classic was played between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, with the Mets winning 8-2. During the telecast, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the Chicago Cubs will play the Pittsburgh Pirates for next season’s game. It will mark the Pirates’ second appearance in the annual contest.
There’s long been a discussion about whether or not baseball is headed in the wrong direction. The “baseball is dying” narrative seems to pop up just about every year. And though that might be hyperbole, it’s not without some degree of truth. According to Market Watch, the average age of MLB viewers in 2016 was 57 years old, significantly older than that of the NBA, NFL and MLS. So it’s nice to see the league making an effort to appeal more to young athletes.
Baseball is often criticized for it’s discouragement of showing too much emotion in-game. Any time a player flips his bat or fails to sprint around the bases following a home run, a wave of media attention usually ensues. Meanwhile, the NBA and NFL continue to reap the benefits of letting their players express themeselves during games.
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During Sunday’s Little League Classic, the New York Mets’ rotation was spotted sitting with fans in the stands. This event could play a key role in getting more kids interested in playing baseball, and the players seem to realize this.