04/19/24
November 26, 2015
Big league baseball beneath Big Ben?:
MLB is investigating the idea of playing regular season games in London, England.
I'm puzzled as to how baseball games could be played at Olympic Stadium. I've seen some photos that look like the track is being replaced with seating so that lower-level fans will sit closer to the field (or pitch, if you prefer). When MLB was in Australia in 2014, games were played at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Unless the seating is retractable, I can't see playing there unless a high temporary fence was installed (presumably in left field), much like the L.A. Coliseum had when the Dodgers played there before their stadium was ready.
posted by jjzucal at 11:13 AM on November 26, 2015
Here's the conversion of the SCG into an MLB ready field (time lapse).
In London, as cricket grounds, neither The Oval nor Lords would have enough spectator capacity as the football stadia. When I lived in Canberra, they used the football stadium at Bruce for baseball, but it was an exercise in weird orientation and very short fences in some areas.
posted by owlhouse at 08:06 PM on November 26, 2015
In case you are wondering what MLB would sound like when broadcast by the British... (NSFTF*)
*Not Safe For Texas Fans