As the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves battled in Williamsport, Pa., as part of Major League Baseball’s annual Little League Classic event, commissioner Rob Manfred spent time on ESPN’s broadcast discussing a wide variety of topics, including the future of the event and labor negotiations between the league and the MLB Players Association.Here are three takeaways from Manfred’s appearance:Little League Classic will return in 2027The 10th edition of the Little League Classic will again take place in Williamsport, Manfred confirmed. Next year, it will be a contest between the Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 19, a Thursday.
The Little League Classic from Williamsport is coming back in 2027!
The @Cubs meet the @BlueJays on Aug. 19 with all the action on ESPN and TSN.
(MLB x @NewYorkLife) pic.twitter.com/StKnDWEbwt
— MLB (@MLB) August 24, 2026“Look, I love this event,” Manfred said. “We feel comfortable coming back every year because there’s something fresh every year. The kids, and the interaction between our players and the kids — just really fantastic.”The Cubs played in the third edition of the Little League Classic, whereas next year will be Toronto’s first time playing in Williamsport. The Cubs are on the road that week and will travel from Chicago to Williamsport for Thursday’s game before taking another flight to Toronto. The Blue Jays, coming off a trip of their own, will go from Boston to Williamsport and then back to Toronto.“The way the players embrace the entire day — you think about it, everybody knows our season (is) 162 games; they’re traveling all the time,” Manfred said. “This is another plane flight. The facilities — obviously, we do the very best we can, but it’s not the same as being in a major-league ballpark, and you do not hear one complaint from the players. All you hear is what a positive experience it is for them. Some of the magic of the game, to tell you the truth.”MLB in talks with PA; league ‘planning’ on a 2027 seasonIn May, the MLBPA made its first labor proposal, one that included increased revenue sharing among clubs, a soft salary floor and a doubling of the minimum salary, among other proposals. MLB responded with its first proposal: a salary cap of $245.3 million and a floor of $171.2 million, with a 50-50 split of revenues.“The biggest issue we need to solve next to continue to grow the game off the field is fixing the payroll disparity unseen in any other major U.S. sport,” league spokesperson Glen Caplin said in a statement then. “Ultimately, the game is about hope and competition, and too many fans in too many markets have too little hope their team has a fair chance to win. Fans overwhelmingly support a salary cap and floor like in the other leagues.”These represented the first major exchanges between the parties ahead of the expiration of the CBA at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1. If a new deal isn’t in place by then, owners are expected to lock out the players.“We’re meeting regularly, which is good,” Manfred said of labor talks. “Every week we’ve had days where we’ve met with the players. It’s early, but we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’re at it. Look, our goal is to make a deal. We want to make a deal; we want to play baseball next year. We’re planning on playing baseball next year.”A return to Rickwood Field could be in the cardsNext year, the first regular-season game of the campaign, dubbed Opening Night, is scheduled for March 24. Traditional Opening Day is set for a day later, March 25. The 2027 All-Star Game, which will take place at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, is set for Tuesday, July 13.Beyond the Little League Classic on Aug. 19, MLB will also bring back its Field of Dreams game, with the Kansas City Royals and the Boston Red Sox meeting in Dyersville, Iowa, on Thursday, Aug. 12.That will make up the “crown jewel” events of next year’s calendar. Come 2028, though, there could be more, including a return to Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala.“It’s going to be at least 2028 before we pick another one,” Manfred said when asked about other marquee events. “We do have some places that we’re looking at; one that I would like to do again, to tell you the truth, is Rickwood. I thought Rickwood was fantastic. It’s an important part of the history of the Negro Leagues and baseball, generally, and we’d like to be back there as well.”
