MLB Senior Dir of Business Communications Steve Arocho said that there will be "no public ticket sales" for the inaugural Little League Classic featuring the Cardinals and Pirates, according to John Beauge of PENNLIVE.com. Arocho said that tickets will be "distributed mostly to Little Leaguers and their families" for the Aug. 20 game at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pa. Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce Exec VP Jason Fink noted that Bowman Field "holds only 2,500 fans and that is less than Howard J. Lamade Stadium, one of two fields where the Little League World Series is played." Williamsport Mayor Gabriel Campana "expressed disappointment about the lack of tickets for the public and suggested MLB should hold a lottery for a limited number of tickets." The game will be played the first Sunday of the Little League World Series, and players from the Pirates and Cardinals are "scheduled to visit the series that day." Meanwhile, MLB is renting Bowman Field and "controlling what takes place." It also is "responsible for a number of major improvements." Single-A New York-Penn League Williamsport Crosscutters VP/Marketing Gabe Sinicropi Jr. said that MLB is "assuming the cost of installing a new playing surface with drainage and irrigation." It also will install fences and is "expected to improve the lighting" (PENNLIVE.com, 3/9). In Pittsburgh, Bill Brink notes Pirates season-ticket holders who had seats for the game at PNC Park can "receive a food-and-beverage credit equal to the cost of their tickets, in addition to tickets to another game or simply a refund if they prefer" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 3/10).
LITTLE BIG LEAGUE: MLB.com's Richard Justice wrote the Little League Classic "feels like an appropriate follow-up to the Braves and Marlins playing last July 3 at Fort Bragg." Players "weren't unanimously thrilled to have their regular-season schedules interrupted" last season, but the game "turned out to be one of the most powerful and memorable experiences those players, coaches and managers have had in baseball." Justice: "Here's hoping that's exactly how the Bucs and Cards feel when they're finished playing on Aug. 20. They surely will be touched by seeing all those kids playing their sport and dreaming the same dreams they once had" (MLB.com, 3/9).
CHANGING THE CARDINAL WAY: In St. Louis, Derrick Goold noted playing in a "spotlight game at a neutral site is new for the Cardinals, who just a few years ago did not seek out opportunities to play abroad or be a part of relocated regular-season games." The Cardinals even "kept their exhibition games mostly in house, playing at affiliates they own or share ownership of." However, that "could be changing," as the club "sought a chance to play in Cuba a year ago." As MLB expands its international efforts to "take teams to London, elsewhere in Europe, Mexico, and Asia the Cardinals have expressed to the commissioner their interest in going abroad for a series" (STLTODAY.com, 3/9).
