USATSI_12388040 — Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

When Will Baseball Fans See International Games Again?

According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, the return for international MLB games is closer than some might expect.

Author:
Declan Harris
Mar 16, 2022 6:00 PM EDT

Ever since the pandemic broke out back in 2020, the MLB has put their international series on hold. Games in places like as the London, Mexico, Puerto Rico or Opening Day in Japan haven't taken place since 2019.

According to Evan Drellich of the Athletic, the MLB has its schedule ready for the upcoming seasons, and on it lies several international events.

The first set of international baseball games to take place will be the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in September 2022, while the World Baseball Classic will take place during the spring of 2023.

Following the qualifiers, there will be more baseball played in Taiwan and Korea once the season is over.

Jumping to 2023, beyond the World Baseball Classic, seasonal series will return. Games set to be played in Mexico City in May, and in London in June. For both England and Mexico, it will be the first time that the MLB has hosted games there since the beginning of the pandemic. To wrap up 2023, there will be games played in Latin America.

2024 will see select spring training games take place in the Dominican Republic as well as Puerto Rico, with an opening day game taking place somewhere in Asia, likely Japan, but South Korea and Taiwan are also possibilities. Following this, it will be much of the same, the two international series will be played in Mexico City and the London.

2025 will be the first year since 2022 where no international games take place during Spring Training. Though MLB will start the season with Opening Day in Tokyo. Mexico City will once again be the destination for two teams during May, with Paris making their debut in June 2025, and San Juan making their debut in September 2025.

2026 is the last year with concrete plans according to Drellich. Spring Training will take place during the World Baseball Classic and Opening Day will take place domestically. The Mexico City games should be a tradition by this point, however, 2026 will mark the return of the London games, while the season will end with a series in San Juan for the second consecutive season.

It's clear that MLB takes their international community extremely seriously and it's promising to see that fans all over the world will be able to see their favorite sport in their own cities.