Asia Ball Brand

Global Baseball - Baseball in the twenty-first century is a global pastime. No longer solely the game of the Americas, baseball’s spread now covers the planet. It is estimated that the game is currently played by 65 million participants—men, women, children, seniors—competing in some form of organized baseball, including college and high school leagues, youth leagues, softball leagues, and beer leagues. There are so many people now playing or following baseball that Albert Spalding, the man most closely identified with attempts to export the game more than a century ago, must be dancing a jig in the afterlife. Already well-established during the early decades of the twentieth century in such far-flung places as Japan and the Netherlands, the growth of baseball as a global sport can be traced first to the Baseball World Cup, played periodically since 1938, then the Olympic Games between 1984 and 2008, and, currently, the World Baseball Classic. Although baseball was a short-lived Olympic event, the tournament offered worldwide audiences the first broadly-televised opportunity to watch national teams compete in something other than exhibition contests. The World Baseball Classic, first played in 2006 and now an annual rite of Spring, has provided a global stage for teams from Europe, Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Oceania and the Orient. The only continent where the game isn’t played is Antarctica, although penguins may soon get in on the action. Regional tournaments—the enjoyable Caribbean World Series, for one—are also played when the climate is accommodating. According to the International Baseball Foundation (IABF), teams from 112 countries now vie for a true “World Series” title. It seems only a matter of time before Major League Baseball places franchises in locations within reasonable proximity of North America. Until then, enjoy this globetrotter’s tour of the game!