MLB, the MLBPA and Little League Int’l have completed an agreement for the Phillies and Mets to play in the second MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa., next season. The event, scheduled for Aug. 19 at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, will again be held in concert with the Little League World Series and shown on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball,” with the crowd for the MLB game largely comprised of youth players and their families and coaches. The initial MLB Little League Classic last month involving the Pirates and Cardinals was a critical success and continued ongoing efforts by the league to stage regular season games in unique domestic settings and promote increased youth participation in baseball. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said afterward he intended for the event to become an annual part of the league schedule. The Single-A New York-Penn League Williamsport Crosscutters, which play at BB&T Ballpark, are a Phillies affiliate and recently extended its agreement with the club through the ’20 season (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
CARDS HEAD TO MONTREAL: The Cardinals will return to Montreal for a two-game exhibition series against the Blue Jays on March 26-27 at Olympic Stadium. Tickets for the event go on sale Monday on the Blue Jays' website (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/29). In Toronto, Rob Longley writes the two-game set "marks the fifth consecutive year the Jays will play pre-season games" in the city. The annual visit comes earlier than in recent years because of an earlier start to the '18 MLB season, which will "allow for more days off during the season" (TORONTO SUN, 9/29).
