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ALL-STARS GATHER INTHE CITY BY THE BAY

THE OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL H ALL-STAR PREVIEW ISSUE 2007

Major League Baseball’s (MLB) brighteststars will compete for home field ad-vantage in the World Series when theAll-Star Game returns to San Francisco,

California on July 10. The San Francisco Giants haveplayed host to the Midsummer Classic three timesin their history, but thiswill be the first time theAmer-ican League and National League compete in thebeautiful confines of AT&T Park. The Giants fran-chise has hosted an All-Star Game five times in thepast, including twice before their departure fromNew York prior to the 1958 season.As the game of baseball becomesmore interna-

tional than ever, it is fitting that the city of SanFrancisco hosts this All-Star match-up. With largeAsian and Latin American populations, more than39% of San Francisco residents have immigratedto the United States. On Opening Day 2007, a recordnumber of foreign-born players (246) were listed onMLB rosters, representing 15 countries and territo-ries. Overall, more than 44% of players in Major

League organizations (includesMinor Leagues)wereborn outside of the United States, hailing from 35countries and territories worldwide.The traditional All-Star Game festivities will be

tailored to Giants tradition with Willie Mays, formerSan Francisco great, serving as Ambassador for theevent. A 24-time All-Star, Mays played in one of themost memorable All-Star Games in history, whenhe started for theNational League at SanFrancisco’sCandlestick Park in 1961. After the American Leaguetook a 4-3 lead in the top of the 10th inning, Maysdoubled homeHankAaron to tie the score and camearound to win the game for the National League onRoberto Clemente's dramatic game-winning hit.While the All-Star Game serves as the center-

piece, All-Star week will once again feature an ar-ray of fan-friendly events including: DHL All-StarFanfest; XM All-Star Futures Game; Taco Bell Leg-ends andCelebrity Softball Game; Gatorade All-StarWorkout Day; and the State Farm Home Run Derby(event schedule on page 2).

MLBDELEGATIONVISITS CHINAOn the heels of opening anoffice in Beijing this pastDecember, a group of MajorLeague Baseball executivesincluding President and COOBob DuPuy, Executive VicePresidents Tim Brosnan(Business) and Jimmie LeeSolomon (Baseball Operations)and Senior Vice President of In-ternational BusinessOperations Paul Archey visitedfour cities in China in May totour baseball facilities andmeet with officials from theChina Baseball Organization onpotential business and gamedevelopment endeavors. Alsopart of the delegation wereMLB International Committeemembers Sandy Alderson ofthe San Diego Padres; LarryLucchino of the Boston RedSox; and Kevin McClatchy of thePittsburgh Pirates.As part of its ongoing and di-

verse international game devel-opment plans, MLB currentlyassists Chinese baseball withequipment and coachingdevelopment support. MLBcoaches, Jim Lefebvre andBruce Hurst, have worked withthe China National Team since2000 in preparation for the 2008Olympics in Beijing. Plans forthe immediate future include anMLB game in China and the es-tablishment of a baseball acad-emy.

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Following theoverwhelmingsuccessof the inaugu-ral tournament, the second World Baseball Clas-sic has been officially scheduled for March 2009.

At the tournament’s steering committeemeeting inMay,World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) announced that ini-tial invitations for the 2009 tournamentwouldbeextended to theeight teamsthatadvanced to the second round of play inthe 2006World Baseball Classic – Cuba,DominicanRepublic, Japan,Korea,Mex-ico, Puerto Rico, United States andVenezuela. Followingaperiodof evaluation thatwill con-siderall potential candidates forentry, the remainingeightcountries will be invited in December 2007.

WBCI distributed more than $8 million in proceeds

fromthe inaugural tournament to theparticipating coun-tries and territories and the International Baseball Fed-eration (IBAF). The monetary awards were distributedbased on predetermined percentages of the net revenuecorresponding to each team’s finish in the tournament.

The national federations are setto contribute aminimumof$3.3million to local baseball pro-grams. In addition, the IBAF re-ceived close to $1 million forglobal gamedevelopment initia-

tives. More thanhalf of thenetproceedsof theeventwentto theparticipating federations, the IBAFand thecharita-blepartnerof the inauguralWorldBaseballClassic,Habi-tat for Humanity.

