Why is it called the world series when...?

Question

When a team wins the World Series the announcer says something like: bla, bla...the new champions of the "world". To become world champion you have to compete against the world. Why is it called the World Series when only US teams compete. There are countries that have become really good at baseball such as Japan & Korea. Are the americans scared to loose in the all american sport that is baseball, is that why the World Series are closed to the rest of the world?

Answer 1

Um, look at the rosters.  They are loaded with players from all over.  MLB attracts the best players from all over the world, just like the NBA.  If Japan and Korea wanted to play in the WS, then they'd want their best players back, like Ichiro, Dice-K, Matsui, etc.  

Answer 2

I agree. It should be MLB Champion vs. the World Champion in a true "World Series"

Answer 3

There was a world baseball classic, where every country was represented by their best players. That was pretty cool to watch. However, most of the players compiled in these rosters are from the major leagues.

That's why the world series is in United States... because they are the best in the world.  

Answer 4

Kinda like calling the Driveway a Driveway when you park there.

Answer 5

That's the way it was when the World Series started, and there have been almost no definitive reasons to change it since then.

Ask this again when MLB stars actually leave Major League Baseball to play in other countries.  Their stars leave their home countries to play Major League Baseball, not the other way around.

Major League Baseball is the best league in the world.

Answer 6

There are the Toronto Blue Jays, they won the World series in 1992 and 1993.

But El Duderino is right, a good number of MLB players come from other countries such as, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Columbia. Cuba, even a few from Australia and Curacao, probably a few others countries I haven't mentioned. Many MLB teams have scouts and even baseball camps in some of these countries and a lot of aspiring young kids dream to make it in the MLB someday. For a lot fo kids, it's a way out of the poor conditions they live in, and also to be famous in their country, such as Roberto Clemente is to Puerto Rico.

Answer 7

When the world's best players leave their homelands to make millions playing games (in America)  then you can call the champion whatever you wish.

Answer 8

The term World Series is just a name of the Major League Baseball's championship series. Just like any league around the world to be able to participate in the league's championship a team has to be a member of that league.

The name comes from when the first baseball championship were played in the late 1880's. At that time the United States and Canada were the only nations that played professional baseball. Therefore the winner of the championship could be consider the world champion. It is at this time that the term "World's Championship Series" was first used. This was later shorted to "World Series."

It wasn't until the several decades later, 1920's - 1930's, that baseball leagues were formed in other parts of the world. By then the term had been used for more than 30 years by the leagues in the US and Canada.

Nowadays, Major League Baseball, and most reputable people associated with MLB (media, players, etc.) do not claim that the MLB champion team is the world champion.

There is the World Baseball Classic that attempts to crown an annual world champion.

Answer 9

mlb has the best in the world so why not?

Answer 10

Realistically we are probably only about 10 years away from a true world series happening. I don't think anyone is scared of anything in professional sports other than losing money. So, if the price is right, taking into account travel expenses and scheduling scenarios, I'm sure that MLB would like to expand the sport as far as they can, into Asia, South America. The NBA is already doing it in Europe. Do you really think they didn't realize that their players were going to go play there. David Stern is ecstatic about it. The only thing that will make any of the 3 major sports more money than they are already making is to expand their sports globally.

But keep in mind that it is called the World Series because the sport was invented here and played here exclusively for a long time. I'm sure that if baseball were invented in Japan that they would call their championship the World Series and we would call ours the American Series or something. First come, first serve.

Answer 11

The MLB contains the greatest players in the world. Most players aren't Americans. The MLB has no other major teams from different countries competing against them.