This file photo shows the Olympic Stadium at Olympic Park, in London. Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, that he remains hopeful the sport can play regular-season games at the stadium in London for the first time in 2018. AP
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred remains hopeful the sportcan play regular-season games in London for the first time in 2018.
Baseball had hoped to play at Olympic Stadium next season, possibly with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, but said in July that it ran out of time.
Manfred met last month with London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
“I want to be really, really optimistic about it,” Manfred said Wednesday (Thursday Manila time) before the NL wild card game. “I think it’s an important thing for us to do. I think it’s feasible in terms of facility. That’s always question one, do you have someplace to play? I think we would be popular in London. I think we could sell the games. I think we could make money with the undertaking. So it’s something that we’ll continue to discuss with the players’ association.”
An agreement with the union is necessary for any international games. In recent years, some major league players increasingly have questioned the need to play outside their regular ballparks.
“I understand that there’s travel involved,” Manfred said, “but if you travel from the east coast to London, it’s not all that different than traveling from the east coast to the west coast, which we do all the time.”