There is no question that baseball is behind the times. It’s 2014 and they finally instituted a real system of instant replay to help with umpire decisions. In doing so though they’ve increased length of games which was always the concern from the beginning. In a county where people want immediate, fast-paced results baseball offers the exact opposite. It’s a game that is played at a slow pace and is worked through in methodical and deliberate ways. Baseball has always been known as America’s favorite pastime but if you look closely the sport has become too worldly to be called America’s anything.
Prior to the 2014 baseball season ESPN released a list of the top 100 players in MLB. Of the top-10 players five of them were born outside the United States and 35 of the top-100 were either born outside the US or of direct descent of another country. According to MLB, only 26.1 percent of major leaguers were born outside the country. Of every player in the league, only 26 percent are from another country while 35 percent of the top 100 are from another country. That’s almost 10 percent higher than the league average. That shows an increase in talent from other parts of the world.
Look at the three World Baseball Classics that have been played. The first two were won by Japan and the Dominican Republic dominated the third. In fact the USA has never placed above fourth in the event. Yes, there are outside reasons why US players don’t perform well in the event but the point stands that they haven’t ever medaled in the three tournaments. Baseball is being played all across the world. Teams are getting in bidding wars over prospects from Cuba. Teams throw heaps of money at players that have never played a big league game.
The top two free agents this past offseason were Masahiro Tanaka and Robinson Cano. Cano, a native of the Dominican Republic, landed a 10-year contract after proving to be one of the best players in the world. Tanaka on the other hand was given a seven-year deal worth $155 million and he’d never thrown a pitch in the major leagues. In fact, he played in a country (Japan) where they play with a smaller baseball. The point is that the best players in the world are not coming from the United States. Remember the numbers, 50 percent of the top-10 and 35 percent of the top-100 are of foreign descent. Teams are reaching out to other countries to find the next best talent.
Mike Trout is arguably the best player in the game and he is from New Jersey. But for how great Trout is Miguel Cabrera from Venezuela is right on his tail. Sure Clayton Kershaw is probably the best pitcher in the game and he’s from Texas. But right behind him is Yu Darvish of Japan and Felix Hernandez of Venezuela. Major League Baseball even went as far as to start the 2014 season in another country, Australia.
Baseball has realized their brand is failing in the United States. The reasons are quite simple, length of games and lack of action. Football has become, by far, the model sports business in the US and its left baseball behind. In order for MLB to find a way to compete they’ve realized they need a world market. The only way to get the world market is to get players from other countries and promote their sport in those countries.
Becoming a more worldly game might be the only chance baseball can compete with the ever-growing NFL. But by doing so it can never again be America’s Favorite Pastime, which might not be that bad after all.
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