Players stress importance of unity and describe how war affects their preparations for the tournament
IN A COUNTRY full of football, rugby and cricket stars, young Alex Lintern went in a different direction on dress-up day at school.
“I was two people: a baseball player and Spider-Man,” the six-year-old Londoner said.
That was shortly after the World Baseball Classic, where Britain’s first-ever win at the tournament sparked some interest back home. Harry Ford, the 20-year-old American catcher with British parents, became a mini-celebrity.
Baseball enthusiasts in Britain — there’s more than you’d think, they say — hope to build on that momentum with the return of Major League Baseball to London this weekend when the St Louis Cardinals face the Chicago Cubs at London Stadium.
JAMES NALTON writes how at the heart of the big apple, the beautiful game exists as something more community-oriented, which could benefit hugely under mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani
LARRY LAGE writes about the growth of tackle football and how it provides female athletes opportunities in a game previously dominated by men


