MLBx takes over Mumbai with star-studded baseball, softball and cricket crossover at Mumbai Football Arena

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Major League Baseball’s MLBx: Mumbai event delivered a high-profile sports crossover on Saturday at the Mumbai Football Arena, bringing together players from baseball, softball and cricket for a co-ed, three-on-three competition designed to introduce baseball to a new audience. The matchup featured elite participants from multiple sports and drew teams linked to four iconic MLB franchises: the Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees and Red Sox.

The event lineup blended retired MLB stars Nick Swisher, Adrián González, Jonny Gomes and Jake Arrieta with professional softball players Jordan Woolery and Rachel Garcia, alongside Indian cricketers Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jitesh Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Radha Yadav and Kanika Ahuja. In addition to the on-field format, MLBx: Mumbai incorporated fan participation through batting and pitching stations, with Test Your Swing and Test Your Pitch cages available for attendees.

Competition began with a semifinal between teams represented by the Dodgers and Cubs, where Woolery produced notable offensive output as the Dodgers defeated the Cubs. A second semifinal pitted a Yankees group against the Red Sox, with Swisher recording a standout at-bat that was described in the event recap as helping the Yankees take down the Red Sox with 25 points.

For the championship, MLB’s event format included a rock-paper-scissors element tied to the batting order. Yadav, who was named an MLB Ambassador in July and represented the Yankees during MLBx: Mumbai, won the rock-paper-scissors duel against Sharma, identified in the event description as “repping the Dodgers,” and selected to bat first in the final.

The Yankees ultimately won the championship once again crediting Swisher as a key factor, as the event recap highlighted him as the player coming up big for the title. On the softball side of the crossover, Garcia—described as a star for the Texas Volts of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League—was named the event’s most valuable player.

MLBx: Mumbai also included entertainment and food elements aimed at broad appeal beyond traditional baseball programming. The event featured performances by musicians KR$NA and Badshah, and it offered a specially curated menu with items including the All-Star Paneer Burger, the Mumbai Vada Dog, the Jersey Disco Fries and the Yankee Doodle Hot Dog.

To support community involvement, the event included students from 35 area schools, who were among those able to take part in on-site baseball skill stations. MLBx: Mumbai, as described by MLB, combined the crossover competition with interactive activities intended to let attendees try both batting and pitching using the Test Your Swing and Test Your Pitch setups.

By staging the event at a major Mumbai venue and assembling high-profile names across baseball, softball and cricket, MLB positioned MLBx: Mumbai as both a competitive showpiece and an outreach event. The results were carried by teams tied to established MLB clubs—Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees and Red Sox—while the star power of former MLB players, professional softball athletes and Indian cricket players underscored the league’s effort to broaden baseball’s audience in a single, city-wide format.