Cubs and Cardinals are revealed as opponents for 2023 London Series

Three months after London announced plans to host Major League Baseball games in 2023, 2024 and 2026, the city now finds itself smack in the middle of the Route 66 rivalry.

The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, National League adversaries separated by 300 miles of highway, will play a two-game set in the British capital on June 24 and 25 of next year, the commissioner’s office and players’ union announced Thursday.

The resumption of the London Series, as it is known, is part of MLB’s continued effort to grow the game overseas after previously holding a pair of sold-out Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees games at the West Ham United grounds in 2019. A follow-up series in 2020 was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

‘It was such a cool experience to be able to play in the UK,’ former Yankees pitcher and American League All-Star CC Sabathia said on a conference call ahead of Thursday’s announcement.

Truthfully, the 42-year-old southpaw didn’t play in the two games: 17-13 and 12-8 Yankees victories.

Sabathia was in his final season in the majors and making a transition to the bullpen after nearly two decades as one of baseball’s best starters with the Cleveland Indians and Yankees.

But as he remembers, the chance to play in London was a major influence on his decision to return for one last season in 2019.

‘I only came back in 2019 because we were playing in London,’ Sabathia said. ‘I thought it would be a cool experience: Red Sox, Yankees. I was on my way to being retired, they announced the series and I was like ‘Woah, maybe I’ll come back for one more year’, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had playing baseball.

‘I didn’t pitch in that, which was even better,’ Sabathia laughed, reminiscing about exploring London with his wife and four children. ‘So I got a chance [to be a tourist]. I went to the Harry Potter studios, and I took my family all over London. I saw Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace and all these different things, so I got a chance to be a tourist and hang out with my family, which was an awesome experience. And we won both games, so it was cool.’

Baseball and Britain have traditionally been strangers to each other, although the sport was first referenced in an authenticated English diary dating back to 1755 – a half century before it was first mention in American texts.

And even if the game wasn’t technically invented in England, baseball’s roots are clearly connected to sports like cricket and rounders, as British sports fans are quick to remind Americans.

There are obvious obstacles for baseball. Modern audiences have complained about the length of games, specifically.

The 2019 London Series certainly didn’t help in that regard. The first game – a 30-run slugfest – took nearly five hours to complete and was nearly the longest nine-inning game in MLB history.

Sabathia, though, doesn’t think the length of the game is a problem, as long as there’s action.

‘I don’t really remember the games being so long because there was so many runs scored,’ he said. ‘If you can remember that first game, we came out and hit a bunch of home runs and they came out and hit a bunch of home runs. It was just super entertaining. I don’t mind a long game if we get some runs.

‘The crowds were really lively and hyped,’ he added. ‘We didn’t see any dead time in the crowd.’

MLB games have obviously been played outside of the continental US and Canada before.

Besides the 2019 London Series, there have been regular-season battles in Tokyo, for instance.

But Japan is already a baseball-loving country. To grow the game in Europe, where the sports scene is dominated by soccer, Sabathia thinks MLB needs to continue to tweak its format. Specifically, he encouraged officials to ban the defensive shift – something that has been blamed for dwindling offense around the majors this season – and implement a pitch clock in order to increase the pace of play.

Both issues have been widely discussed around baseball in recent years, and Sabathia thinks they could hold the secret to reaching new fans.

‘I think that’s the way to grow the game,’ Sabathia said. ‘First question I got on here was how long the games were, so I think if we can do some of these rule changes, get the game going a little quicker, and get more action in the game, I think that’s the best way to grow the fanbase.’

As for the players, Sabathia recommends getting some sleep on the plane to avoid jet lag, and preparing themselves for a high-scoring game because London Stadium is most definitely a ‘hitter’s park’.

‘The ball was flying,’ Sabathia said. ‘Guys were seeing the ball really, really well that day. ‘I remember [Yankees outfielder] Aaron Hicks was the first guy to hit a homer and he came in and was like ‘oh my god I can see the ball so good here’. It proved to be that as that first innings was an hour and a half and there were about 10 to 15 home runs in that innings. When the ball started flying, I was like ‘Man I’m glad I’m not pitching these two days’.

The fans, Sabathia said, will get to see another of baseball’s best rivalries.

The Cubs currently rank among baseball’s best teams, while the Cardinals remain in playoff contention at 55-48 thanks to an offense that boasts sluggers Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.

‘It’s very intense,’ Sabathia said. ‘Both teams have played each other in the [National League] Central for a long time. I hadn’t really realized how big the Cubs and Cardinals rivalry was until I got over there in to the Central. It’s like the Yankees and the Red Sox, those two teams hate each other. There has been a lot of bad blood between those two, and I think it’s awesome that we are trying to match up with the classic rivalries and bringing those to the bigger stage.’

Yes, it’s only two games, but Sabathia insists the stakes are raised whenever you play on a bigger stage, like a rare game in London.

‘I think the biggest thing about playing overseas, is you want to win,’ he said. ‘Obviously coming to London is fun, but you don’t want to travel all that way to get your ass kicked. It’s the middle of June and when you play in these big events you want to win, it gives you an extra pep in your step when you get to play in these special events.’

St. Louis Cardinals will play Chicago Cubs in the MLB World Tour: London Series 2023 on June 24 – 25 at London Stadium. For ticket and event updates, register at mlb.com/londonseries