MLB INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY SIGNINGS

2007 ALL-STARWEEK

MLB AROUND THE WORLD

Monday, July 9 AT&T Park

Tuesday, July 10 AT&T Park

July 6 - July 10MosconeWest

Convention Center

Sunday, July 8 AT&T Park

1PM (PDT)

4PM (PDT)

11AM (PDT)

5PM (PDT)

5PM (PDT)

Hayden Beard – RHPNew York Mets

Daniel Berg – CMinnesota Twins

Adam Blackley – LHPBoston Red Sox

Timothy Cox – LHPBoston Red Sox

Trent D’Antonio – CFlorida Marlins

David Sutherland – 1BLos Angeles Dodgers

Allan De San Miguel – CMinnesota Twins

Bradley Harman – SSPhiladelphia Phillies

Donavon Hendricks – LHPAtlanta Braves

Luke Hughes – 2BMinnesota Twins

Alex Liddi – 3BSeattle Mariners

Shane Lindsay – RHPColorado Rockies

ARIZONADIAMONDBACKSCuba, DominicanRepublic,Mexico, UnitedStates,Venezuela

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BALTIMOREORIOLESCuba, Canada,DominicanRepublic, UnitedStates, Venezuela

CHICAGO CUBSCanada,DominicanRepublic,Germany, PuertoRico, UnitedStates,Venezuela

ATLANTA BRAVESAustralia, Canada,Colombia, Cuba,Curacao,DominicanRepublic, Mexico,United States

BOSTONRED SOXDominicanRepublic, Japan,Puerto Rico,United States

PLAYER NATIONALITIES

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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC SET FORMARCH 2009

TheMajor League Baseball Academy Program is designed to provide promising junior players with the en-vironment and the instruction toprepare for the rigorsof professional and international baseball. Currently,Academiesareheld inTirrenia, Italy andQueensland,Australia for elite players fromall over theglobe. Over

its six-yearhistory, 102AustralianAcademyparticipantshavesignedprofessional contracts. TheEuropeanAcad-emy, initiated in2005, hasalready seen11participants signwithMajorLeagueClubs. OnJune8th, outfielder JorisBert of Paris, France became the first European Academy alum selected in the First Year Player Draft when hewas chosen by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 19th Round. Below are 12 of the 113 MLB internationalAcademy graduates enjoying success withminor league clubs.

JUSTDO IT:ENJOY THEPRESSURELong-timeMLB sponsor Nike Japanlaunched a new advertisingcampaign this spring, highlightingtheMajor League debut of Japanesestar DaisukeMatsuzaka with theBoston Red Sox. Launched on April3, a television commercial depictingMatsuzaka calmly preparing forOpening Day while carrying theexpectations of fans from across theworld on his shoulders emphasizedthe global appeal of Major LeagueBaseball. Shot at the Red Sox SpringTraining complex in Ft. Myers,Florida and at Fenway Park inBoston, the campaign was supportedwith retail POS throughout Nikeoutlets in Japan. Nike athletesAkinori Iwamura of the Tampa BayDevil Rays, KazuoMatsui of theColorado Rockies and Kenji Johjimaof the Seattle Mariners were alsoincluded in the campaign.

E. Sun Financial Holdings is linking itsbrandwithMajor LeagueBaseball in Tai-wan on a new advertising campaign ti-

tled “Trust,” featuring New York Yankee acepitcher and Taiwanese national hero, Chien-Ming Wang. The program sets to capitalize onWang’s reputation as a sinkerball pitcher whorelies on his teammates to play good defensebehind him. The campaign demonstrates howteamwork and trust lead to success both on thefield and in life. E. Sun featured Wang in tele-vision commercials and print advertisementsat in-bank locations andmajor transit stations.In coordination with global MLB partner

MasterCard International, E. Sun also launchedMasterCard-branded credit cards and CirrusATM cards featuring Wang’s image. In April,the cards were launched alongside a premiumgive-away campaign in which more than200,000 posters and bookmarks were given tocustomers applying for the special Chien-MingWang edition E. Sun MasterCard.

