What makes the MLB stand out in the betting system? The answer has perplexed many baseball enthusiasts but the response is none too surprising. The main reason why America can call baseball a league of their own because of the potential players who have invested their all in this particular sport.

Baseball has gone beyond the boundary of one nation. Though still lagging when it comes to the aspect of the popularity of other athletics entertainment options, such as football, basketball, or cricket, the zeal to catch up to the star kids of sports has influenced the players belonging from this field, work hard and rise to it.

With many talents coming from each part of the globe to contribute to the 2020 Major League Baseball playoffs, the ensemble will be an extraordinary event bound to go down in history. Giving the team a goal to work against, Los Angeles Dodgers have kicked off the series with a bang, scoring 9/5. The teams will have a lot to look for and work against to get to the top.

Where do MLB players come from?
The MLB players are an example of the globalization that signifies a hotchpotch of cultural ethnicity. Talent knows no boundaries. MLB recruits those who have the talent and the compassion to go to that extreme extent of success. However, it goes without mentioning that one-fourth of the MLB players registered in the league are Americans.

Baseball being America’s one of four major sports has garnered the attraction. It has been revealed that out of the 300 people who were enrolled, 192 were said to be American, almost 64% of the majority. The remaining 34% comes from different parts of the globe.

The second position of the cultural ethnicity among the players goes to the Dominic Republic with 34 players registered which is equal to 11.6% of the total number. Close to Dominic is Venezuela with 10% of players playing on the field. Players from Puerto Rico and Cuba with 12 and 11 respectively have been registered too.

Other than that, the team members hail from Canada with four representatives, Japan and South Korea with 2 each, Colombia with 3, Curacao with 4, Aruba, Netherlands, Germany, and Honduras with one each. Other than these fifteen countries participating in the opening rooster, there are others such as Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Taiwan, Australia, and Lithuania which makes a wider 40-man roster.

Has the MLB changed for good or for bad?
With talented yet eccentric players belonging from many ethnic denominations, the margin of players coming from other parts of the world other than America has surely grown since America discovered baseball and went overseas. Currently, at 36% ethnic player rate, the number has grown gradually.

The journey started when the American League and the National League merged to establish Major League Baseball in the year 1903, only six ethnic players were registered for the opening hailing from Canada and western Europe. Thirty-seven years later, in 1940, the number of ethnic players remained the same. The situation didn’t improve until 1960.

The number of overseas players started to rise gradually as twelve players from, the majority of which from Latin America, joined the MLB. Since then, the pace was set and the horizon has broadened. In the year 1980s, almost twenty-six international players joined the opening day taking up 10.5% of the spot.

Ten years later, in 1990, the number shifted to 44 and in 2000 it rose to 72, equaling the percentage of 25.3. Though the inclusion of ethnic players slowed down from 2000 to 2010, a drastic change in the inclusion of speed of the overseas player picked up as 108 international players joined the opening day. The trajectory changed in 1903. The shapes that started taking place in the year 1960 have made the MLB what it is today.

The man who inspired the man overseas to come for MLB
Since the 1960s, the question of ethnic groups joining MLB was not put ahead. However, the much-needed break severed the long run conventionality that influenced the players overseas to come and join MLB. Robinson was the epitome of influence who by his performance in 1947, shattered the myth.

The interracial inclusion helped the African-American players to come forward and show their talent. Along with them, every player from different cultures tried to become one with the game using their talent. This is the time when a boom in Latino American players was seen in the MLB. Since then, many Latinos have come and conquered the field.

The future of MLB
The goal of every sport is to make the narrative international. The MLB has procured players from a variety of nations whose talent speaks on their own. Since the 1960s, MLB has given stars like Ronald Acuna Jr., Marcell Ozuna, Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr, etc. With rising international talents bringing it home, the aspect relating to increasing the popularity of the game seems strong.