# Was MLB's scheduling of a London Red Sox-Yankees series stupid? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 18, 2019, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682 "2019-06-18T14:35:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/21 "2019-06-19T05:34:22Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Sorry to be “that guy” but this is bothering me: > > marquis > noun > (in some European countries) a nobleman ranking above a count and below a duke. > > marquee > noun > a canopy projecting over the entrance to a theater, hotel, or other building. > adjective > superlative; headlining. > > I’m certain OP meant to use the latter. Unless they meant: marky noun leader of the Funky Bunch. (He is after all from Boston and is a big Red Sox fan.) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/22 "2019-06-19T09:26:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Obviously, because I know very little about cricket beyond that it’s somewhat similar to baseball. In particular, I don’t know how a cricket stadium is shaped, so I guessed based on what little I know. Apparently I guessed wrong. I’m not so sure you did. The Oval cricket ground is, as its name suggests, roughly oval in shape - although actually the playing surface is almost circular, like most cricket grounds, with a diameter of around 140m (450 feet or so). So it seems to me you could put home plate quite near the edge of the cricket outfield, and still have room for second base to be constructed short of the cricket square (which is the bit of the cricket pitch you want to avoid too many people running on). You’d probably also want to avoid having a dirt infield and just leave it as grass. But maybe even that would cause too much damage to the cricket pitch, which is why they are not being used. I suspect the Olympic Stadium, being built much more recently, has turf that is more easily removable. > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I don’t know how big cricket is in England, but it seems to me like an apt comparison might be if two popular rugby teams from whatever country has the best rugby teams came to play in the US on Super Bowl Sunday. Would that be a fair comparison, or is cricket not quite that popular in the UK? Cricket in England has nowhere near the cultural reach of the Superbowl in the US (it may be comparable in India and Pakistan). I don’t know what the viewing figures for the Cricket World Cup Final will be in England, but it will be far lower (as a percentage of population) than the Superbowl in the US. Obviously that has something to do with most English households not having access to the channel on which it will be broadcast, but still. Again though, I’m not sure how many NFL fans would be likely to attend a rugby match whether it was on Superbowl Sunday or not - I would have thought the target audience for such a hypothetical match would be mostly British and Antipodean expats. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/23 "2019-06-19T13:09:12Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > London is a big city. I’ve no doubt there’ll be enough curious people to get a decent size crowd despite the cricket being on. The bigger problem might be the rain. It’s been the wettest cricket world cup ever. The games sold out in under an hour. This strikes me as being a smart move. Take two famous teams, play in a city where you’ll sell sixty thousand seats a game and make a ton of money and get exposure in a new market. The North American market seems pretty exhausted right now. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/24 "2019-06-19T13:39:25Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I don’t know how big cricket is in England, but it seems to me like an apt comparison might be if two popular rugby teams from whatever country has the best rugby teams came to play in the US on Super Bowl Sunday. Would that be a fair comparison, or is cricket not quite that popular in the UK? From what I’ve been told by some British people is that in Britain it’s very common for sports fans to be single-sport followers. So if you’re a soccer fan you basically ignore cricket and rugby, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/25 "2019-06-19T13:49:27Z")
The American Superbowl is as much a cultural event as it is a football one. A lot of people who never watch any other football game will still watch the Superbowl, because it’s a good excuse for a party, and the commercials are often amusing. Even a British ex-pat living in America is likely to get invited to a Superbowl party, if they have any American friends. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/26 "2019-06-19T13:50:22Z")
Isn’t the main target audience for this the large expat American community in Britain? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/27 "2019-06-19T14:39:13Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Isn’t the main target audience for this the large expat American community in Britain? [https://www.thereandbackagain.com/tour/2019-baseball-in-london-yankees-and-red-sox-at-london-stadium](https://www.thereandbackagain.com/tour/2019-baseball-in-london-yankees-and-red-sox-at-london-stadium) - Sold out [2024 Phillies and Mets London Package - Major League Vacations](https://www.mlv.com/2019-red-sox-vs-yankees-london-game-travel-package/) [https://www.thompsontours.com/london-red-sox-yankees-tour-1.html](https://www.thompsontours.com/london-red-sox-yankees-tour-1.html) [http://www.sportstravelandtours.com/WebPackage.asp?PackID=19GBAL](http://www.sportstravelandtours.com/WebPackage.asp?PackID=19GBAL) I don’t know how many seats are being sold via these packages, but MLB is certainly taking advantage of the Sports Vacation idea. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/28 "2019-06-19T14:57:12Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Isn’t the main target audience for this the large expat American community in Britain? Well, no. There’s no way you could get 120,000 tickets over two days sold to just - or even mostly - expats. Selling some sports vacations is going to amp up the demand, price and hype but it’s not going to fill an Olympic stadium. Americans don’t go to England to watch baseball. Americans IN AMERICA like watching baseball so why move the games to sell it to Americans in England? This is legitimately an effort to get more attention and fans in Europe. Why not? If you limit it to a couple of games you’ll sell out and make a fortune and gain a few fans. And it will be a fortune. The tickets are very expensive. You can get tickets on the secondary market for $50 or so, but it’s in a section that is, I would guess, 450-500 feet from home plate. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/29 "2019-06-19T19:48:43Z")
