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About Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the world's best-attended sports league, displaying the highest level of professional baseball. It has become an international phenomenon, bringing together players from more than twenty different countries. The league is made up of 30 teams featuring such world renowned clubs as the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs. In fact, the New York Yankees have the most recognizable logo in sports.
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Yankees Star Shortstop Derek Jeter
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The League's 30 clubs compete in a season that runs for 162 games from the last day in March until October. The teams are divided into two leagues: the National League and American League. Within each league, clubs are separated into three divisions (East, Central and West) with (in most cases) five clubs per division. The goal of each club is to have the best won-lost record in its division at the end of the regular season, which guarantees a place in the playoffs.
The schedule is rigorous and the players can sometimes go weeks at a time without a day off. In July, the players get a break from their gruelling schedule when the most talented players come together for Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. Fans from around the world vote for the best players in each league creating two teams of super-stars who compete against each other on an international stage.
After the All-Star Game the players return to the regular season schedule and compete until the playoffs, which begin in October. The playoffs reach a climax with the World Series, a high-pressure event that pits the champions of the National and American Leagues against each other in a best of seven game series. In 2004 the Boston Red Sox swept the St Louis Cardinals in four games, shocking the world by ending a championship drought that had lasted 86 years. The Chicago White Sox ended their own long drought in 2005, and the Philadelphia Phillies won the most recent World Series in 2008, beating the Tampa Bay Rays.
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The World Series and many regular season Major League Baseball games are broadcast in more than 240 countries, including at least 20 nations in Europe. This international coverage of the sport has made some of Major League Baseball's leading personalities among the world's best-known athletes. David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez all have appeal that stretches well beyond America's borders. For more information on the current season click here.
Major League Baseball in the UK
Beyond running the world’s top baseball league, Major League Baseball also works on developing the game globally. MLB-originated programmes such as the multi-tiered youth development programme Play Ball! provide children in the UK and other emerging baseball nations with opportunities to play the game of baseball. For further information on Major League Baseball’s Youth and Game Development programmes in the UK click here.
In addition to this, Major League Baseball is working to increase its exposure in the UK through broadcast, sponsorship and licensing programmes. Baseball games are broadcast with our satellite partner, ESPN America (formerly NASN) . The network broadcasts up to 10 live games per week and presents the MLB update show This Week in Baseball and ESPN's Baseball Tonight, making sure you don’t miss a moment of the season. For more information on Baseball on TV click here.
To find out more about MLB sponsorship and licensing programmes see contact information below. Whether it’s with broadcast sponsorship, advertising spots, sponsored columns, or grassroots sponsorships and youth development programmes, Major League Baseball presents many opportunities to get involved with this international brand.
About International Baseball
Whilst baseball is considered America's national pastime, it has strong roots in a host of other countries. Professional leagues thrive in such nations as Japan, The Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, Venezuela and Italy. Overall, more than 100 nations play baseball. In Europe, there are currently nearly 40 countries affiliated with the International Baseball Association (IBAF), which estimates that nearly 40 million people participate in organised baseball around the world. Major League Baseball has played a central role in helping to grow the sport in Europe. Beyond Great Britain, MLB has developed programming throughout the continent including such countries as Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Greece.
Major League Baseball’s players are also committed to developing the sport around the globe. In November 2004 a team of Major League Baseball All-Stars travelled to Japan to play All-Stars from the Nippon Professional Baseball League (Japan’s premier league), and MLB has played regular-season games in recent years in Japan, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
In 1992, baseball cemented its place on the world stage when it became a gold medal sport at the Olympics. Countries as varied as the United States, Cuba, Japan, Australia, South Africa, The Netherlands and Italy have competed in the Olympic tournament. In the Athens 2004 Olympics, Cuba won the gold medal, defeating Australia 6-2 in the final game. Baseball will also be featured in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but unfortunately will not be on the Olympic programme in London in 2012. A campaign to restore the sport's Olympic status for 2016 is underway.
The Olympics are not the only international stage for baseball: continental tournaments are held around the world, including the biennial European Championships, which have grown immensely over the past 10 years. The European A Pool Championships are held every other year in a different territory, and in 2007 the Great Britain team achieved its best-ever result in the modern era by winning the silver medal.
In 2006, Major League Baseball launched an exciting new tournament, the World Baseball Classic, featuring the top 16 countries from around the world in a three-week spring tournament played on four continents. Many Major League Baseball stars took part in the tournament and played for their countries of origin. The first WBC was won by Japan, who defeated Cuba in the final. The next World Baseball Classic, featuring the same 16 teams, will be played in 2009.
Major League Baseball Key Contacts
Major League Baseball
Ariel House
74a Charlotte Street
London W1T 4QJ
T. + 44 (0) 20 7453 7000
F. + 44 (0) 20 7453 7007
E. mlb.info@mlbi.co.uk
For information on sponsorship and broadcast rights, please contact:
Clive Russell
Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa
((firstname.surname))@mlbi.co.uk
For information on market and game development programmes please contact:
Jason Holowaty
Manager, Market Development ((firstname.surname))@mlbi.co.uk
For information on licensing and retail opportunities please contact:
Sally Hoque
IMG Licensing
((firstname.surname))@imgworld.com
For further information on Major League Baseball teams and players:
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