Sung 2,430 times every year by fans for whom baseball is a way of life, not a sport: America's 'National Pastime'. The English Premier League commands a pretty impressive attendance of 14 million, the National Football League an even more astonishing 17 million; in 2014 however, America's Major League Baseball was seen by 73,739,622 people making it the most viewed professional sports league in the world. (By the way, Japan's own baseball tournament, the Nippon League, comes in second.) American baseball superstars were the first sporting celebrities, and their legacies still continue to the present day; even if the phrases 'short-stop' and 'unassisted triple play' mean nothing to you, Babe Ruth's name probably rings a bell. The modern sport is truly international, and, unlike American Football, not dominated by the States. The World Baseball Classic – first held in 2006, with the fourth edition coming in 2017 – has been won twice by Japan and once by the Dominican Republic. The USA's best result? 4th. In recent years, the MLB's regular season has started in places as far-flung as Sydney and Tokyo. There are intentions to venture to new cities around the world too.
Following the success of the NFL's International Series, senior figures of the MLB have identified London as another possible location for future international games. Such a decision seems to be optimistic at best: despite the international growth of modern baseball, even in Europe in recent years, with Italy and the Netherlands experiencing an increase in participation and interest, the UK has largely failed to join in. Ask a Briton a question about baseball, and you can expect a response along the lines of "you mean rounders?" 'Twas not ever thus however: baseball can be traced back to English folk games, which also spawned cricket in the eighteenth century. In the late nineteenth century, a league was established for British baseball teams most of whom shared grounds with the local football clubs: Derby County and Aston Villa both won league titles in the 1890s; Derby County F.C.'s stadium from 1895-1997 was known as the Baseball Ground. The popularity of baseball in the UK continued well into the twentieth century, with games in the 1930s drawing in crowds 10,000-people strong comparable with the average attendance of a second-tier football match at the time. In 1918, a match between the US Army and Navy held at Stanford Bridge attracted a crowd of 38,000. As the millennium approached though, baseball's popularity declined. A lack of funding in recent years has ensured that development is non-existent. UK baseball could do with a kick up the proverbial. Why then host a fixture of America's 'National Pastime' in country where there is little interest in the sport, and no prospect for change?
The MLB big-wigs will surely be looking to the NFL for inspiration. Since the first International Series game in 2007 the popularity of American Football in the UK has increased hugely, so much so that the NFL has plans to move a franchise to London by 2021. The environment of sport in the UK has changed through the twenty-first century too: American sports receive more airtime now than ever before; sports likened to baseball (such as cricket, not rounders…) have changed too, as shown by the establishing of the Big Bash League in Australia, where similarities to the MLB are striking. It is too ambitious to expect the UK to support an MLB-like league, but it may not be long before professional baseball is seen in Britain again.
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