Tomorrow, the Houston Astros face off against the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim) in a two game series in Monterrey, Mexico. These regular season MLB games played outside of the United States and Canada have been played in Mexico, Japan, Australia, Puerto Rico and in the future, the United Kingdom. They are part of an effort to increase the popularity Major League Baseball on an international stage.
There is no shortage of international star power in this series. Between Venezuela’s Jose Altuve, the Dominican Republic’s Albert Pujols, the USA’s Mike Trout and Justin Verlander, Puerto Rico’s Carlos Correa and Japan’s Shohei Ohtani (unfortunately still on the IL), there are 8 MVP awards and 5 Rookie of the Year Awards spread amongst six nations.