Major League Baseball has long enjoyed its sport being known as the national pastime. Now it’s leaning in to that even more during the 250th anniversary of the U.S.
On Thursday, the league began what will be a yearlong set of commemorations to celebrate the semiquincentennial of the nation’s founding. The efforts will involve nearly every MLB league department, including marketing and content development, special events, community relations, broadcasting, sponsorship, youth baseball and softball development, consumer products, Minor League Baseball, and the individual MLB clubs.
The initial effort was a volunteer campaign in New York with Foster Love, a support organization for foster children and their families, that marked the start of what MLB intends to be more than 250,000 volunteer hours across the league this year.
“We feel we have a special place in American culture, and we’re going to try to engage all the parts of our business in some way, shape, or form in participating in the volunteer effort, but also a broader effort to impress upon our fans how significant the 250th anniversary of the country is,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said.
The commemorative events also directly link with the upcoming 2026 MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Phillies specifically bid on this year’s game for this year, because of the 250th anniversary and the presence of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, to that point of landing the event well in advance of several All-Star Games held before this one.
MLB’s efforts will also intersect somewhat with America250, the congressionally established, bipartisan organization to lead the nation’s anniversary commemorations. Both entities, however, will operate many of their celebrations separately, too.
“We feel that it’s really important that we have a special obligation to commemorate the 250th,” Manfred said.
The league will also not be alone in sports in recognizing the 250th anniversary. Already, the NFL introduced game balls and field markings with a special commemorative logo for the final week of the regular season, held last weekend. That league’s efforts in this area will continue through key upcoming events, including Super Bowl LX next month and the 2026 NFL Draft this spring in Pittsburgh. Many other properties are expected to soon follow suit.
