Foreign Players a Hit with Major League Baseball

<a href=asia.reuters.com>Reuters Wed April 2, 2003 03:10 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It may be America's pastime but baseball is turning into a world game.

Of the 827 players on Major League Baseball's 30 teams for opening day, 230, or 27.8 percent, were born outside the United States, according to figures released on Tuesday.

It is the sixth consecutive year that the number of foreign-born players on MLB teams has increased.

The World Series could take on a truly international flavor in coming years with 46 percent of 6,196 minor league players signed to professional contracts also born outside the U.S.

The Dominican Republic, long a talent pipeline for the major leagues, tops the list with 79 players in the various lineups on opening day followed by Puerto Rico 38 and Venezuela with 37.

The Montreal Expos, who will play part of their home schedule in Puerto Rico, have the most foreign players with 14 while the Baltimore Orioles are second with 13.

The Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants each have 11.

A total of 16 countries along with Puerto Rico have contributed players to the opening rosters.

Japanese imports continue to make their mark in the MLB, New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui and Seattle Mariners Ichiro Suzuki topping the list of 11 players from Japan in the majors.

Europe is also represented in the MLB this season with Britain's Lance Painter signing for the St Louis Cardinals and Germany's Will Ohman with the Chicago Cubs.

Australia are also well represented with Luke Prokopec of the Cincinnati Reds, Damian Moss of the San Francisco Giants and Graeme Lloyd of the New York Mets.

Evidence of the expanding search for talent is evident in the minor leagues where players from non-traditional baseball-playing nations such as New Zealand, Italy, Russia, China, South Africa and the Netherlands are under contract.