Major League Baseball (MLB) successfully used the MLB Cup format to boost baseball development across Asia. The event served the purpose in a developing baseball country like China, at the grassroots level in India and in baseball powers such as Korea and Japan.
MLB Cup China
The MLB Cup started in China in 2007. The 2022 edition consisted of 15 stops and 484 games played by 281 teams in 29 days from May to December. It involved over 3,600 players.
The 2023 edition has been held in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Suzhou, Jincheng, Shenzhen, Wuxi, Zhengzhou, Haikou, and Wuhan. The Beijing stop alone involved a record 209 teams.
MLB Cup India
After 12 teams participated in the 2021 inaugural edition, the MLB Cup India grew to 113 teams in 2022, over 30 of which resulted from the MLB First Pitch schools programme. Teams representing 10 states competed in eight regional tournaments across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Indore, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Kerala and Hyderabad for a spot in the final tournament held in Delhi NCR. The Pune Mariners defeated the Satara Blue Jays in the final.
There are already over 200 teams registered to compete in the MLB Cup India 2023. The regional rounds will be held between September and October and the finals are planned for the end of November.
MLB Cup Korea
The third edition of the MLB Cup Korea in 2022 saw the participation of 167 teams, comprising 2,510 players. In addition to the original U-10 category, the tournament included a U-12 age group, as the preliminary round was held at Korea Little League Federation’s Hwaseong Dream Ball Park in June 2022.
The top eight teams from each age group advanced to the final round in October at Kang Chang-Hak Baseball Stadium in Seogwipo, Jeju.
For the fourth edition of the tournament in 2023, the preliminary round will take place from May 30th to June 8th with 169 teams having registered to compete for a spot in the final round, which will once again be held at Kang Chang-Hak Baseball Stadium in October.
MLB Cup Japan
The 2022 MLB Cup Japan involved 148 teams and over 1,900 players.
The finals were hosted in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, where the 16 regional winners gathered to compete for the title. The MLB Cup 2022 also included a regional Home Run Derby competition involving one player from each of the 148 participating teams.
Iyuki Fuwa, from the Funabashi League, won the Home Run Derby contested in Ishinomaki.
Participating kids also attended baseball clinics held by three former MLB pitchers: Mac Suzuki, Hisashi Iwakuma and Daisuke Matsuzaka, the former World Baseball Classic MVP and Olympic bronze medallist
