Spread of Baseball Worldwide.
The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in Cuba. Professional baseball tournaments and leagues began to form in other countries between the world wars, including the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia (1934), Japan (1936), Mexico (1937), and Puerto Rico (1938). After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many Latin American nations, most prominently Venezuela (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955). Latin America and Asia all have several professional leagues.Many European countries have professional leagues as well, the most successful, other than the Dutch league, being the Italian leaguefounded in 1948.[76] Compared to those in Asia and Latin America, the various European leagues and the one in Australia historically have had no more than niche appeal. In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the Olympic Games. The Israel Baseball League, launched in 2007, folded after one season. . Other competitions between national teams, such as the Baseball World Cup and the Olympic baseball tournament, have been administered by theInternational Baseball Federation (IBAF) since its formation in 1938. By 2009, the IBAF had 117 member countries.