With Londoners and Little Leaguers, Phils have made mark in marquee events

The Phillies are no strangers to playing in Major League Baseball’s marquee events.

They’ve been featured twice in the Little League Classic, and they’ve also traveled to London to play a pair of games against the rival Mets. And now, the Phils will head to Iowa to take on the Twins in the latest edition of MLB at Field of Dreams on Aug. 13, 2026.

The Phillies’ previous involvement in these specialty games has yielded plenty of memorable moments and interactions.

Before the Phillies navigate the cornfields next year, let’s take a closer look at each of their previous regular-season games at non-MLB ballparks.

2024 London Series: Phillies vs. Mets
June 8-9, London, England

Though the Phillies and Mets are only separated by a little more than 100 miles, the National League East rivals hopped a plane in June 2024 and traveled more than 3,000 miles to square off at London Stadium -- and they certainly made the most of the trip.

In the first of the two games at the home of West Ham United, Bryce Harper wasted no time paying homage to the country’s passion for soccer in front of 53,882 fans. Following a game-tying homer in the fourth inning, Harper pulled off his best soccer celebration by sliding on his knees and raising his arms into the air just in front of the Phillies’ dugout.

The homer ignited a six-run rally en route to a 7-2 victory.

One day later, the two teams played in front of an even larger crowd -- 55,074 fans. Unfortunately for the Phillies, the second game didn’t go quite as well as the first.

Philadelphia took a one-run lead into the ninth only to have the Mets plate three runs to take a 6-4 lead.

The Phils, however, responded in the bottom half. They cut it to 6-5 and had the bases loaded with only one out, but Nick Castellanos grounded into an unprecedented game-ending double play when he shattered his bat and sent a dribbler just in front of the plate.

Mets catcher Luis Torrens pounced on the ball, turned, stepped on home plate and fired a throw to first baseman Pete Alonso. It was the first time since at least 1912 that a game ended on a 2-3 ground-ball double play.

Despite the sour ending, the Phillies spoke highly of the experience.

“I’d do it every year if we could,” manager Rob Thomson said.

2023 Little League Classic: Phillies vs. Nationals
Aug. 20, Williamsport, Pa.

The highlight of this one actually came well before the first pitch at Historic Bowman Field. As is customary for the big league teams traveling to Williamsport, many of the Phillies’ players ventured over to the Little League complex earlier in the day to take in some of the Little League World Series action.

This experience, however, was a bit more special than usual. That’s because one of the teams playing when the Phillies arrived was the local Little League team from Media, Pa. -- a town located just a little more than 15 miles from downtown Philadelphia.

The strong contingent of Phillies players -- one that included superstars Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner -- eventually made its way to the reserved section behind Media's dugout, then immediately began voicing their support for the hometown Little Leaguers.

Though Media's run at the Little League World Series came to an end that day with a 7-2 loss to Rhode Island, Harper stopped by the locker room afterward to deliver a pep talk.

“He said, ‘I know it’s tough right now, but I’ve been in this situation before. You guys will get better, and one day, you guys will be at Citizens Bank Park,'" said then-12-year-old Nathan Hellberg, who had come through with a clutch RBI hit in front of his favorite players.

Perhaps the most memorable takeaway from the Phillies’ 4-3 loss later that night was the remarkable custom bats, including Harper’s Phillie Phanatic tribute and Stott’s No. 2 pencil replica.

2018 Little League Classic: Phillies vs. Mets
Aug. 19, Williamsport, Pa.

The Phillies dropped an 8-2 decision to the Mets in their first appearance at the Little League Classic. But once again, this was all about the interactions throughout the day.

The biggest one came when Rhys Hoskins immediately recognized and introduced himself to Little League legend Alfred Delia – better known as “Big Al.” The youngster had gone viral weeks earlier for his introduction video in which he proclaimed: “Hi, my name is Alfred Delia. At home they call me 'Big Al,' and I hit dingers."

Hoskins posted a memorable video of his own from the interaction.

"Look who I ran into," Hoskins started.

"I'm Big Al," Delia said, smiling.

"Big Al,” Hoskins said. “And one thing that we really both love to do?”

"Is hit dingers," Delia responded.

"Is hit dingers," Hoskins repeated as the two bumped fists.