Chicago Cubs are set to play the St. Louis Cardinals in London next year after 2020 series was canceled by the pandemic

The Chicago Cubs finally are heading to London.

They were initially scheduled to play the St. Louis Cardinals in London during the 2020 season before the pandemic forced the cancellation of the series. Major League Baseball announced Thursday that the Cubs and Cardinals will play in the London Series on June 24-25, 2023, at London Stadium.

“The MLB London Series between the Cubs and Cardinals has been in the works for years now and we’re thrilled to finally be able to bring one of baseball’s biggest rivalries to fans abroad in 2023,” Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement. “We hope that this series not only excites and entertains but brings more international sports fans to the game we all love.”

This marks the second time regular-season MLB games will be played in the British capital. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees played in the inaugural series in 2019.

“It’s exciting from a ballplayer standpoint whenever you get to go to new places and perform and put on this product that we have and put on a good show it’s really nice,” manager David Ross said. “So I’m really excited and I think the guys will be too.”

The Cubs are playing internationally for the second time. They opened the 2000 season in Tokyo for two games versus the New York Mets. They also traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico — a U.S. territory — to play a three-game series against the Montreal Expos in 2003.

Right-hander Marcus Stroman is thrilled the Cubs are heading to London, a city on his bucket list that he planned to visit after his career ends. Stroman wants to “bop” to a couple of Soho houses while enjoying London’s atmosphere and vibe.

“Obviously I want to travel a ton, but I feel like playing baseball, (London) is not a city that you necessarily want to go to in November or the wintertime,” Stroman said. “So I’m glad get to go there in the summer because I’ve had a lot of friends who go to London all the time and they have nothing but great things to say.

“Anytime you can get more eyes visible and you can grow the game outside of America, I think that’s great.”

The Cubs and Cardinals played a split doubleheader Thursday at Busch Stadium. In the opener, which was a makeup of Wednesday’s rainout, the Cardinals rallied from a 3-0 deficit for a 4-3 victory.

After Game 1, the Cubs optioned infielder David Bote to Triple-A Iowa and selected left-hander Sean Newcomb from Iowa.

()

Source: Berkshire mont