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MLB Players By Country

Updated April 19, 2023

By Brian Duryea | @BatDigest

MLB Players By Country

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What percent of MLB players are from other countries?

Baseball is often called “America’s Pastime,” but it’s a sport with a global reach. Major League Baseball (MLB) is home to players worldwide; from the Dominican Republic to Japan, Brazil to Canada, and everywhere in between, the nationalities and birthplaces of MLB players are as diverse as the countries they represent. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the nationalities of MLB players and explore the impact of this international diversity on America’s favorite pastime. [If you like this, you’ll like our MLB Bats by Player too]

Key MLB Players by Country Findings (2023)

  • A kid born in the Dominican Republic is 5 times as likely to start on an MLB lineup on opening day as a kid from the USA.
  • A kid born in the Dominican Republic is 8 times more likely to pitch on opening day than a kid born from the USA.
  • 66.9% of starting-hitting lineup players were born in the USA.
  • 72.5% of those who pitched on opening day were born in the USA.
  • About one player from every team is from either the DR or Venezuela.
  • 5 countries have a single starting player born in their country (Brazil, Honduras, Aruba, Panama, and Bahamas).
  • 14 different countries have a starting player born in their country.

What We Cover

    1. MLB Hitting Lineups by Birth Country
    2. Players per 1 Million Population
    3. Starting Hitters by Country
    4. Why Birth Country and Not Citizenship
    5. Methodology

2023 MLB Hitting Starters by Birth Country

There are 6 times as many starters (188) from the United States as from Venezuela (29), the second most represented country. The Dominican Republic is 3rd (27) followed by Cuba (14), Puerto Rico (8), Mexico (5), Colombia and Canada (3), Curacao, Japan, South Korea and Germany (2), Brazil, Honduras, Aruba, Panama and Bahamas (1).

2023 MLB Pitchers by Birth Country

The above chart is the raw number of pitchers who took the mound on opening day. Note, these are not just the starters but everyone who threw at least one pitch on opening day. The USA has almost 3 out of every 4 pitchers and the DR has 15.5% of all pitchers.

MLB Players Per Capita 2023

Four countries with more than 10 starters are in the lineup for Opening Day 2023. The Dominican Republic is way more likely to put a kid in the majors than any other country. To give it perspective, the DR is five times more likely to start one of its own in the Big Leagues when compared to one born in the USA. Cuba and Venezuela also outpace the US by at least a factor of two.

Hitters per Population

  If you consider every country, Curacao has 12 players for every 1 million of their population. Granted, Curacao only has a population of 150,000, so its 2 MLB starters on opening day in 2023 (Ozzie Albies and Jonathan Schoop), create a bend in the numbers. But at a population that would only serve about three US high schools, Caracao’s presence in the Big Leagues is noteworthy. This table displays the country, the number of MLB starters in the lineup on opening day, the population of the country, and the MLB players per one million of the population. We took the starting batting lineup of each team on March 30th, 2023 (opening day) for these calculations.

MLB Players by Population Table (Batters)

Country MLB Players Population MLB/1M People
USA 188 331900000 0.566436
Venezuela 29 28200000 1.028369
Dominican Republic 27 11120000 2.428058
Cuba 14 11338138 1.234771
Puerto Rico 8 3193694 2.504936
Mexico 5 128932753 0.038780
Colombia 3 50882891 0.058959
Canada 3 38250000 0.078431
Curacao 2 158665 12.605174
Japan 2 126476461 0.015813
South Korea 2 51269185 0.039010
Germany 2 83783942 0.023871
Brazil 1 214300000 0.004666
Honduras 1 9904607 0.100963
Aruba 1 105845 9.447777
Panama 1 4314767 0.231762
Bahamas 1 407906 2.451545

Pitchers per Population

The Dominican Republic once again dominates the per capita representation in the MLB. On the mound, it’s 8 times more likely to be born in the DR than in the States. Puerto Rico (population 3.1 million) also represents well, but they only have two pitchers (Fernando Cruz and Jorge Lopez).

