2017 MLB Little League Classic

2017 MLB Little League Classic

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E St. Louis Cardinals 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 11 0 Pittsburgh Pirates 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 X 6 9 1
Date	August 20, 2017 (2017-08-20)
Venue	BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field
City	Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Managers	Mike Matheny (St. Louis Cardinals) Clint Hurdle (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Umpires	HP Gerry Davis (crew chief) 1B Ramon De Jesus 2B Pat Hoberg 3B Tony Randazzo
MVP	Josh Bell (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Attendance	2,596
First pitch	7:00 PM (ET) (scheduled)
Television	ESPN[1] ESPN Deportes (Spanish) MLB Network
TV announcers	ESPN: Dan Shulman (play-by-play) Aaron Boone (analyst) Jessica Mendoza (analyst) Tim Kurkjian (reporter)
Radio	ESPN Radio
Radio announcers	Adam Amin (play-by-play) Chris Singleton (analyst)

The 2017 MLB Little League Classic was a Major League Baseball (MLB) game held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, during the 2017 Little League World Series on August 20, 2017.^[2]

The game was featured on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, and was also available on ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, and MLB Network. The game was part of MLB's effort to get more children interested in and involved with baseball at a younger age.^[3]

Background

After the Fort Bragg Game between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves at Fort Bragg in July 2016, rumors spread that MLB was planning another similar event in Williamsport, which is the venue for the annual Little League World Series and home of the Crosscutters minor league team. Many locals of the area and reporters across the nation thought it was almost impossible due to the size and capacity of BB&T Ballpark, as seating for fewer than 3,000 fans seems much less than ideal for an MLB game. As the rumors were dispelled by many, the news faded. However a St. Louis newspaper column in early March stated that MLB was finalizing plans for the game.^[4]

Bowman Field during the 2017 MLB Little League Classic

On March 9, 2017, MLB officially announced the game, selecting the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals as the participants,^[5][6] and released the following statement:^[7]

Residents from Lycoming County were eligible to win a very limited number of tickets to the game via a lottery system found on the MLB website.^[8] The game was originally scheduled to be a home game for the Pirates; ticket holders for that game were offered a food-and-beverage credit, tickets to another game, or a refund.^[9]

Prior to the game, funding from MLB and commonwealth grants given to the City of Williamsport provided more than four million dollars to improve BB&T Ballpark. These included adding new seats, padding around the infield fence, new irrigation and draining to the field itself, moving the bullpens out beyond the outfield fence, new dugouts closer to home plate, and improved dining areas.^[10]

Both teams were allowed by MLB to add a 26th player to their active rosters for the game; the Cardinals added outfielder Stephen Piscotty, who started in right field,^[11] and the Pirates added catcher Jacob Stallings, who did not appear in the game.^[12]

The Cardinals and Pirates also wore special uniforms, including features such as pullover jerseys with bright colors and contrasting sleeves, specially colored caps, and a unique logo that drew design cues from the official logos of both MLB and Little League Baseball. In addition, players were encouraged (though not required) to put nicknames on the jerseys' rear nameplates. These uniforms were worn again by both teams on August 25–27 for Players Weekend, an initiative of MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association that saw all 30 MLB teams wear similar uniforms.^[13]

Panorama of Bowman Field during the 2017 MLB Little League Classic

Game

References

Further reading

• "Little is Major: Williamsport In Real Life". MLB.com. August 20, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.