The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks took off for Australia last night, embarking on a 15-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean. Once they get over the jet lag, they’ll be playing the series at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground. Obviously, a lot of work goes into turning a cricket pitch into a baseball diamond. Just take a look at this time lapse of the project, taking place over 16 days:
Other than foul territory that makes the Coliseum in Oakland seem small, the dimensions will be fairly normal — walls are set at 328 feet down the lines and 400 feet to dead center. With sellouts expected, 45,000 Aussies will be packing the stands for the first Major League Baseball game there in 100 years. Sydney is the fourth international city to host a season-opening series, joining Monterrey, San Juan and Tokyo.
If you’re looking to get up early on Saturday, first pitch for Game 1 is at 4 a.m. Eastern time. Game 2 starts Saturday night at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
[MLB.com]
