Behind scenes with NY Mets and Mariners at MLB Little League Classic
The Little League Classic was a day chock full of events for the Mets and Mariners on Aug. 17, 2025, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Inside Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, the festival of baseball is in full swing.
As the Little League World Series entered elimination Sunday, some of the best in the world dropped in for a brief stay.
About four miles down the road from the picturesque Little League World Series Complex, the New York Mets and Seattle Mariners were set to close their three-game series at 7:10 p.m. in one of baseball’s oldest ballparks – Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field – in the Little League Classic.
In one of the banner events on the Major League Baseball calendar, both teams’ players and coaches stopped in to visit with the competitors of the Little League World Series and their coaches before taking the field for the rubber game.
The Mets and Mariners split the opening two games of their series, with the Mariners grabbing the opener, 11-9, before the Mets countered with a 3-1 victory behind Nolan McLean’s sterling MLB debut on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.
As the Mets participated in the Little League Classic for the second time in their history, here are live updates throughout the event:
Little League Classic start time pushed due to rain
A deluge about one hour before first pitch between the Mets and Mariners brought pounding rain and pushed back the start of the Little League Classic.
A steady downpour forced additional time for the grounds crew at Journey Bank Ballpark to unfurl the tarp.
The event announced that the game is now expected to begin at 7:45 p.m., about 35 minutes after it’s originally scheduled start time.
Francisco Lindor, Edwin Diaz take in the Little League World Series
This may be the best thing you’ll see today!
We mic’d up Brandon Nimmo as he slid down the hill with youngsters ahead of the Little League Classic 🤣 pic.twitter.com/vat43AYRTD
— MLB (@MLB) August 17, 2025
It does not take long for the hundreds of fans, spectators and players to recognize that the Mets had made their arrival at the complex.
The autographs continue in a gate section wedged between Little League Volunteer Stadium and Howard J. Lamade Stadium. On the famous hill flanking one of the most memorable ballparks of summer, Sean Manaea and Jeff McNeil take a memorable slide down the hill in front of the Grove, the dormitory complex for the little leaguers.
Inside Volunteer Stadium, where Canada and Australia are competing in the second game of the day, Francisco Lindor stops high above the stadium to join the ESPN broadcast of the event. Meanwhile, in the seats, Edwin Diaz, decked in a teal and neon Puerto Rico shirt, sits among the little leaguers from his native country. Luisangel Acuña sits among the Venezuelan team.
By now, the Little League swag has been spread around. Mark Vientos is spotted in a navy blue and red Mid-Atlantic jersey, while Brett Baty, Brooks Raley and Ryne Stanek are among the Mets players in a monochromatic hat.
Juan Soto, Mets touch down at Williamsport Regional Airport
All was quiet inside the Williamsport Regional Airport at around 10:15 p.m. on Sunday morning. A security agent snuck in breakfast in a small coffee shop while a woman and a young girl sat pressed to the window overlooking the runway.
Other than those three people, the small community airport sat largely vacant.
Outside on the tarmac, there was a degree of controlled pandemonium as a Delta jet came to a stop and the Latin America, donning orange and Mountain, decked in gold and red, waited for the stars of the show to descend the stairs. Outside on a fence bordering the runway, fans were pressed to the fence with signs.
Members of the Mets went down the line, signing autographs for the two teams. Sean Manaea received an orange snapback hat from one of the players, while Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor lingered longer before boarding the bus to take in the day’s action.