How Baseball United Will Change The World - Asian Baseballers

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Monday, December 2, 2024

How Baseball United Will Change The World

 

Baseball United

 





Baseball United, according to baseballuniited.com, will launch its first season in 2025 between October and December. It is slated for 33 games 6 days a week for 5 weeks. It will be much anticipated. Although 33 games seem less than I expected, it's understandable. There are 5 teams: The Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Mid East Falcons, Arabia Wolves, and a team in Riyadh that does not have a name yet.

 

Since there are 5 teams, it may be possible to add a 6th team. 5 teams is a very odd number in a baseball league in any country. I typically have a hard time believing that 5 is the last number to start the season which is still 11 months away. The season and number of games are similar to the Winter League. These are just speculations, considering how odd 5 teams in a baseball league are. That just means that for a team to qualify for the playoffs, they have to not place last. This is if indeed it is a round-robin playoff format involving 4 teams. This leaves little incentive to finish in first place. It makes sense in the world that a baseball league should have at least 6 teams. That means that 2 teams cannot finish in 5th and 6th place or they will be eliminated from the playoffs. 2 teams possibly not making the playoffs have more stakes than one team getting booted out of a season. It doesn’t, however, indicate it won't work. It just means it's unconventional.

 



Criticisms

 

Baseball United has been accused of whitewashing since most of its players are foreigners. But, in their defense, they have no choice. They have a product to sell that must look professional. A poorly designed product would not attract as many potential fans as it would when you filled your roster with professionals. Why watch Baseball United when there are MLB, NPB, and KBO, the top 3 baseball leagues in the world?

 

Once locals get more acquainted with the product, it all comes down to young people taking up the game on their own. The point is to grow local talent. And to do that, you need people playing the game. Let’s face it, they have to compete with Soccer, Basketball, and, most importantly, the number one sport in India, cricket. It would be very difficult to compete for a percentage of the market in the early years of the league. 

 

Former baseball stars like Robinson Cano, Didi Gregorius, Pablo Sandoval, and Bartolo Colon, for instance, are vested in the league. They take time out of their day they have to practically get paid nothing to take part in the league. They don’t have to. They want to. There’s this false notion that they play in the league because they can’t play in other leagues. If you have a choice to grow the game where it competes to find new fans in a sport barely anyone plays, wouldn’t you? It’s very commendable of these former greats to care enough for baseball to spare time from their busy lives to play for a start-up. And, they put their money where their hearts are. 

 



A Long Journey to Prominence 

 

Just like any other business, it will have to prove itself against the competition. Baseball United is a brave venture because it is a league focusing on baseball, a sport fairly new to that region of the world, although there are already players playing the game, as showcased in the Arab Classic in which Team Pakistan won. It was still unknown to the world. The tournament featured 9 teams including Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, India, Sri Lanka, Palestine, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan. They used World Baseball Classic rules, a format that works for a 3-day tournament.

 



The KBO and Baseball United 

 

The Korean Baseball Organisation, which began in 1982 had its challenges even when baseball was already popular in South Korea. Even with that, it was not until 1994 that the first Korean-born player, Chan Ho Park played in MLB. It took even longer for the first Korean-born player, Byung-Hyun Kim to win the World Series in 2001. A year later, Hee-Seop Choi became the first Korean-born position player in the majors. Then, it took 12 more years for the first Korean-native player, Hyun-Jin Ryu to start in the World Series. He also finished 6 years later in 2019 second in Cy Young votes. Then, finally, Ha-Seung Kim became the first Korean-born player to win a gold glove award. 

 

In general, baseball has become a worldwide institution. If in the next 5 years or so, kids in the region where Baseball United is held start playing the game, it could change the landscape of professional baseball for years to come. In 20 years, there could be a Middle-Eastern player who becomes a star in MLB. It will take a long time, but it is a possibility that will ultimately be inevitable. As the game grows, so will it appear. The greatest baseball player of this generation is Japanese. If a kid loves the game, he will find a way to engage in it. And, when he plays, he can hone that talent. And, when he hones that talent, he too can become great. Who knows? There might already be a talent in the making.

 

 

 


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