Since 1996, Major League Baseball has sought to expand its league outside the United States. That is why it has organized regular season meetings in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Japan. Even for 2025, games were planned to be held in the Mexican capital just as they were in 2023 and 2024.
However, recently the commissioner of the MLB, Rob Manfred, announced that for the coming season there will be no matches in Mexico as planned nor in Puerto Rico; another place that had been studied to hold meetings in 2025.
And for the MLB, the current focus of the league’s globalization is on the Japanese market. That is why the commissioner made it clear that for now they will only take Major League matches to Tokyo, leaving Mexico and Puerto Rico aside.
“We had a very, very aggressive international commitment last season. Obviously, we’re opening in Tokyo. “Tokyo is really our focus right now for very, very good commercial reasons.”Manfred explained at a press conference this Wednesday.
The first game of last season was played in South Korea between the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now in 2025 the season will also open in eastern lands, this time in Tokyo between the Cubs and the Dodgers.
The MLB commissioner did not close the doors to playing in Puerto Rico and Mexico for the coming seasons. Although ultimately 2025 will not be the year for San Juan and Mexico City to host Major League games.
“We are not going to San Juan, despite many efforts, an agreement was not found that made economic sense for us.”. We would like to go to San Juan and what is available changes from year to year and I hope everything works in the future,” he highlighted.
The MLB labor contract calls for games for the 2026 regular season in Mexico City in May, London in June and San Juan in September. So while in 2025 it will only be played in Japan, for the following year more matches will be seen outside the United States.
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