‘Nothing like it’: Mets, Mariners enjoyed experience at Little League Classic | News, Sports, Jobs

Mark Vientos of the Mets celebrates his home run with team mate Francisco Alvarez against the Mariners during the MLB Classic at Bowman Field in Williamsport.
DAVE KENNEDY/For the Express

It can sometimes be difficult to put things into perspective when one reaches the pinnacle of their craft.

When reaching the top of the baseball mountain, night-by-night excursions in front of tens of thousands of fans becomes the norm, with a different major city to be in nearly every week.

So one can only imagine the culture shock when, instead of crowds north of 40,000 in attendance in a major city, that atmosphere gets replaced by 3,000 mostly Little Leaguers in the middle of Pennsylvania.

So what can a Major League player, who is neck deep into a grueling season with a playoff chase looming large, take out of such an anomaly of an event?

When discussing matters with the players about the event, one very common word was used to describe how the Little Leaguers approached the game and how they looked to approach their game: Simplicity.

Cal Raleigh of the Mariners connects on a home run in the 7th inning against the Mets during the MLB Classic at Bowman Field in Williamsport.
DAVE KENNEDY/For the Express

In Sunday’s MLB Little League Classic, the game would fall solely into the favor of the New York Mets when Mark Vientos blasted a three run shot in the fifth inning. His approach at the plate against George Kirby, one of the hottest pitchers in baseball?

“I was looking middle-middle,” said Vientos. “(I tried) not to complicate things.”

For Fransisco Lindor, who would cap the night off going three for five at the plate with a run batted in, what took him aback most when interacting with the players the morning of the game was how simple the little leaguers approached at the plate.

“For them the game is simple,” added Lindor. “When we have success in the Major League’s, we (also) play it simple.”

That has been the overall vibe for the players when asked about the event, whether its as a first timer or long timer, is the looseness and simplicity that playing in Williamsport and feeding off of the Little Leaguer’s game provides.

Mark Vientos of the NY Mets hits a ball to right field during the bottom of the 7th inning against the Mariners during the MLB Classic at Bowman Field in Williamsport. Vientos was thrown out at first on the play.
DAVE KENNEDY/For the Express

In addition to simplifying the game, the ultimate consensus regarding both players and coaches was simply how cool the event was. Even with the coaches on opposite dugouts, practically the same thing was said by both of them when the night concluded.

“This was an outstanding event,” said Seattle manager Dan Wilson. “Even though it didn’t go the way we wanted it to, seeing the excitement and energy-filled night … It’s unique. You don’t see that often.”

“It’s special,” admitted New York manager Carlos Mendoza. “It takes you back to when you were a kid. … (The kids and players) were enjoying the game, a hell of a job by Major League Baseball.”

That positive energy, busy and long as the day was, seemed to have translated down to the players in a big way as well.

“It brings back playing with guys you grew up with,” discussed Vientos following an inspirational tirade on overcoming his fears to slide down the hill at the Little League Complex. “Very simple.”

Francisco Lindor of the Mets celebrates a double against the Mariners in the 6th inning during the MLB Classic at Bowman Field in Williamsport.
DAVE KENNEDY/For the Express

“It took me back where everything started,” added Lindor. “(It was) a long day, but it took me back to the beginning.”

For Clay Holmes, New York’s winning pitcher who is playing in the MLB Little League Classic for the third time in his career, the experience was seen from a third-person point of view.”

“It was fun watching the guys experience it all for the first time,” discussed Holmes, who came to Williamsport to compete in the MLB Classic in 2024 as a New York Yankee and in 2019 as a Pittsburgh Pirate. “It gives you a different perspective a little bit.”

Much can be said the opposite way regarding the MLB Little League Classic from an athletes point of view. Diverting the calendar for a day to go to Williamsport in the dog days of summer with a playoff run beckoning can be seen as a negative that the teams may well prefer to do without.

But that point of view does not seem to be shared to the players and coaches, who seemed to have been given a unique, different perspective to the game they get paid to play.