MLB will encounter different obstacles to NFL and NBA when hosting games in London

Jay Asser 21:23 21/03/2018
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  • London Stadium is the home of West Ham

    ‘As American as baseball and apple pie’, the classic saying goes. And why wouldn’t it? Few things are as red, white and blue as catching a baseball game in the dog days of summer.

    Will the national pastime still appeal though if it’s brought across the pond to London, where it has practically zero resonance?

    It seems like Major League Baseball want to find out, with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees reportedly close on an agreement that would see them play two games against each other at London Stadium in June 2019.

    Of course, the question of whether or not MLB can draw interest in London has little to do with the sport’s roots in the United States, and everything to do with the game’s history as a whole – which is deep in regions like Asia and Latin America.

    Europe? Not so much.

    So it’s fair to wonder how much MLB will benefit from venturing into an untapped market, although it’s something they have to try.

    With how well the NFL and NBA have done in reaching new fans by hosting annual games in London, MLB can’t afford to sit on their hands and watch as their competitors increase their popularity.

    But MLB can expect to face different challenges than their peers did in going abroad, which could mean either a short-lived stay or a capped ceiling for growth.

    Primarily, it’s going to be extremely difficult for London Stadium to replicate the experience of attending a game at any one of the 30 MLB ballparks.

    The Red Sox, rumoured to feature in London in 2019, play their home games at iconic Fenway Park.

    The Red Sox, rumoured to feature in London in 2019, play their home games at iconic Fenway Park.

    So much of the appeal of going to a baseball game is based on the venue and the atmosphere it generates. While NBA arenas and NFL stadiums vary city to city, they don’t usually have the history or uniqueness that MLB ballparks do.

    It seems unlikely that an ubiquitous venue such as London Stadium will be able to achieve anywhere close to that level of charm. It’s hard enough for football – just ask Premier League tenants West Ham.

    Then there’s the whole cricket issue.

    Whereas basketball and American football have no parallel sports – no, rugby is not ‘kind of’ like American football – baseball and cricket have similar cadences. Someone pitches or bowls a ball, a batter or batsman hits it and the fielders field it.

    There are countless differences otherwise, but the fundamentals are undeniably similar. So it’s going to be hard to pull cricket fans to baseball, just as it has been the other way around.

    That doesn’t mean MLB can’t find a footing in London, but let’s just say we won’t be hearing ‘as English as baseball’ anytime soon.

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