Major League Baseball will no longer continue to plans for the London Series in 2026, the competition announced (Link via Ronald Blum from the Associated Press). MLB was planning to play a series of two games between the Yankees and Blue Jays in London Stadium on 13-14 June next year. Those games are mentioned as a home series for the Blue Jays, so they will probably take place in the Rogers Center.
The series will no longer take place due to a planning conflict. London Stadium is the home location of West Ham United FC, the Premier League club of the city. The Premier League runs through the last week of May. The last home game of West Ham is on 24 May. MLB did not feel that there had enough time left to turn the location into a baseball court. Fox, who would transport the game, could not receive delays because of the commitments to broadcast World Cup matches later in the month.
MLB has planned a few games outside the United States and Canada as part of its World Tour Initiative. It started the London series in 2019 with a two-game set between the Yankees and Red Sox. The matches of the following season were canceled because of the pandemic. MLB -planned series there in 2023 (Cubs versus Cardinals) and ’24 (Mets v. Phillies). The only international series of this year outside of Canada was the season opening of two games between the Dodgers and Cubs in the Tokyo Dome at the end of March. The collective employment contract allowed MLB to also plan games in San Juan, Paris and Mexico City. However, the competition decided to pursue none of those plans for financial reasons.
It is expected that there will still be one international series in 2026. The Padres and Diamondbacks have reported discussions about playing in Mexico City at the beginning of the year. Although MLB has not made an official announcement, the competition has planned a set of two games between those clubs on 25 and 26 April that will be supplied with an off-day on each side. That is currently mentioned as a home series for the D-backs, but apparently would be played in Mexico if the details were completed.
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