The Globalization of America’s National PastimeGeography of Sports

Spring 2009

Introduction• Baseball has long been considered the “National

Pastime” of the United States

• Over the last 50 years, baseball has diffused beyond the borders of the United States.

• Research Questions:1. How has the global distribution of baseball talent

changed in the last 50 years?1. Major League Baseball Rosters2. Nations that have been successful in International

competition.

2. What impact has this change had on the African-American players.

Baseball and Globalization• Baseball has been very active in promoting the game

internationally.

• Major League Baseball Initiatives• Regular Season and Pre-Season games overseas

• Minor League baseball in Mexico

• Active scouting of Latin America

• World Baseball Classic

• Televising Events internationally • ESPN Deportes

Baseball and Ethnicity

•African-Americans▫1st African-Americans played baseball in the

late 1800s Military, College, and Company Teams

▫A few found their way to some of the earliest professional teams Forced out by Racism and Jim Crow by 1900

▫Barnstorming Teams of the early 1900s

The Negro League• 1920 – Andrew “Rube” Foster organized a leagues for the

African-American Players▫ Negro National League▫ Midwestern Teams – Chicago, Kansas City▫ Paseo YMCA▫ Rival leagues

East and Southern States

• Negro leagues started to decline in the 1940s▫ Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers▫ The last team folded in 1960

• Negro League Musuem – Kansas City’s 18th and Vine District▫ Opened in 1990 – Buck O’Neil

Baseball and Ethnicity • Latino baseball players first

entered the Major Leagues in the early 1900s.

• Baseball broke the color barrier in 1947 when Jackie Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

• Following Jackie Robinson, the number of African-American and Latino baseball players rapidly increased.

Trends in Baseball Player Production

Changes in the Ethnicity of Baseball: 1950-2007

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

1950 1960 1975 1980 1990 2000 2007

Latino

Asian

African-American

The Latino Game• Latin America is a divided

region when it comes to sports.▫ Caribbean and

Venezuela

• As early as 1902, Latino baseball players had started making an imprint on Major League Baseball.▫ Cuban Migrants▫ Luis Castro

Baseball: A Historic Perspective• 1950s – Further

strengthening of the Latino presence in Major League Baseball▫ Cuban Outfielder – Minnie

Minoso First to play in 5 decades

▫ First All Star Alfonso Carrasquel – 1951

▫ 1954 – Mexican Beto Avila won the A.L Batting Title

• Links to the African-American influence in Baseball

The Latino Game• By the 1960s, Latinos were

becoming stars in the major leagues.

• Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the first Latino to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973.

• Since then, eight other Latino players have been inducted.

• In 2003, Latino players and coaches won almost every major award in baseball.

Baseball: A Historic Perspective

• 1960s Major Players▫ Roberto Clemente – Puerto

Rico▫ Orlando Cepeda – Puerto

Rico▫ Juan Marichal – Dominican

Republic 1st Latino Pitcher into the

Hall of Fame

• Roberto Clemente – Pittsburgh Pirates▫ 1st Latino to be elected to

the Hall of Fame (1973)▫ 12 Time All Star▫ 3000 Hits▫ Four Batting Titles▫ Lifetime Batting Average

of .317

Baseball: A Historic Perspective• 1970s

▫ Rod Carew – Panama 7 Batting Titles

▫ Luis Tiant – Cuba

▫ David Concepcion (Venezuela)

▫ Tony Perez (Cuba)

Baseball: A Historic Perspective• 1980s

▫ Establishment of Dominican Dominance

▫ Fernando Valenzuela (Mexico)

▫ Rise of Catchers Tony Pena (DR), Benito

Santiago (Puerto Rico), Sandy Alomar (Puerto Rico)

▫ Jose Canseco (Cuba) – First Latino to hit 400 Home Runs

Geographic Distribution of Latino Players

• The earliest Latino players were from Cuba.

• Today, the Dominican Republic accounts for over 1/3 of all Latino players.

• Over 100 Latinos make over 1 Million annually

• Other Important Countries include:▫ Puerto Rico – 21%▫ Venezuela – 16%▫ Cuba – 12%

Origins of Latino Baseball Players in the Major Leagues: 1900-2007

Dominican Republic

37%

Puerto Rico21%

Venezuela16%

Cuba12%

Mexico8%

Panama4%

Nicaragua1%

Colombia1%

Geography of Latino Baseball• The same nations have also dominated

the Caribbean World Series

The Asian Game• The impact of Asian born

players in the Major Leagues has occurred more recently.

• The first Asian to play professionally was the San Francisco Giants’ Masanori Murakami in the 1960s.

• In the mid 1990s, Hideo Nomo left Japan for the L.A. Dodgers and opened the door for other Asian Players.

• MLB has been involved in Asia as well.

The Geography of Asian Baseball

Origins of Asian Baseball Players in the Major Leagues: 1950-2007

Japan61%

South Korea20%

Taiwan8%

Other11%

An Overview of Ethnicities in Baseball

International Events

• The diffusion of baseball to other regions of the world can also be seen in major international tournaments.▫ The World Baseball

Classic

▫ The Olympics

▫ The Little League World Series

The World Baseball Classic• The inaugural World Baseball

Classic was held in March 2006.

• Hosts Cities were in The United States, Puerto Rico and Japan.

• Japan defeated Cuba to win the 1st event.▫ Other semifinalist were Korea

and Dominican Republic.

• Many MLB stars played for their home country.

• The 2009 version will be held in the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico and will include teams from every continent.

The Olympics

• Baseball became an official Olympic sport during the 1992 Barcelona games.

• ½ of the 16 nations that have competed since then are from Asia and Latin America.

• Cuba and Japan have had the most success for their respective continents.

The Little League World Series• Annually held in

Williamsport, PA, the L.L. World Series hosts 8 international and 8 American Teams each year.

• The first non-U.S. team to win was Mexico in 1957.

• That success has been followed by a number of teams from Latin America and Asia▫ Venezuela, Netherlands

Antilles▫ Taiwan, Japan

Conclusions

1. Data on player origin and the results of international events illustrate that baseball has diffused beyond the borders of the United States and become a international game.

2. Major League Baseball has encouraged the development of the sport in other regions of the world by hosting spring training and regular seasons games in other countries. Baseball teams have also began to scout for talent in these regions.

3. Latin American nations, especially the Caribbean nations have had the most international influence on Major League Baseball to date.

4. The infusion of Latino players in the 1980s and 1990s led to a decline in the percentage of African-American Major League players.

Conclusions

5. The influence of Asian born players began in the 1990s and continues to grow. This growth may decrease the percentage of Latino players in the future.

6. Latin American and Asian nations have enjoyed great success in international events such as the Olympics, The World Baseball Classic, and the Little League World Series

7. Cuba has been very successful in international events, but their production of Major League players has been limited due to governmental restrictions.