Hats off to you, MLB- The Inaugural MLB Little League Classic

Lil' Mets Fan
Aug 27, 2017 · 4 min read

With #MLBPlayersWeekend upon us, here’s the blog post I’ve been slowly writing over the course of the week on the inaugural #MLBLittleLeagueClassic. Enjoy!

(Written on 8/20/17, the day of the game)

It’s nearly 11 P.M. as I write this in the backseat of the minivan my dad is driving home after one of the greatest nights of my life. The Inaugural MLB Little League Classic. What an epic night. My family and I had the pleasure to enjoy the game in person and it was incredible. When I see the Mets are playing a game on ESPN, honestly, I’m not always the most excited, after being spoiled by the legendary team of Gary, Keith and Ron, but boy am I excited to get home and watch the game on ESPN. MLB, props to you on a fantastic event. (Update: thanks to MLB.TV I got to watch it, it was indeed great)

First off, MLB did a great job bringing the game to a town where the nearest MLB team plays nearly 3 hours away. The MLB, like the NFL, is always looking to spread the sport, whether it be overseas or right here at home in a small town and tonight was a successful attempt. (I’ve now woken up as I fell asleep for the third time on the ride home so far.) (Update: it’s now 12:37 P.M. the next day, I ended up falling asleep the rest of the 4 hour ride home) I thought it was awesome they opened up the tickets just to the locals of Williamsport instead of selling them online for hundreds of dollars. Just thinking about it, I was one of only 2,596 to see the game in person, is incredible and makes it by far the coolest thing I have ever experienced.

Seeing the excitement on both the faces of the Major Leaguers and Little Leaguers from around the world over a baseball game reminds us that smiling is the world’s common language. I heard while rewatching the broadcast that the favorite moment of many of the Little Leaguers was meeting players from around the world, all who share the love of baseball. Like the World Baseball Classic, the Little League World Series bring together those who may not speak the same language, but play the same game. Baseball.

The food prices were actually reasonable! Yes, it was played in a Minor League Stadium which is why the food prices were cheaper, but still it was a beautiful sight. A hot dog at Citi Field is $6.50, at BB&T Park it’s only $2.50. $13.25 for chicken tenders in Queens, $4.00 for them in Williamsport. Guests were given food (hot dog, chips & water) and snack (popcorn & Cracker Jacks) vouchers, which made the experience even more unbelievable. Seriously, there were people who actually came to my seat and brought me food and I wasn’t even on an airplane!


I didn’t hear a single curse word or insult directed at the players, coaches, or managers all night. It was incredible and I should be able to that about every ballgame, but I can’t. I’ve heard parents cursing at tiny toddlers at a Mets game once! A curse-free game without drunk college students or immature preteens screaming how everything is gross, ugly and disgusting was seriously such pleasant change from the norm. Everyone was in such a good mood which put me in a good mood.

One reason I love minor league games is the small feel of the stadiums. There isn’t a bad seat in the house and the views are unbeatable. I’ve never this close to MLB action and boy was it a treat. I could hear the players cheering each other on and watch their handshakes in the dugout. They had Little League players in between innings tossing t-shirts into the crowd and a local teenager sing the national anthem and God Bless America.

Of course the game was very hyped up and was being shown as Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, so there were a lot of famous and important people there. I’m pretty sure there were some very important people from the Cardinals sitting in front of me, but I didn’t recognize them. The press box was in the seats and I was tempted to go over a snap a picture with some the writers, but I knew they had deadlines to meet so I stayed put. Rob Manfred was in the park somewhere and David Ross walked right past me.

Last, but not least, maybe my favorite part of the game and experience: the teams lining up at the end to high five each other. It’s a Little League tradition to “line up” and for the classic, the Pirates and Cardinals did. MLB did a fantastic job and I really hope they bring it back in the future. It was AWESOME.

Side note: this took 6 days to write and parts of it were written in Williamsport, Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, pretty cool.

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