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Phillies star Bryce Harper wants MLB to expand the London Series into a two-week, four-team baseball tour of the entire UK.
The 2024 MLB London Series gets underway on Saturday as the Philadelphia Philliers take on old rivals New York Mets at West Ham’s London Stadium - which has been given a huge baseball makeover.
This is the third edition of the American pastime’s invasion of the UK, with New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox coming over first in 2019 before the Chicago Cubs and St Louis Cardinals returned in 2023.
The long-term future of baseball in London is under some doubt, though, with no series in 2025. Although there is an agreement for baseball to return to London in 2026, there are not currently any plans in place beyond that.
But Harper, one of the most influential names in the sport, not only insists the London Series agreement should continue, but that it should be expanded into a round-robin tournament across two or three weeks.
Speaking ahead of the 2024 series, Harper said: “We’re excited as a team to be over here and play in front of different fans.
“Obviously they love their football over here and being able to go into a different country and play in front of a new fanbase is going to be a really fun time for us, and fun time for them.
“I wish that Major League Baseball would bring four teams over here, make it a round-robin and stay for a week and a half or two weeks, just so UK baseball fans can rally around it.
“It’s so in and out and so quick, it would be fun to rove across the country a bit, take the trains into different places and see all that. I think it would be a lot of fun.”
The London Series has been as much of a hit with players and teams visiting from the US than it has for UK baseball fans who don’t often get to watch the sport in person.
The Mets team enjoyed some sightseeing after they landed in the capital, while the Phillies players were treated to a private tour of the Tower of London before heading over to a bar full of fans.
Mets star Brandon Nimmo was asked about Harper's suggestion for a London Series expansion, and he's all for it.
“I hadn’t heard that, but I think it’s a great idea," he told talkSPORT.
"Once you get acclimated to the time change, you might as well spend a couple of weeks over here and play in some different cities and go ahead and make a round-robin out of it.
“That would be fantastic. I think the biggest part is that initial 24 hours and once you get past that then you’re sitting in a lot better space physically and mentally.
“So I'd love to see that, I think it would be good for the game and I think it would grow in a positive way. So I think it’s a great idea.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson is also a huge fan of the agreement between MLB and London and, in light of there being no series in 2025, says he hopes regular season games can be played in the UK every year going forward from 2026.
“I hope it lasts forever,” he said at a press conference at the London Stadium.
“I think this is a great experience for all, growing the sport all over the world. If we can have competitive baseball in every country in the world, the sport’s only going to be better.
“This [the London Stadium] is a great facility, it seems like the people of Great Britain have really taken to this and they come out.
“So I think it’s a great experience and I hope it lasts forever.”
On the Phillies’ experience of London so far, the coach added: “It’s been fantastic.
“We had a little reception for the team at the Tower [of London] and we found out there was a Philly bar, so I said, ‘Well let’s head over and take everybody with us!’
“We had a great time. It was amazing how many people from Philadelphia were there, and obviously the Philly fans here from Great Britain, there had to be 500 people there, it was just a lot of fun.
“We did a tour of the Tower and that was unbelievable. This is my first time here, and it was unbelievable, all the crown jewels and the armoury, it was fantastic.
“We went to Dickens Inn, a pub, for lunch and had some fish and chips - that was good!"
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza echoed the Phillies coach and urged MLB to keep the arrangement going.
“The players love it, we all do,” said the Venezuelan, who was part of the Yankees' coaching set-up for the first London Series in 2019.
“This is a great event. MLB are doing a really great job in trying to grow the game, and this is part of it.
“It’s a great show and the fact we get to play here in another country and in London, where the fans are into it. I remember being here in 2019 and it’s electric, it’s gonna be loud.
“You see a lot of events, the World Baseball Classic and now in the regular season, continuing to play games outside of the USA is really important and it’s one hell of a job Major League Baseball’s doing.”
New York Mets play Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB World Tour: London Series 2024, June 8-9 at London Stadium. Tickets are available now at https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/MLB
