Inside The Mariners

ESPN MLB Insider Discusses Seattle Mariners Trip to Little League Classic

Buster Olney was a guest on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose' podcast and he spoke about the event, which will be aired on ESPN.
The New York Mets warm up before the MLB little league classic against the Philadelphia Phillies at Historic Bowman Field in 2018.
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

In this story:


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.

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:

Related Stories on Seattle Mariners

NEW PODCAST IS HERE: Brady is back on a Friday, talking about the sweep of the Chicago White Sox, the chase for the American League West crown and much more, including the idea of giving Randy Arozarena a contract extension. Furthermore, we're joined by Everett AquaSox manager Zach Vincej, who talked about a great season down on the farm. CLICK HERE:

GAME 1 FUN?: The Mariners have to actually make the playoffs, but if they do, which pitcher should start game one of a series? CLICK HERE:

LUIS TORRENS SIGHTING: The former Mariners catcher took the mound for the Mets on Monday, making some history, but M's fans have already seen that. CLICK HERE:

Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.