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Article #3: Baseball in the world

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The history of baseball in Canada has teams, was launched. Competition between
remained closely linked with that of the national teams, such as in the World Cup
sport in the United States. As early as of Baseball and the Olympic baseball
1877, a professional league, the tournament, has been administered by the
International Association, featured teams International Baseball Federation since
from both countries. While baseball is its formation in 1938. As of 2004, the
widely played in Canada, and many minor organization has 112 member countries.
league teams have been based in the Since the early 1970s, the annual
country, the American major leagues did Caribbean Series has matched the
not include a Canadian club until 1969, league-winning clubs from Puerto Rico,
when the Montreal Expos joined the Venezuela, Mexico, and the Dominican
National League as an expansion team. In Republic. The Confédération Européene
1977, the expansion Toronto Blue Jays de Baseball (European Baseball
joined the American League. The Blue Jays Confederation), founded in 1953,
won the World Series in 1992 and 1993, organizes a number of competitions
the first and still the only club from between clubs from different countries as
outside the United States to do so. In well as national squads. The inaugural
2004, Major League Baseball relocated the World Baseball Classic, held in March
Expos to Washington, D.C., where the team 2006, had a much higher profile than
is now known as the Nationals. previous tournaments featuring national
The first formal baseball league outside teams, owing to the participation for the
of the United States and Canada was first time of a significant number of
founded in 1878 in Cuba, which maintains players from Major League Baseball.
a rich baseball tradition and whose The 117th meeting of the International
national team has been one of the world's Olympic Committee, held in Singapore in
strongest since international play began July 2005, voted not to hold baseball and
in the late 1930s. Professional baseball softball tournaments at the 2012 Summer
leagues began to form in other countries Olympic Games, but they will remain
between the world wars, including the Olympic sports during the 2008 Summer
Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia Olympic Games and will be put to vote
(1934), Japan (1936), and Puerto Rico again for each succeeding Summer
(1938). After World War II, professional Olympics. The elimination of baseball and
leagues were founded in many Latin softball from the 2012 Olympic program
American nations, most prominently enabled the IOC to consider adding two
Venezuela (1945), Mexico (1945), and the different sports to the program, but no
Dominican Republic (1951). In Asia, Korea other sport received a majority of votes
(1982), Taiwan (1990), and mainland China favoring its inclusion. While baseball's
(2003) all have professional leagues. lack of substantial appeal in much of the
Many European countries have pro leagues world was a factor; more important is the
as well, the most successful beside the unwillingness of Major League Baseball to
Dutch being the Italian league founded in have a break during the Games so that its
1948. Compared to those in Asia and Latin players can participate, something that
America, the various European leagues and the National Hockey League now does
the one in Australia historically have during the Winter Olympic Games. Because
had no more than niche appeal. Recently, of the seasonal nature of baseball and
the sport has begun to grow in popularity the high priority its fans place on the
in those nations, most notably in integrity of major-league statistics from
Australia, which won a surprise silver one season to the next, it would be more
medal in the 2004 Olympic Games. In 2007, difficult to accommodate such a break in
the Israel Baseball League, featuring six MLB.






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