The London Series: What Was That?

I don't watch a ton of MLB or any baseball for that matter. I keep up with the Yankees just because I'm from New York and my family has rooted for the Pinstripes since before I can remember. I've been lucky enough to be alive for most of the Yankees World Series wins in the 1990s and the 2000s (mostly the 2000s because I was a baby in the late 90s lol). Now the new generation of Yankees has come with talents like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ Lamehieu, Arolids Chapman, and Masahiro Tanaka.  This season has been an interesting one for the
Yanks: the roster has plagued by injuries to the big players like Stanton and Judge, but the guys who sub in are playing just as well and crushing home runs like it's mundane. The Yankees are good for first place in the AL East, and I'm hopeful they win another World Series title soon.

Baseball is a weird position in America right now. It has lost some of its appeal to the public for a multitude of reasons. One is the rise in popularity of other leagues and sports like the NBA and basketball, the NFL's domination of the American sports, lacrosse and the many attempted professional leagues, the MLS and soccer, and others. Another is how baseball has changed from being a hitter's game to a pitcher's game, something that has slowed the game down the already-slow-paced sport. Sports talk shows and analysts keep trying to figure out ways to make baseball more appealing, but I don't think I've seen the MLB struggling to fill ballparks. People still REALLY like baseball, so much so that when the Yanks and Red Sox flew to London for this weekend's London Series, it seemed like baseball was still in good taste for fans in the USA and abroad. But what we saw in those two games was not the baseball we are seeing in America. That was something totally different.

The first game of the series was slugfest. In the first inning alone (which lasted an hour long), the Yanks and Sox put up six runs each. Neither starting pitcher lasted more than a full inning. Then the dam broke and the game was on. The Yankees ran up the score 17-7 heading into the seventh inning, but the Red Sox came back to make the score 17-13. Their efforts weren't enough as the Yankees won the first game. It looked nothing like MLB games now, where pitchers are dominating and keeping the games close. It was pretty much a shootout and those who got the most came out as winners Then came the second game, a much more tight affair...until the seventh inning when the Yankees scored 9 runs in one offensive stretch. The Yankees closed out the second game 12-8 to win the series. Though the second game was closer, this wasn't the baseball Americans have become accustomed to. ESPN reported that 50 runs were scored total and the games totaled 8 hours and 54 minutes of play time. The British and European fans got a real treat...but what the hell was that?

MLB teams have been known to put up large amounts of runs, but normally games like that are incredibly one-sided. In the London Series, it seemed like the Yanks or Sox would get a big scoring stretch, followed up by an inning where nobody scored. The pitching was weak; you know it's bad when Tanaka and Red Sox ace Rick Porcello are chased before the first inning ends. Every batter
seemed to send the ball into all crazy corners of London Stadium, so nobody could make a good defensive stop. The Yankees were lucky to come out as the winners of the series. But it wasn't baseball...it was just pure chaos with a little bit of luck.

The fans got a real treat though, which makes me suspect something has to give. When's the last time a team scored 30 runs in one game? That should be like the average total of a four-series. Obviously it would make sense to put on an offensive show for an international crowd. You couldn't subject them to a slower game with little scoring, overly-dominant pitching, and easy outs. The British and European fans saw a different kind of baseball that even American audiences don't get to witness very often. But if you wanted to show them how a modern MLB baseball game is played out, this series was not the right one. Don't get me wrong, the London Series was incredibly entertaining to watch, but it was almost too fun. It makes me wonder why we don't seen games like that more often.

Overall, the London Series was a resounding success for bringing international awareness to the MLB. The field was made perfectly, the stands were packed to the brim, and everyone seemed to be enjoying watching America's pastime. Not to mention, the fans got to see one of the best sports rivalries ever. That being said, don't expect the MLB to consider creating a London franchise like the NFL is. It's not practical to place a team across the Atlantic in a country that already has multiple sports captivating the public's attention. When you think about it, soccer is dominant in England between the Premier League and Champion's League; also rugby, cricket, Formula 1, and boxing have huge audiences in England. While it is fun to dream that the NFL and MLB can or will establish franchises across the pond, it doesn't seem practical. However, I think the MLB should continue this London Series. It is exciting, brings great publicity to the sport, and it might open the door for European players to enter the MLB. While those games were not typical games, we should be thankful they were as exciting as they were.