Major League Baseball Hopes For European Games Within 5 Years

MLB hopes to play regular-season games in Europe "within five years and return to Mexico" for the first time since '99, according to Ronald Blum of the AP. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, who took over for Bud Selig in January, has made expansion of int'l play a "priority." MLB Chief Legal Officer Dan Halem said, "I think the view is that the more you play in these countries on a continual basis rather than going to a country one year and then waiting five years to return, the better, in terms of developing baseball. Mexico is a priority of ours, in terms of further developing it as a baseball market. Europe, which we really haven't done much in over the years, is also a priority, but nothing certainly has been planned yet. But I think it's the commissioner's goal to be able to play regular-season games in both Mexico and in Europe, certainly over the next five years" (AP, 11/12).