International Baseball
Worldwide Baseball Leagues
Professional baseball has long been known as primarily a North American sport. For the most part, that is true, but it is played all over the world at a high level. The first documented occasion of the sport being played on foreign soil is from 1874, as a collection of players from Philadelphia and Boston toured throughout England playing the sport of cricket and using baseball as a demonstration sport.
Another tour was completed by a club from Chicago in 1888 that brought the game to New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. On their return trip, they played further demonstration events in North Africa and Europe, and are also said to have played a game directly next to the Sphinx in Egypt. With the expanse of baseball into the International market, leagues have sprouted up in numerous countries throughout the world.
Dominican Winter Baseball League
The DWBL is the top league in the country and runs from October to the end of December. This league consists of six teams, and since this league starts after the MLB season ends , many MLB players can be found toiling away for these teams during their off-season. The champion each year goes on to compete for bigger glory in the Caribbean Series against the champions from Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Mexico.
Chinese Professional Baseball League
The CPBL is the top professional baseball organization in Taiwan. Back in 1997, a newly formed organization (Taiwan Major League) represented a major hurdle towards the monopoly on professional baseball in Taiwan that the CPBL was going for. After heated debate (and TML losing money year after year), the CPBL absorbed the TML in 2003.
Nippon Professional Baseball
The Nippon Professional Baseball league is the top-tier of baseball in all of Japan. For the locals, it’s known as Puro Yakyu (professional baseball), but to the rest of the world it is simply “Japanese baseball”. Their roots trace back to the Japanese Baseball league, and the original formation of the Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club, back in 1934. The list of notable players from this league is endless, and includes names such as Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki, Kaz Sasaki, Hideki Matsui, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima.
Australian Baseball League
The ABL is the premiere professional league of Australia. The league falls under the governing body of the Australian Baseball Federation, but is funded by the ABF, Major League Baseball and the Australian Government. It shares its name with a league that is now defunct, but make no mistake; this league is alive and well.
Wagering on baseball is pretty similar no matter where you are in the world. Many of these leagues (and others) can be wagered on through numerous online bookmakers. All of the typical bets will be available; money lines, run lines, over/under, proposition bets, parlays, teasers, future bets, etc.
