American professional sports teams playing regular season (or exhibition) games overseas is old hat now. But Paris has never really gotten in on the act.
The NBA has played regular season game there in recent years, but the NHL hasn’t been there since before World War II. And Major League Baseball and the NFL have never gone. But MLB is apparently set to change that, and it may enlist the Yankees to do so.
From The Post’s Jon Heyman: “MLB is considering a Paris series in 2025, and the Yankees are among teams showing interest with a great chance.”
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This is not old news, per se. The Associated Press reported the Bombers’ interest last year:
Look for pinstripes in Paris.
The New York Yankees have told Major League Baseball they want to be one of the teams for the sport’s first games in continental Europe at the Stade de France outside Paris during 2025, two people familiar with the planning told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because MLB has not made details public.
(…)
MLB has not yet reached any decisions on teams for the France games and has been more focused on the 2023 schedule, with its new balanced format.
But it is noteworthy the Yankees remain in the running. MLB would play the games a year after Paris hosts the Summer Olympics in 2024. Reuters previously reported the Dodgers were pushing to play in the series. So the magic of interleague play could deliver Yankees-Dodgers in the State de France. Which we suppose works given there is little chance the Bombers will get to a World Series to see the Dodgers anytime soon.
The Yankees played a two-game London series against the Red Sox in 2019 (the Mets and Phillies will play there in 2024). And they opened the 2004 season with two games against the Rays in Tokyo.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
