Baseball icon Arrieta shows London children how to make it in MLB

Former All-Star Jake Arrieta held a masterclass with a group of East London school children and explained what it takes to make it in MLB at BaseballSoftballUK's First Pitch Festival.  The Chicago Cubs became a World Series champion in 2016, but that did not stop him from showing the next generation of Brits how to hit a home run on Hopkins' Field in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Ad Nine hundred children from twenty-five different schools enjoyed a masterclass from MLB legends Arrieta and David Eckstein, as well as Chicago Cubs mascot Clarke the Cub.

Baseball / SoftballMLB makes surprise visit to East London primary schoolYESTERDAY AT 19:51 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. 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. «It is my first time in London, it is a big deal to be part of something like this where we're trying to grow the game,» said Arrieta, who played in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2016.  «It is something that I am passionate about, trying to get more kids involved in the sport as much as I