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MARKETING AND SPONSORSHIP

FOUR NEW PARTNERS ACTIVATE IN JAPANCOCA-COLA (JAPAN) COMPANY, LTD signed aone-year sponsorship agreement topromote their new sport drink, Aquarius byfeaturing Daisuke Matsuzaka in aBoston Red Sox uniform onbillboards, in-store advertisementsand television commercials.ASAHI initiated an advertisingcampaign highlighting the intenserivalry between theNew York Yankeesand Boston Red Sox and the Clubs’popular Japanese players – HidekiMatsui and Daisuke Matsuzaka.KELLOGG’S created four cereal boxcovers featuring MLB All-Star play-ers and MLB-branded prizes. Morethan 1.5 million cereal boxes havebeen distributed in supermarketsacross Japan.

NETZ AUTOwill feature six MLB Clubs as part oftheir year-long third anniversary campaign at1,600 locations nationwide.

E. SUN & MASTERCARD TEAM UPWITH MLB

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CHICAGOWHITE SOXCuba, DominicanRepublic, Japan,Puerto Rico,United States

CLEVELANDINDIANSBorneo, DominicanRepublic, PuertoRico, UnitedStates, Venezuela

DETROIT TIGERSDominicanRepublic, PuertoRico, UnitedStates, Venezuela

CINCINNATI REDSDominicanRepublic, Mexico,Puerto Rico, UnitedStates, Venezuela

COLORADOROCKIESCanada, DominicanRepublic, Germany,Japan, Mexico,Panama, UnitedStates, Venezuela

PLAYER NATIONALITIES

initiated an advertising

Major League Baseball opened the doors tothe first MLB Clubhouse Store outside ofthe United States on April 5, 2007. Located

along thewell-knownKoen-Doori in Shibuya, Tokyoand encompassing 2,500 square feet of retail space,the store features a wide variety of MLB-licensedproducts, including authentic, replica, and currentapparel from Majestic Athletic and New Era CapCompany, as well as collectibles and accessoriesfromAmerican and Japanese licensees. On the heelsof popular events like the inaugural World Base-ball Classic and AEON Japan All-Star Series 2006,special glass cases have been installed to displaygame-used jerseys, baseballs and bases.A press conferenceheld onApril 4thwas attended

by more than 40 media outlets, along with MLB ex-ecutives ShawnLawson-Cummings (Vice President,International Licensing&Sponsorship) and JimSmall(Managing Director, MLB Japan and Vice Presi-dent, Asia), and Sports Entertainment Group Pres-identMasashi Gensho. Also in attendancewas formerpitcher Masanori Murakami, the first player fromJapan to break into the Major Leagues.To celebrate the opening of the Major League

Baseball Clubhouse, a special campaign gave cus-tomers the chance to take home exclusive itemsavailable only at the MLB Clubhouse Store. Addi-tionally, an in-store auction featuring items frompastJapan All-Star Series was implemented for the firsttimeever in Japan. As the officialMLBstore in Japan,the MLB Clubhouse Store will continue to offer ex-clusive products and customized retail promotions

MajorLeagueBaseballhaspartneredwithEver-sportsMarketing to introduce theMLBbrandacrossChina.Atotalof27MajorLeagueBase-

ball shopswill open inmore than 10 cities by Septem-ber2007,withanadditional48shopsscheduled toopenlater in the year.By the endof 2007, therewill bemorethan70MajorLeagueBaseballshopsthroughoutChina,includingpresences inBeijing,Guangzhou,Hangzhou,Harbin, Kunming, Nanchang, Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Xian.

OnApril 27,2007,apressconferencewasheldatCKBar inXintinadi,Shanghaiofficially launching theMajorLeagueBaseball shops in China. Following the press conference, a fashion show introduced the 2007 Spring/Summer Col-lection. Both were attended by a large crowd of localmedia and department store buyers.

NEWERALAUNCHESEUROPEANPRESENCENew Era Cap Company, the officialon-field cap of Major LeagueBaseball, continues to grow itspresence in Europe with the open-ing of a flagship store at 72-74Brewer Street in London, its firstEuropean location. With the MajorLeague Baseball and New Erapartnership stronger than everbefore, MLB is delighted that teamheadwear will have such increasedvisibility across the Atlantic.

OFFICEANDPHONEACCESSORIESABRIGHT ‘IDEA’Major League Baseball Internationalnamed ‘1 Idea Italia’ a new licenseefor a range of office andmobilephone accessories to be launchedthroughout Europe. Items includemobile phone sleeves, holders andfun accessories, as well as a sophis-ticated range of upscale laptop bagsandmobile office items.

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MLB STORES OPENACROSS CHINA

MLB OPENS FIRSTINTERNATIONALCLUBHOUSE STORE

C lubhousein Ch ina

FLORIDAMARLINSDominicanRepublic,Mexico,Netherlands,South Korea,United States,Venezuela

KANSAS CITYROYALSDominicanRepublic, Mexico,United States

LOS ANGELESDODGERSCanada,DominicanRepublic, Japan,Panama, Taiwan,United States

HOUSTONASTROSDominicanRepublic,Panama, UnitedStates

LOS ANGELESANGELS OFANAHEIMColombia,DominicanRepublic, PuertoRico, UnitedStates, Venezuela4

PLAYER NATIONALITIES

LICENSING

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M ajor League Baseball Inter-national teamed upwith oneof its key retail partners,

JD Sports, for a consumer magazinepromotion in the United Kingdom.Launched in March 2007, the promo-tion included a double-page spreadin the fashion magazine, Company,showcasing the range ofMLB-brandedwomen’s clothing available this spring.The brightly colored advertisementsfeatured a variety of MLB Club-branded apparel and proclaimed: “Thisis my field of play.”

THIS IS MY FIELD OF PLAYMLBBY UNIQLOCORNERS IN JAPAN

PLAYOFF SPORTS SENDSFANSTO ALL-STAR GAME

M ajor League Baseball and Playoff Sports teamed up in Venezuelafor a special All-Star Game promotion in the lead-up to the 78thannual Midsummer Classic. From May 7-June 27, shoppers had

thechance toenter towina trip to the2007All-StarGameonJuly 10 in sunnySanFrancisco. Two luckywinnerswona trip-for-twopackage, includingair-fare, hotel rooms and tickets to the All-Star Game and its thrilling festivitiesincluding theDHLAll-Star FanFest andGatoradeAll-StarWorkout Day fea-turing the always popular State FarmHomeRunDerby. The promotionwassupported by in-store signage, print advertisements and spots on Meridi-ano TV, Major League Baseball’s broadcast partner in Venezuela.

Worldwide retailer,UNIQLO, launched“MLB by UNIQLO”

corners in select locationsthroughout Japan. The cornersfeature MLB-branded products,designed exclusively for sale atUNIQLO stores. This collectionhas a washed-out, vintage lookinspired by a retro Americantheme and includes high qualityapparel and accessoriesfeaturing a variety of MLB Clubs.

The MLB by UNIQLO corner isfeatured prominently atUNIQLO’s newest store in Japanlocated at Kobe Harborland. Thisstore, the largest UNIQLOlocation in Japan, also features adisplay of game-used items frompast Japan All-Star Seriesincluding jerseys, bases andbaseballs.

2007 DREAM BIG x news DELI PROMOTION

SJ Foods ran a promotion this spring at 10 oftheir “news DELI cafés” in Japan to support thelaunch of MLB’s nation-wide marketing slogan,

“Dream BIG.” The campaign featured special displaysofMLB-licensedproducts for customers topurchase, asweepstakes offering Dream BIG caps and pins and aspecial baseball-themedmenu.

During the promotion period, staff at participatingcaféswore “DreamBIG x newsDELI” t-shirts and capssupplied by local Japanese licensees, Grace and Kuri-hara. Dream BIG-themed promotional posters andflyers were displayed in the cafés.

