Six Players to Compete in Home Run Derby Prior to the East-West Classic;
Classic Participants to Volunteer as Clinicians at PLAY BALL Event;
Tickets Available Now to General Public on mlb.com/eastwestclassic
Major League Baseball announced the expanded rosters for the third edition of the East-West Classic, a tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Games held from 1933-1962, which will be held on Friday, June 19th at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. General admission tickets for the event’s second trip to Rickwood Field are available now for $12 at mlb.com/eastwestclassic. The rosters were first announced on May 7th by participants Dellin Betances, CC Sabathia and Chris Young on MLB Network.
The 2026 rosters will be led by Hall of Famer CC Sabathia (West captain) and All-Star outfielder Chris Young (East captain) of MLB Network, along with managers Jerry Hairston Sr. and Jesse Barfield. The distinguished group of players participating spans 276 Major League seasons, combining for eight World Series titles, a Cy Young Award, 49 All-Star appearances, 24 Silver Slugger Awards and 10 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. Prior to the five-inning contest, the East’s Pedro Alvarez, Jerry Hairston and Aaron Hicks will take on the West’s Miguel Montero, Nick Swisher and reigning champion Prince Fielder in a home run derby at 12:00 p.m. (CT). MLB Network will debut a behind-the-scenes “East-West Classic: All Access” program featuring the sights and sounds from the event on Saturday, June 27th at 1 P.M. ET. A tentative list of players participating in the East-West Classic is available here.
Prior to the event, all Classic participants will volunteer as clinicians at a PLAY BALL event hosted at Rickwood Field from 9:00-10:30 a.m. (CT). Over 150 kids from the AEB Legacy Nike RBI program and Ron ‘Papa Jack’ Jackson Nike RBI program will participate in the free event and will be extended tickets to the Classic.