This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
Questions 5, 7, and 8 all relate to the internationalization of baseball, asking:
5. How many [...] MLB franchises will be outside of the U.S.?
7. Indicate which of these cities outside of the US and Canada will have MLB franchises in 2020:
8. In 2002, about 1 player in 4 in the majors (24.5%) was born outside the U.S. In the minor leagues, the percentage is already around 50%. In 2020 [what percentage will it be?]
Looking at these questions from this side of the Pacific, I still don't think that MLB and NPB will merge by 2020, although I do think that their relationship with each other will change significantly. You all know about my desire to see a Pacific Rim League happen, and the winner of that to take on the winner of North America in a "real" World Series, so I think that, if anything, "PRL" and MLB may start battling over rights to the Asian talent pool. Still, is this a long enough time frame to see it happen?
Whether the Pacific Rim League comes about or not, I still think that MLB will expand toward South America, not Europe and/or Asia. It's closer, they've already got a great many ties at all levels, and there isn't as great a problem with jet lag as they're in the same time zones as North America.
But what I'm really interested in is your opinions on what Nippon Professional Baseball will be like in 2020. Will it expand internationally? Will it be assimilated by MLB? Will umpires be replaced by technology? Will SABR-metrics be discovered and used by managers here?