Pitcher Valerio De Los Santos from Las Matas De Farfan, Dominican Republic (AP Photo//Tom Olmscheid)
	Catcher Robert Machado from Caracas, Venezuela (left) (AP Photo//Morry Gash)
	Pitcher Luis Vizcaino from Bani, Dominican Republic (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)
	Pitcher Jose Cabrera from Santiago, Dominican Republic (AP Photo/Angela Gaul)
	Shortstop Jose Hernandez from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Major League Baseball Has Worldwide Reach

America’s Pastime is No Longer Just American 

Postseason Play Begins

Major League Baseball’s postseason began on Tuesday, October 1.  It includes the American and National League Division Series, the American and National League Championship Series and the World Series. 

The eight teams reaching postseason play in the American League include the Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Anaheim Angels and New York Yankees.  The National League teams include the St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves. 

The World Series features the National League Championship Series winner and the American League Championship winner.  The World Series begins on Saturday, October 19, 2002.  A team needs four victories out of a maximum of seven games to win the World Series. The FOX network is broadcasting all of the games.

Off-season play

Many fans wonder where the players go and what they do when the World Series ends.  Most Major League Baseball players spend the off season by returning home to rest, relax, train, and prepare for a new season. 

A select number of players and rookies spend the off season playing baseball and sharpening their skills in the winter leagues in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.  The leagues run from mid-October through December, followed by playoffs and the Caribbean World Series.

Baseball is no longer just an American game played by Americans in America.  Today, Major League Baseball has worldwide appeal. There are talented players who are from or live in locations all over the world. 

Major League Baseball rosters include players from many corners of the globe. This raises worldwide awareness of the sport that played its first organized game in 1846.

Major League Baseball teams include players from many countries and territories.  They come from Aruba, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Curacao (Netherlands Antilles), Dominican Republic, El Salvador, England (United Kingdom), Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, South Korea, United States, U.S Virgin Islands and Venezuela.

Famous Latin American

The first-ever Latin American player to be inducted into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame was Roberto Clemente.  Clemente was a 12-time All Star from Puerto Rico.  He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 to 1972. 

Clemente was the second baseball player, behind Jackie Robinson, to ever appear on a U.S. Postage Stamp.  He died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve in 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

Current Major League Baseball players from Latin American countries include Chicago Cubs superstar Sammy Sosa of the Dominican Republic. Edgar Renteria of the St. Louis Cardinals is from Colombia.  Bernie Williams of the New York Yankees is from Puerto Rico.  Alex Gonzales of the Florida Marlins is from Venezuela and Rey Ordonez of the New York Mets is from Cuba.

The 25-man player roster for the 2002 Milwaukee Brewers includes 19 players born in the United States, 5 players born in Latin America, and one player born in Canada.

Pitcher Valerio De Los Santos from Las Matas De Farfan, Dominican Republic (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)

Catcher Robert Machado from Caracas, Venezuela (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Pitcher Luis Vizcaino from Bani, Dominican Republic (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

Pitcher Jose Cabrera from Santiago, Dominican Republic (AP Photo/Angela Gaul) Shortstop Jose Hernandez from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico (AP Photo/Morry Gash)