See the star-studded rosters for 3rd annual East-West Classic
The East-West Classic is back for the third straight year, headlined by team captains CC Sabathia (West) and Chris Young (East) among a bevy of fellow former Major League All-Stars.
The full rosters for this year’s East vs. West Game at historic Rickwood Field were revealed on MLB Network on Wednesday. Young’s squad features former All-Stars such as Justin Upton, Dexter Fowler and Dee Strange-Gordon; Sabathia will be backed by the likes of Prince Fielder, Matt Kemp and Mike Cameron. Several other big names pepper these rosters, too.
East roster
Manager - Jerry Hairston Sr.
- Chris Young (captain)
- Edwin Jackson
- Jeremy Jeffress
- Jeremy Guthrie
- Tony Sipp
- Larry Pierce
- Jerry Hairston
- Dee Strange-Gordon
- Micah Johnson
- Xavier Scruggs
- Josh Barfield
- Justin Upton
- Pedro Álvarez
- Ben Francisco
- Dexter Fowler
- Lewis Brinson
- Aaron Hicks
West roster
Manager - Jesse Barfield
- CC Sabathia (captain)
- Dellin Betances
- Jose Contreras
- Scott Kazmir
- JC Romero
- Jason Kendall
- Miguel Montero
- Prince Fielder
- Orlando Hudson
- Bill Hall
- Brandon Watson
- BJ Upton
- Jemile Weeks
- Denard Span
- Nick Swisher
- Matt Kemp
- Scott Hairston
- Mike Cameron
The annual tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Games will be held on June 19 in Birmingham, Ala., with the Home Run Derby starting at 12:00 p.m. CT and the East vs. West game at 1:00 p.m. CT.
Tickets -- priced at $12 for general admission -- are now available here.
“We truly appreciate the opportunity to go back to Birmingham on Juneteenth,” Young said. “The East-West Classic shows that baseball is all about fun, community, and bringing people together. There’s no better place to do exactly that than Rickwood Field, where we can honor the legends who helped build the foundation of our game.”
The East (2024) and West (2025) have split the first two games of this event’s history, with the first being played at Cooperstown’s Doubleday Field and last year’s in Birmingham. This year’s iteration will last five innings or two hours, whichever comes first, after the conclusion of the Home Run Derby. Adam Jones took home the Derby crown in 2025, while Fielder did so a year ago.
Rickwood Field opened in 1910 and is the oldest professional ballpark in the United States. It served as the home of the Birmingham Black Barons, the team with which Willie Mays began his professional career, from 1924-1960.
"It's a lot of emotions when we take the field,” said Edwin Jackson, a 17-year big-league pitcher who is on this year’s East team. “The greatest of the great Negro League players to play on that field. For us to go out there and put that uniform on & relive what they did, it's amazing."
The Negro Leagues East-West All-Star Game dates back to 1933. Several future Hall of Famers participated throughout the years, including Cool Papa Bell, Ray Brown, Andy Cooper, Leon Day, Martín Dihigo, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Minnie Miñoso, Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson and Willie Wells.