Wed Sep 17 08:20:00 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
Major League Baseball has canceled plans to hold games in London in 2025 due to scheduling conflicts at London Stadium with a Premier League soccer match and a lack of available broadcast slots on Fox due to World Cup coverage. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred reiterated the league’s continued interest in expanding to Europe, particularly through London, and highlighted ongoing efforts to grow the sport in Mexico and India. MLB has seen success in Asian markets, particularly Japan and Korea, by opening seasons in those countries and is working on building relationships with their professional leagues to bring more talent to the U.S. and increase revenue streams.
**News Article:**
**MLB Scraps 2025 London Games Due to Scheduling Conflicts**
NEW YORK – Major League Baseball (MLB) has announced the cancellation of its planned two-game series in London for the 2025 season. The New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays were slated to face off at West Ham’s London Stadium, but scheduling conflicts have forced MLB to scrap the plans.
The primary issue stems from West Ham’s Premier League finale against Leeds, scheduled just weeks before the proposed baseball games. The short turnaround time would not allow for the necessary conversion of the field from soccer to baseball.
“We hoped to have the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays meet in London on June 13 and 14, but West Ham is home for its Premier League finale against Leeds on May 24. That left too little time to convert the field to baseball,” said Commissioner Rob Manfred. “Additionally, MLB was unable to schedule games there for later in June because Fox lacked available broadcast slots due to men’s World Cup commitments.”
While the London series is off the table for 2025, Manfred emphasized MLB’s continued commitment to expanding into Europe, calling London “an important jumping off point.”
“We remain interested in Europe,” Manfred said. “We have a facility that has come a long way since the first Yankee-Red Sox game. It’s a much better ballpark now than it was due to their willingness to make investments in that.”
MLB has previously held successful games in London, with the Yankees sweeping the Red Sox in 2019. Other international efforts include plans to develop grassroots programs in India and to continue building relationships with professional leagues in Mexico, where MLB has also played regular-season games. The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres are likely to play at Mexico City next April 25 and 26.
MLB has seen substantial growth in Asian markets, particularly in Japan and Korea. “Our approach to international has always been country by country, largely because we find the places we’re interested in to be in different stages of development,” said Manfred.
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