International Baseball

Although baseball is America's Pastime , it is still the 2^nd most popular sport in the world. Prospering in Asia and Latin America, international baseball has been found to be a lot more impressive than anyone would have imagined. With professional leagues across the world, foreign players thriving in the United States, and the new World Baseball Classic, international baseball is changing and improving the game more and more everyday.

International baseball began in Japan in 1872.

American businessman Horace Wilson taught the rules of the game to the Japanese and the first league was formed in 1878. International baseball was first introduced to Latin America in 1866 on the island of Cuba, taught to the Cubans by American sailors who were there to load sugar. Eight years later in 1874, the first organized game of baseball was played between Cuban teams. In the years to come it would be Cuba who would spread baseball throughout the Caribbean. When Cuba endured war in the late 1860s and 1870s, many Cubans fled their country and migrated to the Dominican Republic bringing with them the game and further developing international baseball.

Japan has often been referred to as baseballs' second country. With a successful and well-organized professional league that is quite similar to Major League Baseball. While Major League Baseball has the National League and the American League the Japanese league has the Central League and the Pacific League. Although it is a successful league, many players playing in Japan look at America as the mecca of baseball talent and many aspire to be successful enough to sign on to a Major League team. Japanese teams have much different methods than any other professional teams in the world. With heavy emphasis on fundamentals and speed, the Japanese thrive in close games and rarely strikeout. The pitchers in Japan often have funky deliveries that baffle opposing hitters and throw a lot of pitches that induce ground balls.

In Latin America, baseball has come to rival soccer as the dominant sport with small leagues in Venezuela, Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico, and the biggest Latin league in the Dominican Republic. Baseball talent in these regions is some of the best talent in the world. International baseball scouts spend months at a time in these countries looking for a hidden gem. In Latin America, the style of baseball is care-free and fan friendly. The players are usually free swingers hitting for power and stealing bases. Latin America players are becoming staples in Major League Baseball and with a strong showing in the World Baseball Classic by all the countries that participated, these players are making international baseball more popular.

In the spring of 2006, the world of international baseball took center stage as teams representing the 16 most talented countries participated in the World Baseball Classic. The two organizers of the tournament, Major League Baseball and the International Baseball Federation, came together and got the best players in the world to play for their countries. The big news is that Cuba was granted permission to play in the tournament despite the political controversy between the United States and Cuba. Cuba has long been considered the best international baseball country in the world but that could never be proven until now where Cuba would be able to show their talents on the grandest stage. In the tournament, to much surprise, the United States team struggled and barely escaped the first round but was eliminated in the second round by Korea. In the final game, Japan turned heads in the international baseball world by defeating Cuba to win the inaugural Classic.

Many stars in the Major Leagues are international baseball players. Among the hundreds of great players from Latin America are Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Miguel Tejada, and Johan Santana. Asian stars include Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, and Tadahito Iguchi. These international baseball players are role models to kids all over the world showing them that playing in the Major Leagues is a goal that can be reached.