Arrieta and Eckstein inspire youngsters ahead of London Series

East London school children enjoyed a once in a lifetime opportunity at the Olympic Park at MLB's First Pitch Festival, a celebration of baseball in the leadup to the London Series between the Cubs and Cardinals this weekend. Nine hundred children from twenty-five different schools enjoyed a masterclass from MLB legends Jake Arrieta and David Eckstein as well as Chicago Cubs mascot Clarke the Cub on Hopkins Field.

Ad Baseball is a hidden secret in the UK, followed by enthusiastic night owls and weekend warriors, and played by a small but resolute community and that is something BaseballSoftballUK are looking to change. Tokyo 2020Tokyo 2020 — United States vs Dominican Republic — Baseball — Olympic Highlights04/08/2021 AT 07:15 Hosting six MLB regular season games in the UK, across a four-year period provides a unique opportunity to share the magic of baseball, to catapult the sport's popularity and exponentially increase the number of baseball and softball players throughout the country.

BaseballSoftballUK aims to increase participation by making the sports even more inclusive, improving the overall playing experience, and driving elite performance of the national squads by working with and through National Governing Bodies the British Softball Federation and the British Baseball Federation. The children experienced the five fundamental baseball skills of hitting, fielding, running, pitching and gameplay, BaseballSoftballUK's London Series Legacy manager Jon Rye encouraged kids across the country to give the sport a go.

«It is a good opportunity to get young people enjoying baseball and softball and having some fun in the sun with some talented stars around us,» said Rye. «MLB First Pitch is a great introduction