The New York Mets warm up before the MLB little league classic against the Philadelphia Phillies at Historic Bowman Field in 2018. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

ESPN MLB Insider Discusses Seattle Mariners Trip to Little League Classic

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Brady Farkas | Last updated Aug 9, 2025 6:45 PM ET

The Seattle Mariners still have to finish up their series with the Tampa Bay Rays and travel to Baltimore before they can worry about playing the New York Mets next weekend.

However, it's still fun to look ahead to what will be a special series against New York. The Mariners and Mets will play the first two games at Citi Field before playing the third game (Sunday) at historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Penn. The Mariners will play the Mets in the Little League Classic, the first time for the M's in the event.

The game will take place with the Little League World Series going on in Williamsport and all Little League teams at the event will be present for Sunday's game. It's one of the purest days on the baseball calendar and will be aired on ESPN's 'Sunday Night Baseball.' It could have extra meaning for the M's, given that there's a team from Washington making the trip to Williamsport as well.

Bonney Lake LL will be in Williamsport to welcome their pals from Seattle as the Mariners and Mets will meet in this years Little League Classic. How many times has a Little League team and a Major League team from the same state won titles the same year??
— Karl Ravech (@karlravechespn) August 9, 2025

ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney will be part of the broadcast team and he told Mariners on SI what the M's have in store for them:

Look, it's awesome. And I've covered it, I want to say, seven or eight years in a row now. And what I think is really cool about it is: for players, you know, I'm sure that when it pops up on the schedule, initially they're like, 'oh, great, in the middle of the dog days of August, we've got to get on a plane and fly for a one off game,' and it feels a little bit inconvenient. And when they get there, they are completely injected with the excitement and the emotion of the Little Leaguers. Happens every year. Because they get off the plane and Little Leaguers are coming up to them and they're excited to see them. And they start going down that hill on cardboard. They're having fun. They're reminded of why they fell in love with baseball in the first place. And players through the years have told me many times, like, 'man, I'm having so much fun here.' So the Mariners, when they get to Williamsport, will be so glad that they have that opportunity.

You can listen to the full interview with Olney in the podcast player below:

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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