The Stupidity of Keeping Politics Out of Baseball
This was originally posted on my Substack account on March 16,2026
With the participation of the US baseball team in the Baseball World Classic and the beginning of baseball season being around the corner, I have been thinking a lot about baseball being a worldwide sport. Following Amber Glenn’s public criticism of the Trump administration, and especially after the U.S. male hockey team joined Trump at the White House, I have seen people online claiming that politics don't belong in sports, and that supporting (or not supporting) an athlete has nothing to do with politics. The way Americans interact with sports, from having an alternative halftime show to participating in the World Baseball Classic, has everything to do with politics.
In the early 90s, my dad had the opportunity to study abroad in Miami while getting his MBA degree, and when he came back to Guatemala he brought with him a love for baseball, which he instilled in my siblings and I by talking about baseball, and teaching us how to play (though now I know we played with slightly modified rules). When I was five years old, in the summer of 2001, my family took a trip to New York, and because my dad had been given tickets, I had the opportunity to go to my first baseball game, a Yankees vs Red Sox game. Truth be told I didn't know anything about baseball, nor was I particularly interested in it, I was however interested in spending time with my dad. I don't remember what the scores ended up being that day, but ever since then, and though it didn't happen very often, whenever asked about my favorite team, I always said the Yankees. Not because I followed their victories or knew anything about the players, but because they were my introduction to the sport. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I found out my dad was there to cheer for the Red Sox and not the Yankees, but that didn't change things for me. What did change things was getting married to a Cubs’s fan in 2019, and now I can be seen wearing a T-shirt that read “my husband says I am a Cubs fan."
When I moved to Iowa in 2017, to pursue a B.A in writing and philosophy, I had mostly lost my interest in baseball. In part because the Yankees became too mainstream (like, way too popular for a teenager like me who desperately tried to be not-like-everyone-else), and in part because my siblings had outgrown playing baseball in the yard and were much more interested in soccer. But while going to college in Iowa I met my now husband, so in the summer of 2018 my family took a trip to New York, where I joined them with my boyfriend, and we went to the Yankees Stadium to watch them play against the Mets.
That same year, when I came back to Iowa after spending the summer in Guatemala, my husband and I began what is now a yearly tradition of going to a River Bandits game every August. In 2024 we had the opportunity of taking our new born baby to his first minor league game for fathers day; now he loves going to Woodman Park to cheer for the River Bandits. So, it will come to no surprise to anyone that in our house we count the days until baseball season starts again.
This year, while discussing how excited my husband is for the season to begin, he told me that some Cubs players were predicted to miss the beginning of spring training due to visa issues. Javier Assad, Mexican pitcher, was able to resolve his visa issues and arrived on time for spring training. Moisés Ballesteros, Venezuelan catcher, was finally able to join the Cubs on February 22, and Christian Betancourt, Panamanian catcher, who's latest report is that he is still waiting for a visa (as of March 1st, I haven't been able to find a source confirming whether or not he is back with the Cubs).
In 2025, the official MLB opening day roster featured 265 international-born players. That makes up 27.8% of all players, a number that is on a yearly increase trend, with the majority (71%) of players coming from The Dominican Republic and Venezuela, two countries that currently have a travel restrictions which affect whether or not players are allowed back in the United States even when they already have contracts and previously issued visas. This year, as political tensions grew with Trump's kidnapping of Maduro, MLB teams were forced to rush immigration processes for Venezuelan players, which affected some of their training to participate in the World Baseball Classic as part of the Venezuelan team. These two countries, amongst others like Cuba, are currently on a visa processing shutdown, making the future of these players, as professional MLB players, an uncertain one.
With VIP players like Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr and Juan Soto, it is clear that international-born players bring more than “just diversity" to the game, they make it what it is (literally the rules had to change because of Ohtani). And with networks like ESPN reporting record viewership of MLB games since 2017, it goes to show that fans across America love to watch a baseball league that includes international-born players. I personally have a soft spot for Javier Assad because of my grandma's Mexican heritage, and who knows maybe one day there will be a Guatemalan MLB player.
Despite how much value international players represent to major league baseball in America, some of them fear not just for their future in baseball but also for their safety due to increased ICE activity being racially targeted. Baseball is part of American culture, it unites fans through generations and beyond borders, and celebrates talent no matter where it comes from. Players need support that goes from the bleachers to the ballot, because it is really hypocritical of people to enjoy what international-born players have to bring to MLB while voting for politicians and lawmakers who are threatening the safety of said players. Just like you can't enjoy Mexican food without recognizing the immigrants who serve you said food, you can't enjoy major league baseball without the role that international-born players have in making baseball what it is today. So yes, politics belongs in sports because it shapes sports; from kneeling at football games, to singing in Spanish at halftime shows, to being a woman in the Olympics, to ICE trying to enter stadiums during games. Who we vote for affects every aspect of our lives.
Sources
MLB International Players | MLB.com
By Anon Year: 2024 Container: MLB.com URL: https://www.mlb.com/international/players
Opening Day Rosters Feature 265 Internationally Born Players – Latino Sports
By Latino Sports Year: 2025 Container: Latinosports.com URL: https://www.latinosports.com/opening-day-rosters-feature-265-internationally-born-players/
Expanded “Travel Ban” to Take Effect January 1, 2026
By Anon Year: 2026 Container: Congress.gov URL: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IN12631
Trump’s Travel Ban Leaves MLB in Crisis as International Players Face Uncertain Future
By Anon Year: 2026 Container: Essentiallysports.com URL: https://www.essentiallysports.com/mlb-baseball-news-trumps-travel-ban-leaves-mlb-in-crisis-as-international-players-face-uncertain-future/
Major League Baseball faces crisis as Trump’s travel ban threatens Cuban and Venezuelan players
By Jennifer Bubel Year: 2025 Container: AS USA URL: https://en.as.com/mlb/major-league-baseball-faces-crisis-as-trumps-travel-ban-threatens-cuban-and-venezuelan-players-n/
Multiple Cubs Players Miss Camp Arrival Due to Visa Issues
By Sarah Barber Year: 2026 Container: Chicago Cubs On SI Publisher: Inside The Cubs URL: https://www.si.com/mlb/cubs/onsi/news/multiple-cubs-players-miss-camp-arrival-due-to-visa-issues
MLB teams 'proactive' in rushing Venezuelan players back to U.S. - ESPN
By Alden Gonzalez Year: 2026 Container: ESPN.com Publisher: ESPN URL: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47916493/mlb-teams-proactive-rushing-venezuelan-players-back-us
MLB enjoys 2025 viewership jump in U.S., Japan and streaming
By MLB.com Year: 2025 Container: MLB.com Publisher: MLB URL: https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-viewership-increases-usa-japan-streaming-2025
MLB Rank 2026: Ranking baseball's top 100 players - ESPN
By ESPN Year: 2026 Container: ESPN.com Publisher: ESPN URL: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48053802/mlb-rank-2026-top-100-baseball-players-ohtani-judge-witt-skubal-soto
‘We’re scared.’ Latin American players on edge as ICE tactics intensify
By Gordon Wittenmyer Year: 2026 Container: Msn.com URL: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/we-re-scared-latin-american-players-on-edge-as-ice-tactics-intensify/ar-AA1XNdyN
