The MLB has benefited greatly off of imported talent. A recent wave of Japanese and South American players have taken the game by storm.
Today, about 27% of MLB consists of foreign-born players. Great talents like Hideki Matsui and Ichiro were established already in Japan. They still were able to make an even bigger name for themselves here in the States. Many others from South American countries as well have “made it big” in America. Collectively, these foreign-born plays add another dimension to the game.
Baseball has become the most diverse sport in the world. It’s no longer limited to the 50 states in America but has expanded across the globe.
A lot of scouting goes into finding talent overseas. Teams with better international scouting tend to land such talent. We’ve seen foreign players (who teams sometimes know little about) get some large contracts here. Whether deservedly or not, many have had success in MLB.
Here are the top five free-agent signings of foreign-born players.