MILWAUKEEBREWERSDominicanRepublic,United States

NEW YORKMETSCuba, DominicanRepublic,Mexico, PuertoRico, UnitedStates

OAKLANDATHLETICSDominican Republic,Puerto Rico, UnitedStates, Venezuela

MINNESOTATWINSCanada,DominicanRepublic, UnitedStates, Venezuela

NEW YORKYANKEESDominicanRepublic, Japan,Panama, PuertoRico, Taiwan,United States,Venezuela 5

PLAYER NATIONALITIES

LICENSING

Major League Baseball Internationalreached new agreements to broadenMLBcoverage across Asia through the 2009

season. As part of a renewal agreement with ESPNSTAR Sports, fans in 29 Asian countries and ter-ritories will see three regular season games eachweek, along with the All-Star Game, State FarmHome Run Derby, XM SatelliteAll-Star Futures Game, selectAmerican andNational LeagueDivision Series games, bothLeague Championship Seriesand the World Series throughthe 2009 MLB season. Addi-tionally, ESS expanded its in-ventory in Taiwan this year toinclude the right to air up toseven regular season gamesper week, all games featuringa Taiwanese player and the en-tireMLB postseason. ESS hasbeen an MLB broadcast part-ner for the past decade.A new agreement with For-

mosa Television (FTV) gives the popular Taiwanesenetwork exclusive over-the-air television rights inTaiwan for the first time. Through 2009, FTV willbroadcastmore than 60MLB regular season gameseach year, including one game every Saturdaymorn-ing. FTV will also be the over-the-air home of theAll-Star Game and postseason.

PHILADELPHIAPHILLIESDominicanRepublic,Panama, UnitedStates,Venezuela

ST. LOUISCARDINALSDominicanRepublic, Japan,United States

SAN FRANCISCOGIANTSDominicanRepublic, Japan,Puerto Rico,United States,Venezuela

PITTSBURGHPIRATESCanada,DominicanRepublic, Japan,United States,Venezuela

SAN DIEGOPADRESPuerto Rico,United States

PLAYER NATIONALITIES

Prior to the 2007 regularseason, Major LeagueBaseball International

renewed agreements and signednew broadcast deals with:

The 2007 All-StarGame in San Fran-ciscowill be broad-cast live in 229countries and ter-ritories and in 13languages around

the globe. MLBI will once again provide an in-dependently-produced world feed for theMid-summer Classic. Television crews from ESPNInternational (worldwide), NHK (Japan), TBS(Japan), CDN (Dominican Republic) and Five(United Kingdom) and radio teams fromGrupoEgsa (Panama), MRProductions (Puerto Rico),RCN Radio (Colombia) and Jolf Radio (Japan)will be on-site to broadcast the action live totheir home countries.

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MLB GAMES COVERAGE CONTINUESTO EXPAND INASIA

MLB INTERNATIONALSTRIKES NEWDEALSAROUND THE GLOBEWORLDWIDE ESPN International

Pan Asia ESPN STAR SportsPan Europe NASNPan Latin America Fox Sports Latin AmericaAruba TeleArubaAustralia Fox Sports AustraliaCanada Rogers Sportsnet, RDSColombia IASNCuba TV MartiCuracao Television Distribution

Systems, TeleCuracaoCzech Republic GalaxieDominican Republic CDNGuatemala Canal 13Japan NHK, TBS, Jolf RadioKorea IB SportsMexico Televisa, Grupo EstadioNetherlands NOS, Sport 1Nicaragua Ratensa Canal 2Panama Televisora NacionalSpain Canal + SpainTaiwan FTVUnited Kingdom FiveVenezuela Meridiano

CHECK BELOW FOR GAME BROADCASTS IN YOUR COUNTRY!

BROADCASTING

2007 ALL-STARGAMEBROADCASTACROSSTHEWORLD

SEATTLEMARINERSCuba, DominicanRepublic, Japan,Puerto Rico, SouthKorea, UnitedStates, Venezuela

TEXASRANGERSCanada,DominicanRepublic, Japan,Mexico, Nicaragua,PuertoRico,United States

WASHINGTONNATIONALSDominicanRepublic, PuertoRico, UnitedStates, Venezuela

TAMPA BAYDEVIL RAYSDominicanRepublic,Germany, Japan,Puerto Rico,United States,Venezuela

TORONTOBLUE JAYSCanada,United States

PLAYER NATIONALITIES

BASEBALL FESTIVAL BACK IN ASIA!

