On Sunday, for the eighth straight season, mid-August Major League Baseball was played in a ballpark over 150 miles away from the closest MLB stadium.
The New York Mets and Seattle Mariners' matchup on "Sunday Night Baseball" was notable for plenty of reasons on the field -- the Mets' 7-3 win helped the team maintain a slim lead in the National League wild-card race, while the Mariners' defeat shaved a game off their own lead in the American League race. But it was also notable because the contest marked MLB's annual Little League Classic, as New York and Seattle faced off from Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
The game represented a culmination of the league's Players' Weekend event, which allows athletes to tap into creative inspirations in customizing their gear. The Little League Classic connected the game's major league players of today with those hoping to be the players of the future, by bringing big league baseball to the site of the ongoing Little League World Series.
Star Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh honored that ethos with his chest protector for the game, which features a collage of photos from his Seattle teammates during their Little League days. Raleigh's nostalgic gear headlined the top sights and sounds from a fun scene in Williamsport:
