In recent seasons, MLB has done a better job of trying to expand their reach by playing games in areas that don’t have a Major League Baseball team. The longest-running annual tradition is the MLB Little League Classic where two teams play at the site of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. This event started in 2017 and will continue in 2025, with the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets squaring off in front of a crowd full of Little League players and families. In 2018, the Twins played the Cleveland Guardians in San Juan, Puerto Rico in a matchup that included multiple Puerto Ricans, including stars Francisco Lindor and José Berríos.
More recently, MLB teams have played in Dyersville, Iowa (the site of the Field of Dreams movie). It’s been two years since a game has been hosted at this location due to construction, but it sounds like it will be returning once construction is completed. In 2024, the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., the oldest existing professional baseball stadium in the country. Rickwood was once home to the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League. In 2023 and 2024, MLB played the Mexico City Series, but that will not continue in 2025 due to economic issues, according to MLB commissioner Rob Mandred. They’ve visited London (in 2019, 2023, and 2024), but the previously-scheduled Paris Series was canceled for 2025 due to not finding a promoter for the event. That brings us to the Seoul Series in 2024 and the Tokyo Series in 2025, which had record-setting ratings.
For a league that has struggled with its marketability and reach for decades, it’s time that they continue taking advantage of having one of the most diverse groups of players of the four major sports in the States—and more broadly, in the world. According to Forbes, at the start of the 2024 season, MLB teams rostered 264 internationally-born players. Those players hailed from 19 different countries and territories outside of the United States. The Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba represent the largest number of non-American-born players, with México and Japan also having double-digit representation in MLB. While attempts have been made to expand, citing economics as the reason they’re canceling economic events undermines the bigger picture of building the game’s audience. It may cost the league in the short term, but over the long term, playing in new spaces can only help to maximize their viewership and following.
Perhaps MLB needs to be more strategic with where they play their games. At the start of the 2024 season, Max Kepler was the only European-born player, and he’s not going to draw an audience like international superstars have done when returning to their home countries. Sure, between the United Kingdom and France there are upwards of 140 million people, but what buy-in does the area (or even the entire continent) have when they’re essentially not represented in MLB? Instead, MLB needs to go to the countries that are highly represented by their players. In addition to the current series that exist, here are some ideas that could have worked in the 2025 season.
Dominican Republic
Arizona Diamondbacks v San Diego Padres
Seattle Mariners v Cleveland Guardians
MLB did play spring training contests at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal in 2024, but that’s obviously not the same as a regular-season matchup. The four teams mentioned above would bring Ketel Marte, Fernando Tatís Jr., Julio Rodríguez, Luis Castillo, and José Ramírez (among others) back to their home country, which boasts some of the most passionate baseball fans in the world.
Venezuela
Minnesota Twins v Atlanta Braves
St. Louis Cardinals v Milwaukee Brewers
Estadio Monumental de Caracas Simón Bolívar is a newer stadium in Venezuela, and the country has never hosted MLB games. The matchups above would feature the best Venezuelan players in the game such as Pablo López, Ronald Acuña Jr., and the Contreras brothers (William and Willson).
Cuba
Houston Astros v Texas Rangers
Tampa Bay Rays v Chicago White Sox
MLB last played in Cuba in 2016, at the only recent lull in decades of political tension. The four teams above would feature Yordan Álvarez, Adolis García, Luis Robert Jr, and Yandy Díaz returning to their roots.
Puerto Rico
Toronto Blue Jays v New York Mets
A return to Puerto Rico would highlight players such as Lindor, Edwin Díaz, and Berriós, but would also bring much-needed attention to the tenuous status of Puerto Rico. It’s currently a U.S. territory and (in the eyes of many who live there) colony, and one way or anohter, that relationship seems likely to require an alteration in the near future.
These sites would bring home the largest numbers of foreign-born players across MLB and highlight some of the best players in the game. I think MLB is really missing an opportunity by not consistently hosting games in these countries, despite the economic issues they may have.
What are some other sites that could host MLB games? Join the conversation in the comments!
AloJapan.com