List of active Major League Baseball players by country of birth

Number of MLB 26-man players by country (or possession) (2024)[1][2]
Rank Country (or possession) # %
1  United States 1,072 73.7%
2  Dominican Republic 142 9.8%
3  Venezuela 91 6.3%
4  Cuba 33 2.3%
5  Puerto Rico 27 1.9%
6  Canada 17 1%
7  Mexico 16 1.1%
8  Japan 11 0.8%
9  Colombia 9 0.6%
10  Panama 8 0.6%
11  Curaçao[a]
 South Korea		 4 0.3%
13  Nicaragua 3 0.2%
14 Multiple[b][c] 2 0.1%
18 Multiple[d][e][f] 1 0.1%

Major League Baseball is a professional baseball league in Canada and the United States, and is widely regarded as the best league for the sport in the world.[3][4] In addition, MLB is the best baseball league in the world in terms of revenue, and 85 countries are active in international competition per WBSC.[5][6] Unlike FIFA, players do not register with a country, so nationality is often disputed when international fixtures come around, such as Manny Machado representing the Dominican Republic instead of the United States in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.[7] Similarly, Alex Rodriguez played for the United States in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, but before the 2009 World Baseball Classic he announced his intention to play for the Dominican Republic (though ultimately he didn't play in the 2009 tournament due to injury).[8][9] And in another example, Marcus Stroman played for the United States in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but played for Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[10] As such, player representation by birth spans to 25 countries as of the 2022 MLB season, with the United States topping the list at 1,057 players called up to 26-man rosters.[1] The most represented overseas country is the Dominican Republic, with 171 players called up to 26-man rosters.[1] The ranking for countries for most MLB players by birth matches well with the WBSC World Rankings, although East Asia and Australia underperforms in MLB and European nations have little to no representation, likely due to acquisition fees, travel to home soil, and/or professional baseball leagues in their home country with good revenue.[11][12]

Africa

See also: WBSC Africa

South Africa

See also: South Africa national baseball team

Americas

See also: WBSC Americas

Aruba

Aruba native Xander Bogaerts in 2016
For all Major League Baseball players born in Aruba, see List of Major League Baseball players from the Netherlands Antilles.
See also: Aruba national baseball team

Bahamas

For all Major League Baseball players born in the Bahamas, see List of Major League Baseball players from the Bahamas.
See also: Bahamas national baseball team

Brazil

Brazil native Yan Gomes in 2016
For all Major League Baseball players born in Brazil, see List of Major League Baseball players from Brazil.
See also: Brazil national baseball team

Canada

For all Major League Baseball players born in Canada, see List of Major League Baseball players from Canada.
See also: Canada national baseball team
Canada native Joey Votto in 2011

Colombia

Cuba

Cuba native Raisel Iglesias in 2017
For all Major League Baseball players born in Cuba, see List of Major League Baseball players from Cuba.
See also: Cuba national baseball team

Curaçao

For all Major League Baseball players born in Curaçao, see List of Major League Baseball players from the Netherlands Antilles.
See also: Curaçao national baseball team
Curaçao native Andrelton Simmons in 2018

Dominican Republic

For all Major League Baseball players born in the Dominican Republic, see List of Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic.
Nelson Cruz in 2017

Honduras

See also: Honduras national baseball team

Mexico

For all Major League Baseball players born in Mexico, see List of Major League Baseball players from Mexico.
See also: Mexico national baseball team

Nicaragua

For all Major League Baseball players born in Nicaragua, see List of Major League Baseball players from Nicaragua.
See also: Nicaragua national baseball team

Panama

For all Major League Baseball players born in Panama, see List of Major League Baseball players from Panama.
See also: Panama national baseball team

Peru

See also: Peru national baseball team

Puerto Rico

For all Major League Baseball players born in Puerto Rico, see List of Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico.
See also: Puerto Rico national baseball team

United States

Venezuela

For all Major League Baseball players born in Venezuela, see List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela.

Asia

See also: WBSC Asia

Japan

For all Major League Baseball players born in Japan, see List of Major League Baseball players from Japan.
See also: Japan national baseball team

South Korea

For all Major League Baseball players born in South Korea, see List of Major League Baseball players from South Korea.
See also: South Korea national baseball team

Taiwan

For all Major League Baseball players born in Taiwan, see List of Major League Baseball players from Taiwan.
See also: Chinese Taipei national baseball team

Europe

For all Major League Baseball players born in Europe, see List of Major League Baseball players from Europe.
See also: WBSC Europe

Germany

See also: Germany national baseball team

Italy

See also: Italy national baseball team

Portugal

See also: Portugal national baseball team

United Kingdom

See also: Great Britain national baseball team

Oceania

See also: WBSC Oceania

Australia

For all Major League Baseball players born in Australia, see List of Major League Baseball players from Australia.
See also: Australia national baseball team

Guam

See also: Guam national baseball team

Footnotes

  1. ^ Curaçao is represented by the Netherlands in certain international competitions.
  2. ^ Aruba, Australia, Brazil, & Germany all had two players compete in MLB games.
  3. ^ Aruba is represented by the Netherlands in certain international competitions.
  4. ^ The Bahamas, Guam, Honduras, Italy, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom all had one player compete in MLB games.
  5. ^ Bahamas is represented by Great Britain in certain international competitions.
  6. ^ Guam is represented by the United States in certain international competitions.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "MLB Players by Birthplace During the 2024 Season". Baseball Alamanac. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  2. ^ "2022 Major League Baseball Team Statistics (Compiled from Team Rosters)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "Teams of MLB". Major League Baseball. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  4. ^ "Professional Baseball Leagues Around the World". Betting Site. March 26, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  5. ^ "WBSC Rankings - Men's baseball". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  6. ^ "11 Most Profitable Sports Leagues – Their Value Will Surprise You". Athletic Panda. January 13, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  7. ^ "Why I'm Playing for the Dominican Republic". The Players Tribune. March 9, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  8. ^ "This Day in Yankees History: A-Rod picks a side in the 2006 World Baseball Classic". SB Nation. January 17, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  9. ^ "Alex Rodriguez switches to Dominican Republic for WBC". Mister Baseball. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  10. ^ "'It felt right': Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman joins Puerto Rico for the 2023 World Baseball Classic after representing the US in '17". Chicago Tribune. August 3, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  11. ^ "Differences between Nippon Professonal [sic] Baseball and Major League Baseball". University of Michigan. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  12. ^ "Why Haven't We Had More Japanese Players in the Majors?". Baseball Guru. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
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