MLB has struck a formal partnership with Little League Int'l, expanding upon a long working relationship between the two organizations. Little League will become an official partner of MLB, and vice versa, with the pair collaborating on various youth engagement efforts such as Play Ball. The agreement provides more structure around their joint efforts, and Little League will help direct its youth players to MLB programs such as Pitch, Hit & Run and the Jr. Home Run Derby, and MLB player health efforts such as its Pitch Smart program. The agreement arrives as the ’17 Little League World Series starts today in Williamsport, Pa. The Pirates-Cardinals MLB Little League Classic will be played at Williamsport's BB&T Ballpark on Sunday (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
LITTLE BIG LEAGUE, FOR REAL: Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said playing a regular-season game in Williamsport is "something that’s going to be exciting." He said it "should be interesting to see a game played on national TV with 2,000 people in the park, which is a little bit unusual." Mozeliak: "I’ve heard they made some upgrades to that ballpark and I know our guys are looking forward to it.” He noted the ballpark is used by the Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York-Penn League, and "those venues are not made typically for big league clubs." He said, "They’ve done a lot of things to try and make it where the Pirates and Cardinals feel comfortable. ... It’s one night, so I think we’ll survive” (“High Heat,” MLB Network, 8/16).
