LONDON — Chicago Cubs manager David Rose said his players are at their best “when they’re having fun.”
There was plenty of fun on Friday as the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals held their workouts at London Stadium ahead of a two-game weekend series.
To make up for the time change in the batting session, players attempted to attack the outfield seats at the home of the Premier League club with the team name “West Ham”.
MLB returned to the British capital to try to grow the sport internationally.
After the Yankees and Red Sox hit 10 homers in the first drive in London four years ago, the 16-foot wall in center field — above which the British and American flags fly — was pushed back.
But the laid-back vibe will come to a screeching halt on Saturday when McLaren’s F11 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastre go to bat and the Cardinals and Cubs play again in an attempt to catch the National League Central-leading Cincinnati Reds.
The question is whether British fans will ever see the home run festival again. New York beat Boston 17-13 in 2019 in a 19-inning game that lasted more than nine hours.
“Nobody knows what to expect,” Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt admitted. “No one expected the balls to fly like that in 2019 and we don’t know if it will happen again. If it does, the game might be longer. But that was a long time ago and a lot has changed. Whether it’s the new pitch or the balls.”
While the players are focused on winning, they know they need to make a positive impact in England, where sports like football, rugby union and cricket are at their peak.
“It’s an amazing game when you start to understand everything,” admitted Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson.
Both teams arrived on Thursday and visited Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey to try and stay awake.
“We don’t get many opportunities like this,” Ross said. “We’re going to have fun and enjoy this incredible journey.”
The Cubs manager noted that he visited some of the tourist sites and saw “policemen, horses, streets, telephones, I don’t know, everything my kids want.”
MLB has announced that England’s James Anderson and Australia’s Nathan Lyon will throw honorary balls from Saturday to recognize the Ashes Test series between the two countries.
