Baseball fans in London will not get an opportunity to see the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays face each other in 2026.
Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported Tuesday that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed during his question-and-answer session at Front Office Sports’ “Tuned In” event that the discussed series will not happen because of schedule conflicts.
MLB circled June 13 and 14 as potential dates for the American League East teams to face each other at West Ham’s Olympic Stadium. However, West Ham’s Premier League finale against Leeds will take place on May 24, which didn’t leave enough time to convert the field to baseball.
What’s more, Fox did not have any broadcast slots for later in June because of the World Cup.
“We remain interested in Europe. We think London is an important jumping off point for us,” Manfred said. “We have a facility that has come a long way since the first Yankee-Red Sox game. It’s a much better ballpark now than it was due to their willingness to make investments in that. We continue to believe that there’s an opportunity there and that we can get at the developed economies in Europe through that London entree.”
MLB first played in London when the Yankees faced the Boston Red Sox for a two-game series in 2019.
It continued the rivalry theme with a scheduled series in 2020 between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, although it was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The National League Central foes ended up playing each other in London in 2023, while the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets played there in 2024.
Manfred’s quotes suggest MLB will still schedule series in London in the future, but it will have to wait until 2027 at the earliest.
Still, it is an unfortunate development for fans hoping to see the Yankees and Blue Jays play each other overseas next year. It figured to be an important series as well considering the two teams are atop the American League East this season.
Toronto is in first place at 88-62, while New York is five games back at 83-67.
The Yankees hold the top American League wild-card spot, although it is just a game ahead of the Boston Red Sox and 1.5 games ahead of the Houston Astros. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Yankees and Blue Jays ended up facing each other at some point during the upcoming postseason.
Even if they do, there will not be a rematch in London next year.
