Happy MLB Opening Day, But Don't Forget About Unaffiliated Baseball!
In this issue, we break down many of the non-MLB-affiliated baseball leagues around the world and discuss how to tune in and watch overseas baseball.
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . One of the biggest MLB phenoms to come out of Japanese baseball in recent years is two-way player Shohei Ohtani, who began his baseball career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2013. Across five seasons with NPB, he hit .286 with 70 doubles, 48 home runs, and 166 RBI. He also pitched to a 2.52 ERA, 1.076 WHIP, and 624 strikeouts in 543 innings. In 2016, Ohtani set the NPB record for the fastest pitch ever thrown when he hit 102 MPH on the radar gun. After he signed with the Los Angeles Angels, he won the American League Rookie of the Year in 2018 and became the first Japanese-born player in MLB history to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat on June 13, 2019.
. . . Alternatively, MLB players often go play for an unaffiliated league to attempt to restart their MLB career or to continue playing baseball once they are finished in Major League Baseball. Last season, former Mets pitcher Chris Flexen had an outstanding season in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), pitching to a 3.01 ERA and a razor-thin 1.09 WHIP in 21 starts. This success was in stark contrast to his underwhelming Mets career, in which he had an 8.07 ERA in 27 games from 2017-2019. Flexen’s 2020 success in the KBO landed him a contract in 2021 with the Seattle Mariners and a spot in their starting rotation.
Leading Off
A Flurry Of Baseball
By Bill Thompson
Baseball season is upon us, at least that’s what I keep hearing. It is true that the Major League Baseball season is beginning on this very day. People are excited about that, which is great. However, baseball isn’t just limited to what MLB produces, and it’s now a year-long sport. From January to December, professional baseball is being played somewhere around the world, and in most cases, it’s available to watch live. The spring and summer months, in particular, are a time of plentiful baseball activity not limited to what is happening in MLB or the minor leagues.
There are so many active pro leagues during the spring and summer that it would be impossible for me to give a breakdown of all of them in a single article. If I did, that article would be around 27 pages long, and that’s a lowball estimate. The point is, there’s a lot of baseball out there and it would behoove baseball fans to give these other leagues a shot. Maybe all you want to do is watch MLB and the occasional minor league game. If that’s the case, then that’s fine, but for those who are curious and want to wet your adventure whistle a little bit, keep reading on.
One note before we go any further -- there isn’t one centralized streaming service for all these leagues like there is for MLB. Some of them do have centralized streaming services for their own leagues, but there isn’t one for say, all the leagues of Europe, or all the leagues of Asia, etc. I do curate the Streaming Guide that has information on how to stream any professional unaffiliated league that does in fact stream their games (usually these streams are free to boot). I know it’s my thing that I have created, but it really is a tremendous resource for anyone who wants to check out any of the leagues below.
Asia
There are numerous summer leagues throughout Asia. However, the big three that you really need to know are Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Korea’s Korea Baseball Organization, and Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League. NPB is the most well-known and features the highest talent level of the three. However, the KBO is not that far behind, and the CPBL is growing and getting better every single year. All three are very fun and play full regular seasons of 120+ games. Unless COVID-19 intervenes, all three leagues should be playing regular season games by the time you read this. Watching those games is very easy if you want to give CPBL a go, but somewhat more difficult for the KBO and NPB.
The Japan Women’s Baseball League also plays during the summer months in Japan. It remains the only women’s professional baseball league in the world. They play a 100+ game regular season and they do have their own centralized streaming service. They aren’t a gimmick league either -- the JWBL is a top-flight league with amazing athletes that offers some of the best baseball in the world.
Europe
Most people don’t think baseball is popular in Europe, but the game has been growing over there for years now. It’s still not at the levels seen in other countries, but the professional game is strong and getting even better. There are various unofficial tiers when it comes to the European leagues. The lower tiers are often hard to find streams or even results for, but the top tiers either have their own streaming services or stream through various club-associated social media accounts.
The top tier of European baseball currently consists of Italy’s Campionato Italiano di Baseball Serie A, the Netherlands’ Honkbal Hoofdklasse, the Czech Republic’s Extraliga, Baseball Bundesliga Germany, and France’s Division 1. All of these leagues play a short season with anywhere from 20 to 40 games, and they mainly play on the weekends. They feature a mixture of paid and unpaid players. While they are still growing, the games are fun, often competitive, and feature a lot of good, young talent.
Another fixture of the European summer schedule that is not seen anywhere else is the cup system. There are two club-based tournaments that take place every year. They feature the champions, and sometimes the runner-ups, from the top-tier and second-tier leagues. These tournaments take place in July and are smack dab in the middle of the league seasons that typically begin in March and April. However, this year thanks to COVID-19, the European leagues are starting anywhere from March to as late as July.
Latin America
When I talk Latin American baseball with people, they usually think of the winter. That’s understandable, as the winter leagues are hugely popular and an integral part of the baseball calendar. However, there are plenty of leagues playing games in the spring or summer. Mexico itself has nearly double-digit leagues in action. There’s a lot of baseball, much of it available to watch.
The largest and most noteworthy of these leagues is Mexico’s Liga Mexicana de Béisbol. They are playing a shortened season in 2021, but they will still be playing all week long, unlike the rest of the leagues that are weekend only, starting in May. LMB has a very high talent level and is an immensely fun league to watch. Nicaragua’s Campeonato Nacional de Béisbol Superior Germán Pomares Ordóñez, Puerto Rico’s Béisbol Superior Doble A, and Panama’s Campeonato Nacional de Béisbol Mayor are also fun leagues that are worth checking out. Nicaragua’s season started in February, while Puerto Rico and Panama should be kicking off their seasons in May.
North America
There are a lot of unaffiliated, or independent, leagues in North America. The big three are the Atlantic League, American Association, and Frontier League. All three of those leagues play full regular season schedules ranging from 96 to 120 games. They are at different talent levels, but if you watch any of them you’re going to have a fun time. It’s fairly easy to find and watch streams for the Atlantic League, while the American Association has its own paid service. The Frontier League may or may not have a streaming service this year -- we’re still waiting for word on that front. All three leagues are scheduled to begin their seasons near the end of May.
Last, but not least, since it’s easy to watch and it’s unclear if the Frontier League will be easy to watch this year, I’m going to include the United Shore Professional Baseball League. Based out of Michigan, the USPBL plays a 75-game schedule that begins at the end of May. It’s an A-level league, but they stream every game on social media, and the games are always fun. In many ways, the USPBL represents a great “tip your toes in the water” league for those unsure about where to start with unaffiliated baseball.
There are a lot more leagues than I listed here that will see action this spring and summer. The theme here is that there’s baseball for everyone. Give one or two of the leagues a chance, and maybe you’ll find a new league, team, or players to root for. These leagues are fun, and the name of the game when it comes to watching baseball is having fun, so have yourself some fun with baseball you’ve never watched before.
Bill Thompson is a father (human/feline/canine), fiancée, paramedic, socialist, writer for Off the Bench Baseball & Internet Baseball Writer’s Association of America, and a freelance writer at various online and print publications. He is also a member of the Internet Baseball Writer's Association of America & the Society for American Baseball Research. You can follow him on Twitter @BillCubbieBlue.
Cleaning Up
The IBWAA is a proud partner of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). This year, SABR has put together a collection of new Games Project stories, all of which cover various Opening Day games throughout baseball history. From Babe Ruth to Bob Feller and Darryl Strawberry to Derek Jeter, many of the most famous names in baseball history make an appearance in these new Games Project stories. Click here to peruse these stories on the SABR website!