The Orioles’ Little League Classic matchup with the Boston Red Sox was delayed, but not denied.
The American League East foes will face each other in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 21, 2022, in the fifth edition of the game held in conjunction with the Little League World Series. It will count as a home game for the Orioles and be televised nationally as ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.
The Orioles and Red Sox were scheduled to appear in the fourth annual edition of the game during the 2020 season before the coronavirus pandemic caused the meeting to be canceled. The Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Indians played at Williamsport’s Historic Bowman Field on Sunday night, donning LLWS-themed uniforms.
“We are thrilled to have been selected to participate in the Little League Classic next year,” Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said in a statement. “Our players and staff were very much looking forward to spending time with the next generation of players and fans at the 2020 event prior to its cancellation, so to have the opportunity to compete against the Red Sox next season at Historic Bowman Field while supporting the Commissioner’s efforts to grow the game is a tremendous honor for our Club.”
Players from both teams will attend Little League World Series games throughout the day, with the youth players and their families welcomed to the major league game, which has a scheduled 7 p.m. first pitch. Typically, teams from across the globe compete in the yearly youth tournament, but only United States teams are participating in the 2021 event because of the ongoing pandemic.
Previous Little League Classic matchups are the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals in that inaugural 2017 game, the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets in 2018, and the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs in 2019.