MLB has been on a mission to grow the game and connect with new audiences, and they’re doing it in some pretty exciting ways. From hosting games in international cities to partnering with major events outside the realm of baseball, they’re pushing the boundaries of the sport. This year alone, we saw the thrilling Seoul Series and the action-packed London Series, bringing Major League Baseball to new corners of the globe.

But these international games are just the tip of the iceberg- there is so much more. And now with the Speedway Series, MLB has shown just how high its ambitions run. However, is the Bristol Motor Speedway the most unique stadium yet? Perhaps it is. But that doesn’t mean that the league hasn’t experimented before. In fact, it has gone from a military bases to a historical site. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? So what are some of the most impactful locations where MLB has conducted its games? It’s time to find out.

How MLB’s expansion plan led it to unprecedented grounds

From years MLB. has made all the moves to engage their older audience to attract more. And what is better than creating new games? From different fields to correcting historical wrongs, MLB has done it all. Although there are a lot of games (who remembers the iconic Field of Dreams game?) we have curated the list of the three most unexpected but historical games.

The Rickwood Field game to celebrate the Negro Leagues

The only two things that were gaining immense popularity after the Civil War were segregation and baseball. As per a gentleman’s agreement signed in 1876, No black people were allowed to play in the national league. So they made their own Negro National League which gained immense success. Until Jackie Robinson when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. Slowly many talents started shifting to the major leagues. This ultimately led to the end of the Negro National League by the 1960s.

But even though now teams had, broken the color barriers. MLB didn’t recognize any of the achievements or records made by the players in that league. This changed in 2020! Finally, MLB announced that it was “elevating” seven Negro Leagues that operated from 1920 to 1948 to “major league” status. It’s not like the MLB stopped here they went a step ahead in June 2024 we saw a historic game between the San Francisco Giants and the St Louis Cardinals, at Rickwood Field – the oldest stadium in baseball today. 

One cannot explain the history that lay on those grounds. For the legendary Willie Mays to countless other players, this was a home. So with MLB finally embracing the entire history of baseball, finally the African-American community could celebrate its rich baseball history. That was perhaps the most monumental game in the last 3 years but more importantly, it opened up the doors for MLB to correct some historical wrongs.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Game

In 2007, MLB was going through a tough time. The steroid scandal derailed the goodwill of the Super 90s and 2000s. The sport which was once America’s favorite pastime had slowly turned regional. So with no clarity of whether the fans would arrive or not, the Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox made a gamble. They chose the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as a venue for the Spring Training game. But then the Coliseum wasn’t really built for baseball, was it? Yes, it was the original home of the LA Dodgers but it hadn’t been used for baseball since 1961.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1960 Democratic Convention presidential nomination acceptance speech by John F. Kennedy. To fit a baseball field into the space, the Dodgers had to set the leftfield fence a mere 201 feet from home plate. Which was far shorter than the standard 330 feet you’d find at Dodger Stadium. That certainly rivals a little league park, doesn’t it? But then the attendance proved that the fans’ love for baseball hadn’t subsided.