▁baseball ▁teams ▁in ▁the ▁United ▁States ▁and ▁Canada , ▁although ▁ML B , ▁its ▁players , ▁and ▁North ▁American ▁media ▁sometimes ▁inform ally ▁refer ▁to ▁World ▁Series ▁w inners ▁as ▁" world ▁champions ▁of ▁baseball ". ▁Some ▁Americans , ▁even ▁those ▁close ▁to ▁' world ▁champions ' ▁themselves , ▁question ▁whether ▁the ▁title ▁is ▁just ified . ▁ ▁The ▁United ▁States , ▁Canada , ▁and ▁Mexico ▁( L iga ▁Mé x icana ▁de ▁Bé is bol , ▁established ▁ 1 9 2 5 ) ▁were ▁the ▁only ▁professional ▁baseball ▁countries ▁until ▁a ▁few ▁dec ades ▁into ▁the ▁ 2 0 th ▁century . ▁The ▁first ▁Japanese ▁professional ▁baseball ▁efforts ▁began ▁in ▁ 1 9 2 0 . ▁The ▁current ▁Japanese ▁le agues ▁date ▁from ▁the ▁late ▁ 1 9 4 0 s ▁( after ▁World ▁War ▁II ). ▁Vari ous ▁Latin ▁American ▁le agues ▁also ▁formed ▁around ▁that ▁time . ▁ ▁By ▁the ▁ 1 9 9 0 s , ▁baseball ▁was ▁played ▁at ▁a ▁highly ▁sk illed ▁level ▁in ▁many ▁countries . ▁Re aching ▁North ▁America ' s ▁high - sal ary ▁major ▁le agues ▁is ▁the ▁goal ▁of ▁many ▁of ▁the ▁best ▁players ▁around ▁the ▁world , ▁which ▁gives ▁a ▁strong ▁international ▁flav or ▁to ▁the ▁Series . ▁Many ▁tal ented ▁players ▁from ▁Latin ▁America , ▁the ▁Car ib bean , ▁the ▁Pacific ▁R im , ▁and ▁elsewhere ▁now ▁play ▁in ▁the ▁maj ors . ▁One ▁notable ▁exception ▁is ▁Cub an ▁citizens , ▁because ▁of ▁the ▁political ▁t ensions ▁between ▁the