Major League Baseball returns to London this weekend as the Philadelphia Phillies and NY Mets will battle it out across the pond as part of the 2024 MLB World Tour. We have had two iterations of this series, played in 2019 and 2023. The Boston Red Sox versus NY Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals versus Chicago Cubs, which are two great rivalries, have faced off previously and a third is now added into the mix with the Mets and the Phillies set to meet.
This series is great for Major League Baseball to showcase great talent as the Phillies are the best team in the league, tied with the Yankees for most wins in the bigs with 44 as of this writing. Philadelphia plays in a tough division yet holds an 8-game lead over the second-place Atlanta Braves.
The Mets have been a bit of a different story to begin the year. It seems as if they are trying to test their fans patience to see how much they can take by losing the way they have lost games thus far. New York is 27-35 and already 16 games out of first place.
There are plenty of stars to watch in these two games for the casual fan that may be tuning in. Philly is stacked with the likes of Bryce Harper at first base, Bryson Stott at second, Trea Turner at short, and Alec Bohm at third. For the Mets, Pete Alonso is one of the most powerful hitters in the league and I am sure he would like to collect a home run, or two, while in London. They also have Francisco Lindor who is still one of the top shortstops in all of baseball.
One of the most unique parts of this series is that it is played at Queen Elizabeth’s Olympic Park which was built for the 2012 Olympic Games. It also serves as the home of West Ham United FC of England’s Premier League. There will be a capacity of close to 60,000 so this will feel like a sold-out game at Dodger Stadium, something we don’t often get to see.
The MLB World Tour ends this year in London but there were plenty of great games to watch from all over the globe. It began in Spring Training with the Red Sox and Rays in the Dominican Republic. The Dodgers and Padres then kicked the regular season off by playing in Seoul, Korea. The Astros and Rockies then headed South and played in the Mexico City series at the beginning of the season in April. 2025 will bring another slate of cities from around the world.
Since this isn’t a regular game at a regular time, here’s the info on how to watch: Game 1 is at 1:10 p.m. ET on Saturday on FOX. First pitch for Game 2 is slated for 10:10 a.m. ET Sunday and will air on ESPN. Both games can be watched on MLB.TV. If you happen to be a Mets or Phillies fan on the West Coast, make sure you set those alarms early.