MLB Players at the Population Level (Pitchers)

Country MLB Players Population MLB/1M People
USA 103 331900000 0.310334
Dominican Republic 22 11120000 1.978417
Venezuela 4 28200000 0.141844
Canada 4 38250000 0.104575
Puerto Rico 2 3193694 0.626234
Panama 2 4314767 0.463524
Mexico 2 128932753 0.015512
Cuba 1 11338138 0.088198
Japan 1 126476461 0.007907
Colombia 1 50882891 0.019653

 

2023 MLB Lineup Starters by Country (batters)

Here are the MLB opening day players for 2023 by birth country. These are any players that got at least one at-bat on opening day.

Aruba

First Last Birth Country Team
Xander Bogaerts Aruba SD

Bahamas

First Last Birth Country Team
Jazz Chisholm Bahamas MIA

Brazil

First Last Birth Country Team
Yan Gomes Brazil CHC

Canada

First Last Birth Country Team
Vladimir Guerrero Canada TOR
Josh Naylor Canada CLE
Tyler O’Neill Canada STL

Colombia

First Last Birth Country Team
Harold Ramírez Colombia TB
Donovan Solano Colombia MIN
Gio Urshela Colombia LAA

Cuba

First Last Birth Country Team
José Abreu Cuba HOU
Yordan Alvarez Cuba HOU
Randy Arozarena Cuba TB
Jose Barrero Cuba CIN
Oscar Colás Cuba CWS
Aledmys Díaz Cuba OAK
Yandy Díaz Cuba TB
Adolis García Cuba TEX
Yasmani Grandal Cuba CWS
Lourdes Gurriel Cuba AZ
Yoán Moncada Cuba CWS
Luis Robert Cuba CWS
Jorge Soler Cuba MIA
Miguel Vargas Cuba LAD

Curacao

First Last Birth Country Team
Ozzie Albies Curacao ATL
Jonathan Schoop Curacao DET

Dominican Republic

First Last Birth Country Team
Willy Adames Dominican Republic MIL
Oneil Cruz Dominican Republic PIT
Bryan De La Cruz Dominican Republic MIA
Rafael Devers Dominican Republic BOS
Yainer Diaz Dominican Republic HOU
Wander Franco Dominican Republic TB
Teoscar Hernández Dominican Republic SEA
Eloy Jiménez Dominican Republic CWS
Ramón Laureano Dominican Republic OAK
Manuel Margot Dominican Republic TB
Ketel Marte Dominican Republic AZ
Starling Marte Dominican Republic NYM
Jorge Mateo Dominican Republic BAL
Elehuris Montero Dominican Republic COL
Marcell Ozuna Dominican Republic ATL
Jeremy Peña Dominican Republic HOU
José Ramírez Dominican Republic CLE
Franmil Reyes Dominican Republic KC
Victor Robles Dominican Republic WSH
Julio Rodríguez Dominican Republic SEA
Amed Rosario Dominican Republic CLE
Esteury Ruiz Dominican Republic OAK
Carlos Santana Dominican Republic PIT
Jean Segura Dominican Republic MIA
Jose Siri Dominican Republic TB
Juan Soto Dominican Republic SD
Raimel Tapia Dominican Republic BOS

Germany

First Last Birth Country Team
Brendan Donovan Germany STL
Max Kepler Germany MIN

Honduras

First Last Birth Country Team
Mauricio Dubón Honduras HOU

Japan

First Last Birth Country Team
Shohei Ohtani Japan LAA
Masataka Yoshida Japan BOS

Mexico

First Last Birth Country Team
Alejandro Kirk Mexico TOR
Joey Meneses Mexico WSH
Isaac Paredes Mexico TB
Luis Urías Mexico MIL
Ramón Urías Mexico BAL

Panama

First Last Birth Country Team
Christian Bethancourt Panama TB

Puerto Rico

First Last Birth Country Team
Javier Báez Puerto Rico DET
Carlos Correa Puerto Rico MIN
Enrique Hernández Puerto Rico BOS
Francisco Lindor Puerto Rico NYM
Martín Maldonado Puerto Rico HOU
Jose Miranda Puerto Rico MIN
Roberto Pérez Puerto Rico SF
Christian Vázquez Puerto Rico MIN

