Britain eyes boost for baseball with return of MLB, new youth programs

By KEN MAGUIRE
AP Sports Writer

LONDON (AP) — Baseball in Britain got a boost from the national team’s performance at the World Baseball Classic. Fans of the sport in the U.K. 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. “America’s pastime” likely won’t be challenging anytime soon as a first-choice sport in Britain, but baseball officials are optimistic they’re making gains. New youth programs have popped up. Still, there’s work to do. Most of the players on the WBC team were American-born and there’s just one British player among the 90 teenagers competing this week at the MLB’s European Elite camp at the British national baseball complex outside London.