Sydney to Host MLB’s 2014 Grand Opening Series

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have announced that the 2014 season will open in Sydney, Australia, when the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers face off March 22–23 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

“The globalization of our game continues to be paramount to Major League Baseball, and Australia is an essential part of our long-term efforts to grow the sport. We look forward to writing an exciting new chapter in international baseball history at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground next March,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan Selig.

Major League Baseball’s history at the Sydney Cricket Ground dates to December 1888, when Spalding’s World Tourists played a series of exhibition games, including a December 15, 1888, contest that had 5,500 attendees. The Sydney Cricket Ground is expected to be fully renovated to a baseball configuration and Major League standards in order to host MLB’s 2014 Opening Series.