We are going to do things a little differently this week. I’m sharing my space with Lou this week for a little insight on the MLB/Little League Classic. I’m going to let Lou lead off and I’ll bat clean-up…

The 2024 MLB/Little League Classic is now in the books. It had one of the most widely anticipated matchups in its brief seven-year history when the Detroit Tigers hosted the most storied franchise in sports history, the New York Yankees, at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. Webb Weekly had two of its writers on hand, providing two different perspectives of this memorable event.

Steph Nordstrom, editor of Webb Weekly, worked the game as a member of the press, gaining highly sought-after media credentials for this notable matchup.

I attended and enjoyed the game under less exalted circumstances. Through the ticket lottery conducted by Major League Baseball, I could scrounge two tickets for myself and my friend, Jack Houston. It seemed appropriate that Jack would be with me at the game because he is the founder and head of the local chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research, and during his 35-year career as a professor of History and Religious Studies, he once taught a course on the History of Baseball.

While Steph could wander throughout the ballpark in areas designated for the press, Jack and I viewed the game from the temporary stands set up in left field, near “Cutters Cove.”

My location provided an interesting viewpoint to watch the game. From my perch, I was close enough to see the massive Aaron Judge as he warmed up in the outfield and then took up his post in centerfield.

Judge was probably the main attraction at the game. He currently leads the major league in homers. Even if they were not Yankee fans, all the fans attending the game hoped to see Judge hit one of his prodigious homers, hopefully out near Park Pizza.

All Judge could muster was a single, but what he couldn’t do at bat he somewhat made up for with a stellar defensive play. He hand-led a single and fired the ball to the infield, which was then lasered to the catcher, nailing the runner attempting to score.

The game was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel, which many baseball purists tend to love. It featured two fine pitchers, the Tigers’ Taik Skrubal and the Yanks’ Marcus Strohman. The game was decided in the 10th inning as the Tigers scored the winning run, prevailing 3-2, and there was late-inning excitement.

It may have been the most dramatic and exciting Classic played, even though the excitement did not come until late. I later learned that, according to ESPN, it had the best ratings of any of the previous Classics.

It was an interesting and memorable night for all those who were lucky enough to attend that game, including Steph and me.

And now, batting second in the lineup…

Which I know isn’t clean-up, but you get the point.

I was incredibly fortunate to be approved for media credentials for this game. It was my second year doing so, and I’ll tell ya, much like Little League — it doesn’t get old.

First up was my initial walkabout to get the lay of the land. First stop was the media room, followed by a trip around the stadium.

I’ve been to Bowman Field dozens of times, but it takes on a whole new vibe when she is all decked out for the Classic.

One of the coolest things is that you never know who you’ll find milling around — but I’ll get back to that.

After getting some pictures of the empty stadium, I headed back to the press room for pre-game interviews.

Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe and outfielder Giancarlo Stanton were first on the mic. They mostly spoke about their own Little League experiences and how much fun they had with the kids earlier in the day at Lamade.

Stanton added that when he was a kid, “I couldn’t imagine being able to hang out with Big Leaguers like this. It’s a great experience.”

Yankees’ Manager Aaron Boone also gave an interview. “What Major League Baseball has done here over the years, marrying the two events in some way this weekend, it is really good for everyone involved.”

A pretty nasty storm came through during the pre-game interviews, and I think we were all a little nervous about that. Luckily, the skies cleared, and the tarp came off in plenty of time before the game.

After a quick stop at Will Call — like Lou, I also managed to snag two tickets in the lottery that went to my fiancé and his son — I headed back to the field.

Now remember when I told you about how you never know who you’ll find milling around at this event? Well, there I was, standing near the Yankees’ dugout. I turned to my left, and who was walking out but Joe Torre.

Torre is a professional baseball executive, former player, manager, and television color commentator. He has served as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball’s chief baseball officer from 2011 to 2020. Torre ranks fifth all-time in MLB history with 2,326 wins as a manager. With 2,342 hits during his playing career, Torre is the only major leaguer to achieve 2,000 hits as a player and 2,000 wins as a manager. From 1996 to 2007, he managed the New York Yankees and guided the team to six American League pennants and four World Series championships.

In layman’s terms, he’s baseball royalty. And he was just standing next to me like it was any other Sunday. Admittedly, as a baseball fan, I was pretty starstruck.

I’m still not sure how I’ve gotten so lucky.

Prior to the game, I headed up to the stands to find my seat (another perk of the media credentials is that I get my own seat in the press rows!)

From there, I was able to snap a few good pictures and enjoy the game.

Due to early morning obligations, I did have to slip out prior to the end of the game, which is a shame, but I can’t say enough good things about the event.

From the first pitch tradition of having one player for each Little Leagueteam throw from the outfield to the pitcher’s mound to seeing all the kids getting to interact with their MLB heroes — it’s just an incredible event. And I’m grateful that I get to enjoy my own little piece of it.

By Steph Nordstrom and Lou Hunsinger Jr.