I know most Irish people believe that baseball is a peculiarly American sport and to a large extent it is. However, yesterday I was watching the Hanshin Tigers beat the NY Yankees in an exhibition game ("friendly") from Tokyo and it was striking how global baseball is now.
Half the Yankees seem to be from Latin America. Of course, the most popular Yankee in Japan is Hideki Matsui. The Tigers had an Australian pitcher.
But, it was when the broadcasters mentioned this summer's Olympics that I was struck by the international spread of baseball. They reminded me that the US didn't qualify for this year's Olympics. Talk about shame!
