Global exposure: MLB World Series to be broadcast in 220 countries/territories, 15 languages
Going Global: A total of 16 players on the rosters were born outside the continental United States. The games will be broadcasted in 15 different languages through 220 countries or territories.
The sport of baseball is readying for global exposure and the global spotlight as Major League Baseball's World Series, which opens tonight, will be broadcasted in 220 countries or territories, including high-potential India for the first time. The best-of-seven World Series will be aired in 15 different languages, MLB has announced.
Game 1 of the World Series airs tonight (Tuesday, 20 April) at 8 pm US Eastern Time from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The retractable-roof venue opened earlier this season cost US$ 1.1 billion. The ballpark will host the entire seven-game series between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The rosters of the finalists feature a total of 16 players born in different countries or territories outside the Continental United States: Cuba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Korea, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
Tampa Bay Rays 25-year old outfielder Randy Arozarena, who was named the MLB American League Championship Series MVP, helped his native Cuba earn a bronze medal at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2013 in Taichung, Taiwan.
Before signing an MLB contract, Arozarena played for the Toros of Tijuana in the Mexican Baseball League. His daughter was born in Mexico, and the slugger expressed the desire to represent Mexico internationally in an interview with the New York Times.
Left-handed power hitter Yoshitomo Tsutsugo is in the first season of a two-year and US$ 12-million contract for the Rays. The former Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) All-Star played for Japan at the 2015 WBSC Premier12 and the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Tampa Bay represents the fourth stop on Ji Man Choi's MLB career. The slugger, who moved to the US as a teenager represented his native Korea on the U-18 National Team.
Catcher Mike Zunino also plays for the Rays. He was born and grew up in the United States, but he may play international baseball for Italy. His mother Paola Accorsi is a former softball catcher. Mike's father Greg Zunino, today a Scouting Supervisor with the Cincinnati Reds, met her while starring for Fortitudo Bologna of the Italian Baseball League in the 1980s.
The presence of left handers Victor Gonzalez and Julio Urias on the roster most likely made the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (or AMLO), express his fan support of the Dodgers. Both pitchers grew up in the Dodgers Farm System. Urias earned the win in game seven of the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves.
Closer Kenley Jansen, a 33-year old veteran born in Curaçao, played for the Netherlands in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Infielder Enrique Hernandez appeared in the World Baseball Classic representing Puerto Rico.
