Major League Baseball Hits London For July 4th Party

Major League Baseball will next week transform London’s Hyde Park into a baseball field to host a huge 4th of July party with the representatives of the legendary Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers going head to head.

The MLB Battlegrounds takeover of the Barclaycard presents British Summer Time in Hyde Park festival site will introduce a quick-fire, big-hitting format of the sport – the Home Run Derby – to Europe for the first time. The event will see US baseball legends, as well as England cricket stars Jos Buttler and Alex Hales, challenged to hit the most Home Runs against the clock.

The free event - running from 5pm-10pm - will mix sport, street food and music. Representatives of two of MLB’s most popular teams will take to the stage including All-Stars Carlos Peña, Cliff Floyd and Shawn Green. The first pitch of the evening will be thrown at 7.30 pm.

The 4th of July party will bring the culture of the sport to London with NTS Radio’s DJ Martelo warming up the crowd with the sounds of the two cities, while food lovers will also be able to sample limited edition specials including Fin+Flounder’s ‘Boston Crab Burger’ and Arancini Brothers ‘Los Arancini Balls’ available just for July 4th.

“Major League Baseball is hitting the road and coming to Hyde Park for one night only. The fast and fun style of the ‘Home Run Derby’ will bring a flavour of our game to London, as well as the world famous Boston Red Sox and LA Dodgers”, said Charlie Hill, Managing Director of MLB Europe. “With a fantastic mixture of baseball, music, food and tech, Battlegrounds will have something for fans old and new,”

Partygoers can take part in a world-exclusive VR baseball experience using tech from world-leaders HTC VIVE™ and Dell Precision, where they will pick a side and step into the boots of a slugger in Dodger Stadium or Fenway Park.

Everyone can attend the free event – for more information, please visit www.mlb.com/battlegrounds, @MLBUK on Facebook or head to @mlb_uk on Twitter and Instagram.