Baseball: A Global Game

It is no secret that the world has been impacted by the game of baseball. Not only that, the game of baseball has been directly impacted by the world. Generations of children from all over the planet have grown up playing and watching our national pastime.

As Major League Baseball continues to grow and develop in the United States, we must look to the countries that have provided the league with some of its brightest superstars. According to Joey Nowak of MLB.com, 28.4% of the players on the 2012 Opening Day rosters are from countries outside of the USA. Furthermore, MLB has players on major league rosters from 16 different countries. Those numbers added to fact that there are a myriad of MLB International Academies around the globe point to the realization that our game will continue to expand in the future. Also, competitions such as the World Baseball Classic will ensure that our game is seen for exactly what it is: an international institution.

To put all of this into perspective, check out the lists below that highlight some of the best current and former players to hail from countries outside of the USA:

Canada

Joey Votto

Justin Morneau

Matt Stairs

Ryan Dempster

Cuba

Aroldis Chapman

Livan Hernandez

Luis Tiant

Minnie Minoso

Orlando Hernandez

Tony Perez (HOF, 2000)

Dominican Republic

Adrian Beltre

Albert Pujols

Aramis Ramirez

David Ortiz

Fernando Rodney

Jose Bautista

Jose Reyes

Juan Marichal (HOF, 1983)

Pedro Martinez

Rafael Furcal

Robinson Cano

Vladimir Guerrero

Japan

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Hideki Matsui

Hideo Nomo

Hiroki Kuroda

Ichiro Suzuki

Yu Darvish

Netherlands

Bert Blyleven (HOF, 2011)

Panama

Carlos Lee

Mariano Rivera

Rod Carew (HOF, 1991)

Puerto Rico

Bernie Williams

Carlos Beltran

Carlos Delgado

Ivan Rodriguez

Mike Lowell

Orlando Cepeda (HOF, 1999)

Roberto Alomar (HOF, 2011)

Roberto Clemente (HOF, 1973)

Yadier Molina

Venezuela

Asdrubal Cabrera

Bobby Abreu

Carlos Gonzalez

Felix Hernandez

Francisco Rodriguez

Johan Santana

Luis Aparicio (HOF, 1984)

Magglio Ordonez

Miguel Cabrera

Omar Vizquel

Tweet @MLBFanCave and @KyleOKC and let us know which international Major Leaguer is your all-time favorite.