Fans watch the game from a scaffolding in center field during the MLB Classic at Bowman Field in Williamsport. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

It’s the hottest ticket in town.

Every year, Major League Baseball opens its doors for one night and one night only: For the annual MLB Little League Classic. Billed as an opportunity for the Little League athletes to meet their idols and stars of the professional game, there is still the opportunity to attend the game via a lottery system.

So just how, exactly, does one manage to enjoy the occasion without a ticket?

Meet the Scaffolding Boys.

The group, led by the trio of Douglas Paulhamus, Mark Neidig and Eric Sagan, have bent the rules and utilized their creativity in order to enjoy the singular Major League event held in Billtown.

The trio’s inspiration is long lasting, with the group setting up ladders along the road behind the ballpark for Williamsport Cub games once upon a time.

Needless to say, when the Classic came around, they were ready.

Jump back to 2017, the first Classic between the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. The Ladder Boys, as they were known at the time, were able to catch the game behind the left field wall adjacent to the Crosscutter scoreboard until Major League Baseball decided an ultimatum was in order.

“They’re lined up there, and they are watching the game on ladders, and they kicked us off the road,” described Neidig. “And I lived here, I know them. I grew up with them, and I was like ‘Yo, we should do something here.'”

“Here” refers to the property just behind the road that encapsulates the ballpark. With a property available in the grass behind the road, the plan was in order.

“We were like ‘why don’t we just build a tower up here?’ So we did it, and it has been a blast. It’s been the greatest experience of our lives… and so tradition continues.”

Fast forward to 2025, and the Scaffolding Boys have become something of a legend to the annual game. Always situated toward left field behind the smaller Crosscutter scoreboard, you may catch a glimpse of the unique set up. Put together using old scaffolding materials, the setup features a bright American flag to mark the occasion, along with all the pleasantries needed to enjoy the ballgame.

So with Major League Baseball making their distaste known about the group, an important question persists: What do the players think?

“The players will throw us baseballs,” said Paulhammus. “Right up on the tower.”

With their situation being closest to the centerfielder, paired with the unique nature of a game being played without an outfield crowd, sometimes the Scaffolding Boys manage to make friends with the centerfielders in the ballgame.

“If you are in a real MLB game, they throw it to the stands,” said Neidig. “Sometimes the centerfielder winds up with the ball instead of the left or right fielder. Now, they do throw some of them out, sure. But a majority of the time, they throw them here.”

No one appeared to have loved the Scaffolding Boys quite like New York Yankee outfielder Aaron Judge. Playing centerfield in 2024’s Classic against the Detroit Tigers, the Scaffolding Boys amassed an astonishing four baseballs from the Yankee captain, not including one that went over the scaffolding and dented one of the groups’ van.

Even in pregame for 2025, the group had planted the seed for another successful endeavor.

“My son, Caleb, was over [at the complex] today where they did the signatures. He got the signature from (Julio) Rodriguez and told him that we were going to be here. As soon as he came out today for warmups, we said ‘I told you we would be here!’ And he ended up throwing us one so far,” he said, during the game.

When thinking about the meaning of the Little League Classic, one immediately turns to the Little Leaguers who get to watch their favorite players up close playing the game that they love.

But in viewing the story of the Scaffolding Boys, it portrays another beauty of baseball: the idea that a group of friends can come together, build up a project, and bond over America’s favorite pastime in one of the most unique ways possible.

“Billtown welcomes baseball,” concluded Neidig.