It's not officially part of his job description, but Phillies manager Rob Thomson plans to do a little advance scouting Tuesday when he gets to Wrigley Field for the beginning of a three-game series against the Cubs.
The Cubs, after all, just finished playing the Cardinals at London Stadium. The Phillies will be part of Major League Baseball's annual international outreach June 8-9, 2024 against the Mets.
"I'll talk to (manager) David Ross while we're there," Thomson said. "Ask him things like how the ball travels. And it looks like it travels pretty good. That's one thing. And how does that affect your pitches? It looks like that turf there is very spongy. So little things like that. How does the ballpark play and things like that."
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SIGN UP HERE The Yankees and Red Sox combined for 50 runs and 10 homers there in 2019, the last overseas venture before the pandemic. Since then, the outfield fences were pushed back seven feet in center field and five feet in the power alleys. Foul territory was also reduced.
Chicago and St. Louis combined for a total of 22 runs and three homers this year.
Thomson isn't alone in gathering intel. The Phillies had three front-office employees in London this week to observe the protocols and report back with any information that could be helpful. Baseball is such a routine-oriented sport that teams try their best to minimize the impact of any major disruptions. Such as, say, a quick round trip to Europe.
The Phils' contingent was joined by representatives of the Mets at the suggestion of MLB. They were there to confer with MLB officials and get a full picture of the scope of what the trip entails. That included the facility itself and amenities, player accommodations at the stadium, ticketing and seating needs, and event flow. Potential hotels were also checked out.
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Both teams will send representatives back in January for an additional site survey.
The five-hour time difference can cause havoc with a person's Circadian Rhythm, or internal body clock, but Thomson isn't overly concerned about that aspect of the junket. "There's something to that but we have sleep doctors and all that stuff to inform us about what we're supposed to do," he said.
Of course, travel can present a challenge to every team, every year, even when a passport isn't required.
The Phillies played 18 of their first 25 road games this season outside the Eastern Time Zone, including two West Coast trips. They made another swing to Arizona and Oakland in June and open a three-game series in Chicago on Tuesday.
Once they return to Citizens Bank Park to play the Nationals on Friday, though, they'll play exclusively in the East until September.
"I think there could be some benefit to that," Thomson said. "It's tough, going to the West Coast and then back. Getting those out of the way might help us coming down the stretch."