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