How Baseball Embodies Democracy and Capitalism in Its Global Expansion

Are sports merely games governed by rules, or do they reflect deeper cultural, political, and economic systems? Why do some sports become global phenomena while others remain regionally confined? Among many sports, baseball is unique not only for its rules and pace but for how closely it mirrors the values and structures of American society, particularly democracy and capitalism.

Unlike soccer, which is globally popular and governed by an international organization based in Switzerland (FIFA), baseball's global structure is centralized mainly under the control of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States. Soccer's top leagues are spread across Europe — England (Premier League), Germany (Bundesliga), Italy (Serie A), Spain (La Liga), and France (Ligue 1). Baseball, by contrast, operates within a much narrower geopolitical scope. The most prominent international tournament, the World Baseball Classic (WBC), and the most powerful league, MLB, are America-centric in structure, financing, and influence.

In 2024, 211 countries joined the FIFA system, and 20 countries will participate in the WBC in 2026. Countries playing baseball except for the U.S. are Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, etc., which are culturally close to or significantly influenced by the U.S. Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba are physically close to the U.S.

In 1872, an American educator named Horace Wilson introduced baseball to Japan, which Japan shared with Taiwan during colonization. In 1904, an American missionary named Philp Gillette brought baseball to Korea.

Taiwan has been participating in the WBC, calling itself Chinese Taipei for political reasons. China and Taiwan share the same ancestry and speak Mandarin Chinese as their national language. However, why could baseball not be dominant in China, which has a larger population and territory?

I studied in China in high school and briefly played baseball in China. Some international schools in Shanghai offer baseball as an after-school program. I had an opportunity to interact with coaches who participated in the Chinese national team when I was in the 9th grade at a local Chinese school. Although China also has several professional baseball teams, they are not popular among Chinese people. Based on my experience, basketball, table tennis, and badminton are the most popular sports in China. Nearly every student played basketball after lunch in Chinese schools, and very few played soccer. Nevertheless, besides those cultural reasons, I believe baseball cannot dominate China for political reasons.

As I said before, the U.S. monopolistically runs the world's baseball market, and its rules also show characteristics of democracy and capitalism. Every sport has two sides, offense and defense, and the team that scores more wins. In general, two teams compete for a limited time. However, unlike other sports like soccer and basketball, two teams compete against each other by counting outs, and the time for offense and defense is equally provided for each team, without time limits. Equal opportunity and different outcomes are essential factors in democracy. No matter how well each team plays, all have equal opportunities, 27 times offense and 27 times defense. Exceptionally, if the home team leads the opponent at the top of the 9th inning, the game ends without proceeding to the bottom of the 9th inning because it does not affect the results. A pitcher throws the ball, a batter hits it, and fielders can catch it before it lands on the ground. However, the results may vary. A superior team will win against an inferior team, even if they compete under the same conditions. In addition, baseball is the first sport to be commercialized globally. All people on the ground are equal, but their roles are different. Although umpires judge the game's rules, managers can challenge to point out an umpire's wrong decision. This represents that umpires cannot have absolute power over players and managers. This resembles the separation of powers in a democratic government — umpires (judiciary), managers (executive), and players (citizens).

Players from Cuba could not play in MLB legally until 2018. Before that, they illegally escaped from their countries and entered the U.S. to play in the big league. If they demonstrate their abilities in the big league, they can receive more money and recognition among teammates, coaches, and fans who love them. Otherwise, they will be fired from the team. Asylum never guarantees a player's success. Everything is rewarded based on an individual's accomplishments, which is the fundamental principle of capitalism.

Nothing can describe it better than why baseball represents democracy and capitalism.

Based on those examples and factors of baseball, I believe baseball's values do not correspond with those of China. In contrast, Taiwan shares the same language and culture as China, but has a different political system, and baseball is still popular in Taiwan.

Although countries influenced by the U.S. have exclusively played baseball, MLB is trying to popularize baseball worldwide, and one of the efforts is to remove nationality restrictions to play at the WBC. WBC allows players to represent not only their nationality but also the country where they were born, permanent residency, parents' nationality, etc. Players can choose which team they want to play each year the game is held. Alex Rodriguez was born in New York and spent much of his childhood in the Dominican Republic. He represented Team USA in the 2006 WBC and later chose to play for the Dominican Republic in 2009, exercising the WBC’s flexible eligibility rules. Tommy Edman played for Team Korea in 2023 because his mom was born in South Korea, then moved to the U.S.

This flexible nationality policy reflects a form of strategic brand extension, allowing baseball to penetrate new markets through shared heritage. As multinational corporations diversify products to appeal to localized markets, the WBC model enables MLB to generate interest in regions where baseball was previously underdeveloped. If an Italian-American player at MLB can play at WBC representing Italy and mark remarkable results at the tournament, Italian media can focus more on WBC and baseball. WBC's nationality selection policy encourages players to play for the U.S. and other countries. This can distribute talented players to different teams, providing equal opportunities to other nations by preventing a power imbalance and introducing baseball to other countries.

Japan is the biggest baseball market in Asia. Although the U.S. has maintained its monopolistic position globally, if Japan enhances its baseball market to influence Asia to build Asia's big league, the world's baseball market can be transformed from a monopoly to an oligopoly. MLB will be the big league among Western countries, and Japan will be the big league among Asian countries. After that, we can expect countries representing each league to hold a game like a team representing the American continent vs a team representing Asia. Through constant innovation and efforts, the market will bring unlimited opportunities that no one expected.

Baseball thrives primarily in politically, economically, or culturally aligned countries like the United States. Its deep ties to democratic procedures and capitalistic rewards make it less adaptable in systems where centralized authority and collective ideology dominate. Yet through innovations like the WBC, baseball actively seeks to globalize, potentially transforming its structure from the America-dominated monopoly to a dynamic, multi-centered oligopoly.