List of countries with their first Major League Baseball player

The globalization of Major League Baseball has been occurring since its inception. The early years saw an influx of players from western Europe. Major League Baseball eventually saw fewer European players, but more players from Latin America. Today Major League Baseball has players from five continents. The following is a list of countries and the first person born there that played Major League Baseball.

These players are not necessarily the first citizen of each respective country to play in Major League Baseball as nationality is determined under a nation's nationality law and may differ. Also, these players are classified strictly by the countries of their birth; this does not reflect the following issues:

Political change: A number of the countries listed here no longer exist, such as Austria–Hungary. By contrast, the convention of the Hockey Hall of Fame, which is generally followed for purposes of nationality classification in ice hockey, is to classify players by the currently existing country in which their birthplace is located.
Where players were trained in baseball:
- Some players on this list, despite their birth location, are or were Americans or Canadians who returned to their parents' home country as children and were developed there.
- Most of the European-born players on this list moved to North America as children. For example, the first Netherlands-born player in MLB was John Houseman, who made his debut in 1894 (more than a decade before the formation of what would become MLB), but it was not until 1979 that Win Remmerswaal became the first player born and raised in the European portion of the Netherlands to make his MLB debut.^[1] The case with Italy is similar, as Alex Liddi was the first person born and raised in that country to play Major League Baseball, despite the first Italian-born Major Leaguer coming decades earlier.

Country	Name	Debut Year
Afghanistan	Jeff Bronkey	1993^[2]
Australia	Joe Quinn	1884^[3]
Austria	Kurt Krieger	1949^[4]
Austria–Hungary	Amos Cross	1885^[5]
Bahamas	Andre Rodgers	1957^[6]
Belgium	Brian Lesher	1996^[7]
Canada	Bill Phillips	1879^[8]
China	Harry Kingman	1914^[9]
Colombia	Luis Castro	1902^[10]
Cuba	Armando Marsans Rafael Almeida	1911^[11]^[12]
Denmark	Olaf Henriksen	1911^[13]
Dominican Republic	Ozzie Virgil, Sr.	1956^[14]
England	Al Nichols	1876^[15]
Finland	John Michaelson	1921^[16]
France	Joe Woerlin	1895^[17]
Germany	George Heubel	1876^[18]
Greece	Al Campanis	1943^[19]
Hawaii	Johnnie Williams	1914^[20]
Honduras	Gerald Young	1987^[21]
Indonesia	Tom Mastny	2006^[22]
Ireland	Andy Leonard	1876^[23]
Italy	Lou Polli	1932^[24]
Jamaica	Chili Davis	1981^[25]
Japan	Masanori Murakami	1964^[26]
Mexico	Mel Almada	1933^[27]
Netherlands	John Houseman	1894^[28]
Nicaragua	Dennis Martínez	1976^[29]
Norway	John Anderson	1894^[30]
Panama	Humberto Robinson	1955^[31]
Philippines	Bobby Chouinard	1996^[32]
Poland	Henry Peploski	1929^[33]
Russia	Jake Gettman	1897^[34]
Saudi Arabia	Craig Stansberry	2007^[35]
Scotland	Jim McCormick	1878^[36]
Singapore	Robin Jennings	1996^[37]
South Korea	Chan Ho Park	1994^[38]
South Vietnam	Danny Graves	1996^[39]
Soviet Union	Victor Cole	1992^[40]
Spain	Bryan Oelkers	1983^[41]
Sweden	Charlie Hallstrom	1885^[42]
Switzerland	Otto Hess	1902^[43]
Republic of China (Taiwan)	Chin-Feng Chen	2002^[44]
United States	(See footnote)	1871^[45]
Venezuela	Alex Carrasquel	1939^[46]
Wales	Peter Morris	1884^[46]
West Germany	Rob Belloir	1975^[47]

References

^ Schaerlaeckens, Leander (September 13, 2011). "American pastime rising in Europe". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6948276/mlb-baseball-europe-take-off. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
^ "Jeff Bronkey Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=bronkje01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Players by birthplace : Australia Baseball Stats and Info". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/Australia_born.shtml. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Austria". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Austria. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Austria-Hungary". Baseball-almanac.com. 18 August 1999. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Austria-Hungary. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Bahamas". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Bahamas. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Belgium". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Belgium. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Players by birthplace : Canada Baseball Stats and Info". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/CAN_born_debut.shtml. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in China". Baseball-almanac.com. 18 August 1999. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=China. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Colombia". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Colombia. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Armando Marsans Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=marsaar01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Rafael Almeida Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=almeira01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Olaf Henriksen Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=henriol01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Players by birthplace : Dominican Republic Baseball Stats and Info". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/D-R-_born_debut.shtml. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Al Nichols Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. 18 June 1936. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=nichoal01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "John Michaelson Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/michajo01.shtml. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
^ "Joe Woerlin Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. 22 June 1919. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=woerljo01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "George Heubel Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=heubege01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Greece". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Greece. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Players by birthplace : Hawaii Baseball Stats and Info". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/HI_born_debut.shtml. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Gerald Young Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=youngge02. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Tom Mastny Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=mastnto01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Andy Leonard Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. 21 August 1903. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=leonaan01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Lou Polli Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=pollilo01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Chili Davis Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=davisch01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Masanori Murakami Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=murakma01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Mel Almada Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=almadme01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "John Houseman Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=housejo01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Nicaragua". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Nicaragua. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Norway". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Norway. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Players by birthplace : Panama Baseball Stats and Info". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/Panama_born_debut.shtml. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Philippines". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Philippines. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Poland". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Poland. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Players by birthplace : Russia Baseball Stats and Info". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/Russia_born_debut.shtml. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Craig Stansberry Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=stanscr01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Scotland". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Scotland. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Singapore". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Singapore. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ Korea
^ Vietnam
^ "BASEBALL; A's Enjoy a Romp With 10-Run 3d - New York Times". The New York Times. 24 June 1992. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/24/sports/baseball-a-s-enjoy-a-romp-with-10-run-3d.html. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Spain". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Spain. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Sweden". Baseball-almanac.com. 18 August 1999. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Sweden. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Switzerland". Baseball-almanac.com. 18 August 1999. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Switzerland. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Major League Baseball Players Born in Taiwan". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/birthplace.php?loc=Taiwan. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1871/05041871.htm American-born players from the first National Association of Professional Base Ball Players game – Others would argue for the first National League game, in 1876.
^ ^a ^b "Alex Carrasquel Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=carraal01. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
^ "Pete Morris Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/morrip.01.shtml. Retrieved 18 October 2010.

List of countries with their first Major League Baseball player

See also

References