South Korea

First Last Birth Country Team
Ji Hwan Bae South Korea PIT
Ha-Seong Kim South Korea SD

USA

First Last Birth Country Team
Cj Abrams USA WSH
Nick Ahmed USA AZ
Pete Alonso USA NYM
Brian Anderson USA MIL
Tim Anderson USA CWS
Nolan Arenado USA STL
Christian Arroyo USA BOS
Matt Beaty USA SF
Josh Bell USA CLE
Cody Bellinger USA CHC
Brandon Belt USA TOR
Andrew Benintendi USA CWS
Will Benson USA CIN
Jon Berti USA MIA
Mookie Betts USA LAD
Bo Bichette USA TOR
Cavan Biggio USA TOR
Charlie Blackmon USA COL
Alec Bohm USA PHI
Alex Bregman USA HOU
Will Brennan USA CLE
Seth Brown USA OAK
Kris Bryant USA COL
Byron Buxton USA MIN
Alex Call USA WSH
Jeimer Candelario USA WSH
Mark Canha USA NYM
Conner Capel USA OAK
Matt Carpenter USA SD
Corbin Carroll USA AZ
Triston Casas USA BOS
Nick Castellanos USA PHI
Jake Cave USA PHI
Matt Chapman USA TOR
Michael Conforto USA SF
Garrett Cooper USA MIA
Brandon Crawford USA SF
J. P. Crawford USA SEA
C. J. Cron USA COL
Jake Cronenworth USA SD
Travis D’Arnaud USA ATL
David Dahl USA SD
J. D. Davis USA SF
Corey Dickerson USA WSH
Josh Donaldson USA NYY
Hunter Dozier USA KC
Brandon Drury USA LAA
Adam Duvall USA BOS
Tommy Edman USA STL
Kyle Farmer USA MIN
Jake Fraley USA CIN
Ty France USA SEA
Adam Frazier USA BAL
Freddie Freeman USA LAD
Tj Friedl USA CIN
Joey Gallo USA MIN
Luis García USA WSH
Paul Goldschmidt USA STL
Romy González USA CWS
Nick Gordon USA MIN
Nolan Gorman USA STL
Riley Greene USA DET
Trent Grisham USA SD
Robbie Grossman USA TEX
Eric Haase USA DET
Darick Hall USA PHI
Ian Happ USA CHC
Michael Harris USA ATL
Ke’Bryan Hayes USA PIT
Austin Hays USA BAL
Austin Hedges USA PIT
Jonah Heim USA TEX
Gunnar Henderson USA BAL
Sam Hilliard USA ATL
Nico Hoerner USA CHC
Eric Hosmer USA CHC
Jonathan India USA CIN
Kyle Isbel USA KC
Aaron Judge USA NYY
Josh Jung USA TEX
Jarred Kelenic USA SEA
Tony Kemp USA OAK
Kevin Kiermaier USA TOR
Andrew Knizner USA STL
Ryan Kreidler USA DET
Steven Kwan USA CLE
Tommy La Stella USA SEA
Shea Langeliers USA OAK
Trevor Larnach USA MIN
Dj Lemahieu USA NYY
Kyle Lewis USA AZ
Evan Longoria USA AZ
Brandon Lowe USA TB
Nathaniel Lowe USA TEX
Manny Machado USA SD
Trey Mancini USA CHC
Brandon Marsh USA PHI
J. D. Martinez USA LAD
Michael Massey USA KC
Miles Mastrobuoni USA CHC
Nick Maton USA DET
Jake Mccarthy USA AZ
Andrew Mccutchen USA PIT
Reese Mcguire USA BOS
Zach Mckinstry USA DET
Ryan Mcmahon USA COL
Jeff Mcneil USA NYM
Austin Meadows USA DET
Mj Melendez USA KC
Whit Merrifield USA TOR
Jake Meyers USA HOU
Brad Miller USA TEX
Garrett Mitchell USA MIL
Ryan Mountcastle USA BAL
Cedric Mullins USA BAL
Max Muncy USA LAD
Sean Murphy USA ATL
Wil Myers USA CIN
Brandon Nimmo USA NYM
Austin Nola USA SD
Lars Nootbaar USA STL
Logan O’Hoppe USA LAA
Matt Olson USA ATL
James Outman USA LAD
Vinnie Pasquantino USA KC
Joc Pederson USA SF
Jace Peterson USA OAK
Tommy Pham USA NYM
Cal Raleigh USA SEA
Luke Raley USA TB
J. T. Realmuto USA PHI
Anthony Rendon USA LAA
Hunter Renfroe USA LAA
Bryan Reynolds USA PIT
Austin Riley USA ATL
Anthony Rizzo USA NYY
Brent Rooker USA OAK
Adley Rutschman USA BAL
Blake Sabol USA SF
Kyle Schwarber USA PHI
Corey Seager USA TEX
Marcus Semien USA TEX
Dominic Smith USA WSH
Josh Smith USA TEX
Will Smith USA LAD
Canaan Smith-Njigba USA PIT
George Springer USA TOR
Jacob Stallings USA MIA
Giancarlo Stanton USA NYY
Spencer Steer USA CIN
Tyler Stephenson USA CIN
Bryson Stott USA PHI
Myles Straw USA CLE
Jack Suwinski USA PIT
Dansby Swanson USA CHC
Michael Taylor USA MIN
Rowdy Tellez USA MIL
Lane Thomas USA WSH
Bubba Thompson USA TEX
Spencer Torkelson USA DET
Jose Trevino USA NYY
Mike Trout USA LAA
Kyle Tucker USA HOU
Brice Turang USA MIL
Justin Turner USA BOS
Trea Turner USA PHI
Daulton Varsho USA TOR
Andrew Vaughn USA CWS
Alex Verdugo USA BOS
Matt Vierling USA DET
David Villar USA SF
Dan Vogelbach USA NYM
Anthony Volpe USA NYY
Jason Vosler USA CIN
Lamonte Wade USA SF
Christian Walker USA AZ
Jordan Walker USA STL
Taylor Walls USA TB
Taylor Ward USA LAA
Joey Wendle USA MIA
Jesse Winker USA MIL
Patrick Wisdom USA CHC
Bobby Witt USA KC
Connor Wong USA BOS
Kolten Wong USA SEA
Mike Yastrzemski USA SF
Christian Yelich USA MIL
Mike Zunino USA CLE

