Major League Baseball returns to Rickwood Field for Juneteenth East-West Classic

For the third consecutive year, Major League Baseball (MLB) will celebrate Juneteenth with an event at Rickwood Field.

This week, MLB announced it will hold at historic Rickwood Field the East-West Classic, a tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Games held from 1933-1962. The game will be held on Friday, June 19, beginning with a Home Run Derby at noon.

General admission tickets for the event’s return to the iconic venue are available now for $12 at mlb.com/rickwood.

This year’s rosters will again be headlined by captains CC Sabathia (West), a 2025 Hall of Fame inductee, and 2010 All-Star, 13-year MLB outfielder and MLB Network analyst Chris Young (East). 

Former All-Stars and/or World Series Champions expected to play include: 

• Mike Cameron
• Jose Contreras
• Prince Fielder
• Dexter Fowler
• Jeremy Guthrie
• Matt Kemp
• Justin Upton, and others

“We truly appreciate the opportunity to go back to Birmingham on Juneteenth. The East-West Classic shows that baseball is all about fun, community, and bringing people together. There’s no better place to do exactly that than Rickwood Field, where we can honor the legends who helped build the foundation of our game.”

Chris Young, 13-year MLB outfielder and MLB Network analyst

In addition to the East-West Classic, MLB will host before the game a special Juneteenth PLAY BALL event at the recently refurbished and rededicated Willie Mays Park in neighboring Fairfield.