List of active Major League Baseball players by country of birth

Major League Baseball is a professional baseball league in Canada and the United States, and is widely regarded as the best league for the sport in the world.[1][2] In addition, MLB is the best baseball league in the world in terms of revenue, and 85 countries are active in international competition per WBSC.[3][4] Unlike FIFA, players do not register with a country, so nationality is often disputed when international fixtures come around, such as Manny Machado representing the Dominican Republic instead of the United States in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.[5] Similarly, Alex Rodriguez played for the United States in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, but before the 2009 World Baseball Classic he announced his intention to play for the Dominican Republic (though ultimately he didn't play in the 2009 tournament due to injury).[6][7] And in another example, Marcus Stroman played for the United States in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but played for Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[8] As such, player representation by birth spans to 25 countries as of the 2022 MLB season, with the United States topping the list at 1,057 players called up to 26-man rosters.[9] The most represented overseas country is the Dominican Republic, with 171 players called up to 26-man rosters.[9] The ranking for countries for most MLB players by birth matches well with the WBSC World Rankings, although East Asia and Australia underperforms in MLB and European nations have little to no representation, likely due to acquisition fees, travel to home soil, and/or professional baseball leagues in their home country with good revenue.[10][11]

Number of MLB 26-man players by country (or possession) (2022)[9][12]
Rank Country (or possession) # %
1  United States 1,057 70.7%
2  Dominican Republic 171 11.4%
3  Venezuela 106 7.1%
4  Cuba 33 2.2%
5  Puerto Rico 28 1.9%
6  Mexico 24 1.6%
7  Canada 15 1%
8  Colombia 13 0.9%
9  Panama 9 0.6%
10  Japan 7 0.5%
11  South Korea 6 0.4%
12  Curaçao[a] 5 0.3%
13  Australia
 Germany
3 0.2%
15 Multiple[b][c][d] 2 0.1%
18 Multiple[e][f][g] 1 0.1%

Africa

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South Africa

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Americas

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Aruba

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Aruba native Xander Bogaerts in 2016

Bahamas

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Brazil

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Brazil native Yan Gomes in 2016

Canada

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Canada native Joey Votto in 2011

Colombia

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Cuba

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Cuba native Raisel Iglesias in 2017

Curaçao

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Curaçao native Andrelton Simmons in 2018

Dominican Republic

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Nelson Cruz in 2017

Honduras

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Mexico

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Nicaragua

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Panama

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Peru

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Puerto Rico

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United States

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United States Virgin Islands

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Venezuela

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Asia

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Hong Kong

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Japan

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South Korea

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Taiwan

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Europe

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Germany

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Italy

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Netherlands

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Portugal

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Oceania

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Australia

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Guam

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Curaçao is represented by the Netherlands in certain international competitions.
  2. ^ Aruba, Bahamas & Nicaragua all had two players compete in MLB games.
  3. ^ Aruba is represented by the Netherlands in certain international competitions.
  4. ^ Bahamas is represented by Great Britain in certain international competitions.
  5. ^ Brazil, Guam, Honduras, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Peru, South Africa, Taiwan & United States Virgin Islands all had one player compete in MLB games.
  6. ^ Guam is represented by the United States in certain international competitions.
  7. ^ The US Virgin Islands is represented by the United States in certain international competitions.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Teams of MLB". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Professional Baseball Leagues Around the World". Betting Site. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  3. ^ "WBSC Rankings - Men's baseball". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  4. ^ "11 Most Profitable Sports Leagues – Their Value Will Surprise You". Athletic Panda. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Why I'm Playing for the Dominican Republic". The Players Tribune. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  6. ^ "This Day in Yankees History: A-Rod picks a side in the 2006 World Baseball Classic". SB Nation. 17 January 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Alex Rodriguez switches to Dominican Republic for WBC". Mister Baseball. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  8. ^ "'It felt right': Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman joins Puerto Rico for the 2023 World Baseball Classic after representing the US in '17". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "MLB Players by Birthplace During the 2022 Season". Baseball Alamanac. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Differences between Nippon Professonal [sic] Baseball and Major League Baseball". University of Michigan. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Why Haven't We Had More Japanese Players in the Majors?". Baseball Guru. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  12. ^ "2022 Major League Baseball Team Statistics (Compiled from Team Rosters)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 9 December 2022.