Venezuela

First Last Birth Country Team
Ronald Acuña Venezuela ATL
Jesús Aguilar Venezuela OAK
Elvis Andrus Venezuela CWS
Orlando Arcia Venezuela ATL
Luis Arraez Venezuela MIA
Miguel Cabrera Venezuela DET
Oswaldo Cabrera Venezuela NYY
Harold Castro Venezuela COL
William Contreras Venezuela MIL
Willson Contreras Venezuela STL
Yonathan Daza Venezuela COL
Elias Díaz Venezuela COL
Eduardo Escobar Venezuela NYM
Thairo Estrada Venezuela SF
Wilmer Flores Venezuela SF
Avisaíl García Venezuela MIA
Andrés Giménez Venezuela CLE
Gabriel Moreno Venezuela AZ
Omar Narváez Venezuela NYM
Edward Olivares Venezuela KC
David Peralta Venezuela LAD
Salvador Perez Venezuela KC
Luis Rengifo Venezuela LAA
Miguel Rojas Venezuela LAD
Keibert Ruiz Venezuela WSH
Anthony Santander Venezuela BAL
Eugenio Suárez Venezuela SEA
Gleyber Torres Venezuela NYY
Ezequiel Tovar Venezuela COL

 

Why Birth Country?

Simply because we don’t now how to confirm someone’s nationality. We can gather data from baseballreference.com that shows someone’s birthplace. But checking their visa and voting status is not something we know how to access (or care to). So, we use the next best thing (and maybe even better): the birth country.

How We Compiled Data

The majority of our data is compiled through the use of python, pybaseball and Baseball-Reference. We do our analysis through the use of modules like Pandas and matplotlib.

Updated April 19, 2023

April 19, 2023

By Brian Duryea | @BatDigest

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MLB Players By Country

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