Globalization and Sports, Part III: Mixed Resuts for MLB

Ever since baseball was first played in the 1830s, the game has regarded as America’s national pastime.

However, baseball actually has more popularity in several foreign countries such as Japan, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, Taiwan, the Dominican Republic, and Panama. As a result, baseball has had a tradition for over a century of being an international sport.

Out of all of America’s major sports leagues, Major League Baseball has the most racial and cultural diversity among its players. Star players such as Vladimir Guerrero, Ichiro Suzuki, Ryan Howard, Alex Rodriguez, and Chipper Jones show a cultural balance in star power that is not apparent in the NBA or NFL.

Baseball spread quickly internationally after the game was invented. American expatriates and foreign students spread baseball into Mexico, Cuba, and Canada in the mid-nineteenth century. Following the end the shogun reign of Japan, American traders spread baseball to Japan, where it quickly became the country’s national pastime.

When Japan became an imperial power, it spread baseball along with its influence to Pacific Rim nations such as South Korea and Taiwan, while Cubans introduced the sport to the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean nations. Since the early twentieth century, professional sports league have been established and prosper in baseball-playing nations, with sizable numbers of players from these countries playing in the American Major Leagues.

Consistent international baseball competition began with the Caribbean Baseball World Series in 1949, a showdown of Latin American club teams. The IOC in 1992 introduced baseball as medal sport in the Summer Olympics. In 2006, the first World Baseball Classic was played across the baseball world with incredible fanfare.

In terms of Major League Baseball, several major leagues established their farm teams in Canadian cities in the 1940s and 1950s. In fact, from 1954-1960, there was triple-A team in Cuba known as the Havana Sugar Kings. If it was not for Fidel Castro plunging the island into communism, Cuba would probably have a Major League team by now (all other International League cities at that time have/had a major league franchise since).

It was not until the inception of the Montreal Expos in 1969 that Major League baseball expanded outside of the Untied States. The Toronto Blue Jays became the first Canadian franchise in the American League in 1977—as well as the first foreign baseball team to win a World Series, in 1992.

Nevertheless, baseball has struggled to gain a footing in countries that lack a tradition of baseball in their past. In Europe, baseball has gained little traction and has been marginalized to the degree that cricket and lacrosse have been in the United States.

Due to intense poverty, there is little to no presence of baseball in the Africa or the Middle East as a result of the relatively high cost of equipment.

The only South American country that has embraced baseball is Venezuela, and Oceania lacks a baseball following. China is the only country that has adopted baseball in recent years. Baseball is also losing popularity to American football and basketball in the United States and Canada due to a steroids scandal, Bud Selig’s poor management, and an aging fan base.

What can Major League Baseball do to make baseball popular across the globe and remain relevant on the world stage? Intercontinental expansion is impossible, due to games being played every day and the long travel times across oceans.

The MLB can try adding teams in Latin America, but they would probably fail due to the lack of economic development and wealth in these countries.

What baseball needs to do is continue its outreach into Asia, while also aggressively marketing the game in Europe. Baseball also needs to extend its appeal to the under-40 crowd and revive its current young fan base. Overall, baseball has an international presence, but has a long and difficult road to globalization.

To see more work by Nick Pardini go to www.commonsensemag.com