The Detroit Tigers are heading to the Little League World Series — literally.
On Sunday, the Tigers and New York Yankees will travel to one of baseball's most historic cities, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the MLB Little League Classic at the LLWS.
Talk about a collaboration between the stars of tomorrow and the stars of today.
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Here's what to know about the MLB Little League Classic on Sunday, where it's taking place and how to watch:
Who is playing in the 2024 MLB Little League Classic?
The Tigers and Yankees are playing in the 2024 MLB Little League Classic on Sunday, Aug. 18 at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
What is the MLB Little League Classic?
Like this year's "MLB at Rickwood Field Game, a tribute to the Negro Leagues" and the "MLB World Tour" games in Mexico City and London, the MLB Little League Classic is one of several special events on the MLB calendar.
Started in 2017, the MLB Little League Classic is a special one-game neutral site game where two MLB teams travel to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for a day-long trip to the Little League World Series. Both teams arrive in Williamsport Sunday morning and then head over to the Little League World Series complex to spend the day with the players and teams that are playing in the Little League World Series.
Some of the events that MLB players will take part in while at the complex include watching games, with some teams partaking in the famous hill slide tradition and playing video games (or ping pong) in The International Grove, (i.e., the players' village).
Here's a look at last year's MLB Little League Classic where Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and the Philadelphia Phillies took in the Media Little League game — a Philadelphia suburb who was representing the Mid-Atlantic Region — at Howard J. Lamade Stadium:
After spending a few hours at Volunteer Stadium and Lamade Stadium, the teams head over to Historic Bowman Field, where they will play a regular season game in front of just the teams playing at the LLWS and their families.
This year the MLB Little League Classic concludes Players' Weekend, where MLB players can use custom-designed bats and cleats that allow players to showcase their personality. For example, Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal — who will start Sunday in Williamsport — will be wearing custom-designed Scooby Doo cleats this weekend.
Here are the past scores and teams that have played in the MLB Little League Classic:
- 2023: Washington Nationals 4, Philadelphia Phillies 3
- 2022: Baltimore Orioles 5, Boston Red Sox 3
- 2021: Cleveland Indians 3, Los Angeles Angels 0
- 2020: Canceled due to COVID-19
- 2019: Chicago Cubs 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 1
- 2018: New York Mets 8, Philadelphia Phillies 2
- 2017: Pittsburgh Pirates 6, St. Louis Cardinals 3
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Who is the home team at the MLB Little League Classic?
The MLB Little League Classic will serve as a home game for the Tigers, per MLB.com's initial release from last year that the Yankees and Tigers would be heading to Williamsport this year for the game.
The Tigers and Yankees played the first two games of the weekend three-game series at Comerica Park before flying to Williamsport on Sunday morning to take in the Little League World Series and play in the MLB Little League Classic.
Where is the MLB Little League Classic? Location, stadium
- Location: Historic Bowman Field (Williamsport, Pennsylvania)
The MLB Little League Classic will once again take place at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Historic Bowman Field, also known as Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, serves as the home of the Williamsport Crosscutters of the MLB Draft League. Prior to being part of the MLB Draft League, the Crosscutters served as the longtime affiliate to the Philadelphia Phillies in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League.
Tigers utility man Matt Vierling played at Bowman Field for the Crosscutters early on in his minor league career, then in the Phillies organization. In 12 games for the Crosscutters in 2018, Vierling hit .420/.453/.580.
The stadium opened up in 1926 and is one of the baseball's oldest ballparks, per its website. It has hosted several MLB affiliate teams throughout its history, including the Tigers from 1946-1952. On top of the Tigers and Phillies, other MLB teams to have sent a minor-league team to Williamsport include the Boston Red Sox, the now-Cleveland Guardians, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners among a few others.
What channel is the MLB Little League Classic on? TV channel, streaming options
- TV channel: ESPN | ESPN2
- Streaming options: ESPN app | Fubo (free trial)
The traditional "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcast with Karl Ravech (play-by-play),Eduardo Pérez (analyst), five-time World Series ChampionDavid Cone(analyst) andBuster Olney(sideline reporter) will air on ESPN. The "KidsCast"broadcastwill air on ESPN2 with Owen Heffron, Thomas Gambaand Pepper Persley.
You can also stream both broadcasts on the ESPN app by logging in with your TV provider credentials or on Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to select users.