Of course, the question is, how much of that is the novelty and “Sure, I’ll go see a pro baseball game to see what all the fuss is, and cross that off my bucket list”, and how much is “Man, I love baseball, and it’s about time I can finally see pro games without spending a fortune on travel!”? If the latter, then the league has a real market they can continue making money on for a long time, but if the former, you’d expect to see a few successful games, but for interest to then drop off. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/30 "2019-06-19T19:55:30Z")
Maybe this is just me, but if I actually want to _watch_ the game, I watch it on TV, either at home or at a bar. If I go _to_ the game, I’m primarily there just to hang out with my friends. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/31 "2019-06-21T21:13:57Z")
I just realized that the day game I’m going to on June 26th at Fenway is the last game before the Sox head to London. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/32 "2019-06-22T11:52:56Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I just realized that the day game I’m going to on June 26th at Fenway is the last game before the Sox head to London. Yeah, when I saw the Yankees schedule when it first came out, I wasn’t aware of the London series and noticed the 2-day break. I didn’t recall a 2-day break in any season, except at the All-Star break, so I assumed it was something new for all teams. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/33 "2019-06-30T01:47:10Z")
Lots of heat from baseball purists after a 17-13 softball match that was the third longest 9 inning game in history. The 385 ft centerfield line and artificial turf is being blamed though “only” six home runs were hit. I’m holding final judgement until the second game. My question is why have it in a Olympic stadium and not a cricket field? I know it’s the Cricket World Cup…so have it a different time of the year, and set up home run fences if it’s too big. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/34 "2019-06-30T02:57:58Z")
The park did not make it a 17-13 game. It was just a fluke that the pitching was that shitty. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/35 "2019-06-30T03:12:01Z")
[https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/30-runs-and-16-pitchers-yankees-red-sox-slugfest-was-an-insane-london-introduction-for-mlb/ar-AADCmOn?li=BBnbfcL](https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/30-runs-and-16-pitchers-yankees-red-sox-slugfest-was-an-insane-london-introduction-for-mlb/ar-AADCmOn?li=BBnbfcL) the actual natives liked it ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/36 "2019-06-30T03:35:28Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The park did not make it a 17-13 game. It was just a fluke that the pitching was that shitty. Actually Vegas had the over/under at 11.5, or at least 3 full runs higher than you would expect with these starting pitchers. That told me which way to bet, and the over was covered in the first inning. When the score was 12-6, the in-game total was at 26.5. Another easy cover on the over. In the post-game show, the field was described as having “no air movement”. Pitchers that rely on high spin rotation were getting rocked because the ball wouldn’t break in the air. Watching the game, it definitely appeared that breaking balls just hung for batters to smash. Vegas hasn’t even put up a line yet for tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/37 "2019-06-30T03:54:20Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > [MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/30-runs-and-16-pitchers-yankees-red-sox-slugfest-was-an-insane-london-introduction-for-mlb/ar-AADCmOn?li=BBnbfcL) > > the actual natives liked it I’m sure they had fun but if the same thing happens tomorrow and it appears that it was the ballpark, it will give the British that aren’t familiar with the game an unrealistic expectation. Then, when they see a 3-2 game or 2-1 pitchers duel, they could quickly tune out because their baseline is the farce we saw today. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/38 "2019-06-30T04:00:37Z")
Calling it a farce it is a bit silly. Like all games, they played on the same field and in the same conditions. Center field was short, but as they pointed out in the broadcast, there are four MLB stadiums with less square footage. Foul territory on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/39 "2019-06-30T06:27:32Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The park did not make it a 17-13 game. It was just a fluke that the pitching was that shitty. Factors: (Though they really seemed to have little effect) 385 to center Insane foul ground No batters eye? And at one point that high fence seemed to be reflecting the sun…again little effect obviously A really bad sky to start the game I don’t know what that astroturf is like, but OFers were running at 80% speed when tracking down all those doubles. I mentioned :Make the EPL play a meaningful game at Coors, and make them drive a bus for three hours to get there. Im just carping, like i said, all those factors i mentioned seem to have little effect on the game. Cora should have left Wright out there for 100 pitches. At least it gave the Yanks something weird to look at rather than that \*\*\*\*ing scrub they threw out there. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2019, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682/40 "2019-06-30T06:34:41Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > As a Yankee fan, I certainly don’t mind. But yeah, I also wondered why they just didn’t just make it one home game for each. London is nearer to Boston. Also, Boston was founded by the English. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-mlbs-scheduling-of-a-london-red-sox-yankees-series-stupid/835682.md?page=3)