Yankees vs. Red Sox in London to be played on artificial turf

Major League Baseball announced that the Yankees and Red Sox will play on artificial turf for the first time in their 100-year rivalry. MLB revealed the reason behind this is that there won’t be enough time to install real grass.

When the Yankees play the Red Sox in London on June 29-30, things will be very different.

Olympic Stadium, which is home to West Ham United FC, will undergo a radical transformation next month. MLB has access to the facility for 21 days and will begin to cover the soccer pitch during the first week of June.

Luckily, for both clubs, they are somewhat accustomed to playing on artificial turf as divisional foes, Toronto and Tampa are two of three teams in baseball that still play on fake grass (the Diamondbacks are the third).

However, you can also understand a certain level of concern regarding the playing surface.

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Artificial turf can cause injuries such as turf toe, severe burns, and career-threatening knee tears. Not that players don’t get hurt on actual grass, but artificial turf presents additional obstacles.

With the Yankees injury list growing longer by the day, the team should be cautious about who they put out on the field. However, pitcher C.C. Sabathia, who just today was placed on the 10-day IL, recently told the AP he isn’t worried.

“It’s the first Yankees-Red Sox game out of the country, so why not a lot of firsts?” Sabathia said. “I think it will be fine.”

The last time the Yankees played overseas was in 2004 when they faced the then Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the Tokyo Dome. The teams split the two-game series.

As for the Red Sox, the last time they left North America was in 2008 against the Oakland A’s — also in the Tokyo Dome.

This time around, Boston will act as the home team and naturally, will wear their home jerseys.

The Yankees will be designated as the away team, but even still, will don their iconic pinstripe uniforms. In addition, the clubs will wear limited edition caps.

Olympic Stadium will also host a London Series in 2020. No teams have been announced yet; however, rumors suggest that the Cardinals and Cubs will be the likely teams.