Cities MLB Should Explore for Future International Series

After the success of the 2019 London Series, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated recently “I would like to have sustained play in Europe”. The London Series will return next year with the NL Central rivals Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals also playing at London Stadium. Manfred is “interested in having play in other cities in Europe”. This will be a bit of a challenge because most major European stadiums are configured to host Soccer, Rugby and occasionally Football. Here a few cities around the world MLB should consider for future MLB International series. For this list, counties that haven’t hosted an MLB game.

Hoofddorp (Amsterdam), Netherlands

Courtesy of Renata Jansen

The only European city on this list, Hoofddorp is a city of 70,000 people 20 minutes outside the Dutch capital of Amsterdam. The Netherlands currently ranks number eight in the WBSC World Rankings and has their own professional baseball league called the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. Built in 2015, The ballpark located in Hoofddorp is hoping to host an MLB game in the future. Its current capacity 3,000 would be expandable to 30,000. With the stadium located just eight minutes from the Amsterdam airport and 20 minutes from one of Europe’s most vibrate cities, the location make sense for both fans and players.

Cape Town, South Africa

Courtesy of Newlands Cricket

Cape Town would be a great city for baseball to introduce themselves to Africa. South Africa is currently ranked number 23 WBSC World Rankings and has played in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic. They currently have two players who play in the MLB, Gift Ngoepe and Taylor Scott. The best stadium option is the Newlands Cricket Ground with a stadium capacity of 25,000. The Cricket Grounds can be easily changed into a baseball diamond. The mountains provide a nice backdrop for a ball game.

Seoul, South Korea

Courtesy of The Korean Heard

Baseball is extremely popular in South Korea. Their league the KBO League features bat flips and cheerleaders on dugouts. Also, some of the best players in the MLB are Korean including Shin-Soo Choo and Hyun Jin Ryu. They also ranked number 3 in the WBSC World Rankings. While there are numerous baseball stadiums to choose from, the best option is the Jamsil Baseball Stadium. Located in Seoul this stadium host two KBO teams and has a capacity over 25,000. The passionate Korean Fans would love to host an MLB series.

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