Mets star Lindor says ‘too much free time’ during trip to London, but supports MLB’s international goals

“I feel like we’ve had too much time off,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said before Sunday’s game. “I understand, there’s a process where you have to sell the games and stuff like that. But for me…playing the next day (Friday) would have been a little bit more beneficial.”

Lindor still called the entire experience “fantastic” and important for spreading the game. A football-style knee slide by Phillies slugger Bryce Harper generated some media attention in Britain.

Mets infielder Jeff McNeil likes an idea from Harper – to bring in more teams and have a Cup tournament.

“It would be cool if you had four teams here – you could get five, six games,” he said after the win in New York. “It’s hard to come here for two games and then fly back to the States. If you could get more teams out here, and make it more of an event, it would be a lot of fun.

This was MLB’s third trip to London in the last five years. Another series is planned for 2026. A proposed series in Paris for next summer was shelved.

“If I could, I’d do it every year,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who was visiting a Philly-themed bar. “It was a great experience. A tough defeat today, but it was a great game for the fans to watch.”

The Phillies will have crossed 18 different time zones in 17 days when they land in Boston. The team left on May 23 for a road trip with stops in Denver and San Francisco before the trip to London.

“So now we go back to what we’re trying to do: if you want to sleep, sleep early in the flight, maybe for an hour or an hour and a half, and then get up and stay awake until we get there,” Thomson said.

MLB is here to expand its fan base, but another ball-and-bat game has also picked up some fans.

“I watched a lot of cricket when I was here. It was on TV all the time,” said McNeil. “My wife got into it, I got into it. I think I would be a great cricketer. If I can put it in play and hit it everywhere, I think that would be a lot of fun.”

The TV broadcast was about the cricket T20 World Cup, which was co-financed by the United States and the West Indies. India played Pakistan in Westbury, New York on Sunday. The United States sowed major unrest about Pakistan on Thursday.

“I wanted to try to see a game,” McNeil said. “I have no idea about the rules. I would like to know more, but it was quite exciting to see. I’d like to try it. Hitting looks fun. You can go far and wherever you want.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb