Eight MLB Little League Classics have been played since the event debuted in 2017, and the results run from Josh Bell’s four-RBI night in the inaugural game to the Mets becoming the first two-time winner with last summer’s 7-3 defeat of the Mariners. The ninth edition arrives Sunday, August 23, 2026: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Atlanta Braves at Bowman Field, 7 PM ET on ESPN.
Every Classic is a real regular-season game, and several have carried real stakes — contenders protecting playoff position in front of 2,500 Little Leaguers. The all-time ledger includes one shutout (Cleveland over the Angels in 2021), one near-collapse (Washington surviving Philadelphia’s ninth-inning rally in 2023), and one pandemic gap: the 2020 game was canceled along with the Little League World Series itself.
Every result is in the chart below, newest first. Take a look, then we’ll get into the games worth remembering.
MLB SPECIALTY GAMES
MLB Little League Classic: Winners and Results by Year
Every score since 2017 — and the Brewers-Braves ninth edition on deck
MOST WINS
Mets, 2
2018 and 2025
Every Classic result
2017 to today
| Year | Result | Date | Winner | Note |
|---|
| 2026 | Milwaukee Brewers vs. Atlanta Braves | Aug. 23 | — | This year’s game — 7 PM ET, ESPN |
| 2025 | Mets 7, Mariners 3 | Aug. 17 | New York Mets | Mark Vientos homered in the Mets’ win |
| 2024 | Yankees 3, Tigers 2 | Aug. 18 | New York Yankees | |
| 2023 | Nationals 4, Phillies 3 | Aug. 20 | Washington Nationals | Five straight first-inning hits off Zack Wheeler held up |
| 2022 | Orioles 5, Red Sox 3 | Aug. 21 | Baltimore Orioles | |
| 2021 | Guardians 3, Angels 0 | Aug. 22 | Cleveland (as Indians) | First Classic after the 2020 cancellation |
| 2020 | Not played | — | — | Canceled with the LLWS (COVID-19) |
| 2019 | Cubs 7, Pirates 1 | Aug. 18 | Chicago Cubs | |
| 2018 | Mets 8, Phillies 2 | Aug. 19 | New York Mets | |
| 2017 | Pirates 6, Cardinals 3 | Aug. 20 | Pittsburgh Pirates | The first Classic — Josh Bell drove in four |
Per MLB; the 2020 game was canceled with the LLWS due to COVID-19.
The ledger
Records across eight editions
| All-time Classic ledger | Detail |
|---|
| Games played | 8 (2017-2025, minus canceled 2020); the 2026 game is the ninth |
| Most wins | New York Mets — 2 (2018, 2025), the only repeat winner |
| Repeat participants | Mets (2018, ’25, won both), Pirates (2017, ’19, split), Phillies (2018, ’23, lost both) |
| Only shutout | Cleveland 3, Angels 0 (2021) |
| Most runs, one team | Mets 8 (2018) |
| Closest finishes | One-run games in 2023 (Nationals 4-3) and 2024 (Yankees 3-2) |
| First hero | Josh Bell — homer and four RBIs in the 2017 opener |
RESULTS FACTS
The Phillies keep drawing the short straw
Philadelphia has played two Classics and lost both — including 2023, when five straight Nationals hits off Zack Wheeler in the first inning decided it before some fans found their seats.
The 2023 rally that almost was
Down 4-0 entering the ninth, the Phillies scored three and had the tying run at the plate with J.T. Realmuto before Kyle Finnegan closed it — the Classic’s best finish.
A real game with real consequences
Multiple Classics have involved teams in playoff races; the standings don’t pause for the cardboard slide.
Highlights from MLB Little League Classic games at Bowman Field.
The Classics Worth Remembering
The 2017 opener set the template — Bell’s four RBIs, a sellout of Little Leaguers, and broadcast cutaways to the afternoon’s hill slides — and a few editions since have improved on it. Cleveland’s 2021 shutout was the event’s return from the pandemic, played the night before the LLWS’s own all-American final. The 2023 game packed the whole format into one night: a first-inning ambush of an ace, a sleepy middle, and a ninth-inning rally that had 12-year-olds standing on bleachers. And 2025 belonged to Mark Vientos and the Mets, whose second Classic win made them the event’s first repeat champion — a distinction Milwaukee or Atlanta will begin chasing Sunday.
The Bottom Line
Eight Little League Classics have produced eight winners’ lines — the Mets twice, one shutout, two one-run thrillers, and a canceled 2020 — with Brewers-Braves set to write the ninth on August 23, 2026. For what the event is and how game day works, see the MLB Little League Classic explained; for the reasoning behind the tradition, why MLB plays in Williamsport; and for the youth tournament sharing the weekend, our LLWS results by year.