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TheMajor League Baseball Festival returnedto Asia this spring! The traveling baseballamusement park made weekend stops in

Japan and Taiwan in April. MLB Japanese broad-cast partner Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), coordi-nated the Tokyo portion of the tour, while ChunghwaTelecom (CHT), Taiwan’s leading telecommuni-cations and information-related services provider,sponsored the Festival in Taipei City.An average of more than 10,000 fans attended

each day in both Tokyo and Taipei City to test theirbaseball skills and discover the excitement of Ma-jor League Baseball. The Festival’s unique attrac-tions allow fans to show off theirbaseball skills, compete forprizes, create personalizedbaseball cards, purchase offi-cially-licensed MLB merchan-dise and manage their ownMajor League Club in an inter-active video zone.The Tokyo Festival featured

a special open studio broadcaston the big screen of IchiroSuzuki and the SeattleMarinersagainst the Cleveland Indians.NHK also hosted a special talkshow featuring Kazuhiro Sasaki,2000 American League Rookieof the Year, and Masanori

“Mashi”Murakami, the firstMLBplayer fromJapan.To complement the games and attractions in

Taiwan, Formosa Television (FTV), Taiwan’s lead-ing broadcaster and MLB partner, hosted a watchparty as the New York Yankees and Boston RedSox continued one of the oldest rivalries in sportsin their first meeting at Yankee Stadium in 2007.TheMajor League Baseball Festival debuted in

London in 1994 in historic Covent Garden. Sincethen, this baseball amusement park has returnedto the United Kingdom, and visited fans in Aus-tralia, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Japan,Mexico, Puerto Rico, Taiwan and Venezuela.

Australia’s own David Nilssonwill lead a Major Leaguecoaching staff as head

coach of the 2007 Major LeagueBaseball Australian AcademyProgram. His staff will includeHall-of-Famer Rod Carew, formerMajor Leaguers Pat Kelly and LukeProkopec, among other Australia-based coaches. Nilsson, 37,became just the third Australian-born player in Major LeagueBaseball when he made his profes-sional debut in 1992.There have been 17 Australian-born players to make the rosterof a Major League Club sinceNilsson’s debut.Since its inception in 2001, more

than 300 elite athletes have partici-pated in the program, with nearly40% of Academy alumni securingprofessional contracts with MajorLeague organizations. Enteringthe 2007 season, 71 Australian pro-fessional players (75% of allAustralian professional players)have participated in the AustralianAcademy.

ALL-STARS TO COACHSEVENTH ANNUALMLBAUSTRALIAN ACADEMY

The Major LeagueBaseball Festival inTaipei City, Taiwanattracted 22,000fans over two days.

David Nilsson at the1999 All-Star Game.

WILSON SIGNS ON AS PLAY BALL!PARTNER IN EUROPE

Wilsonhasbecome theofficial equipment supplier forMajorLeagueBaseball’sPlayBall! schoolsprograminEurope.ThroughWilsonsupport, schools through-

out thecontinentwill beable topurchasebaseball “starterkits”that allow students to learn how to play tee ball.In Europe, the Play Ball! schools program currently

operates in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Sincethe program’s inception in 1997, over 2,000 schools havebeen introduced to baseball through Play Ball! With thesupport ofWilson and theConfederation of EuropeanBase-ball (CEB), plans are in place to expand the program to otherEuropean nations, including the Netherlands and Swedenin Fall 2007.

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Julio Franco, born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, made hisMajor League debut with the Philadelphia Phillies more than 25 years agoand is still going strong as a veteran utility player with the New York Mets in

2007. Franco has played professionally in the U.S., Japan, Korea and Mexicothroughout his career. He is a three-time MLB All-Star and won the 1991American League batting title (highest batting average). As his team is amidst an-other run for the National League East Division title, Franco took some time toanswer some questions about his career and how the game has changed over thepast three decades.What is your impression of the state of the game now, compared to 30 yearsago, when you debuted with the Phillies?Athletes are stronger and faster. Their work ethic is 10 times better than before –when I first came to the League, [players] didn’t believe in lifting weights. Nowteams have strength coaches, people who stretch you, nutritionalists... Theinternet and science have become so advanced, it really allows players to learn alot more about how to take care of themselves.What do you consider your greatest achievement?I think one of the greatest moments of my life was being the MVP of the 1990 All-Star Game because my mother was there. It was very special because we spent a

lot of time together and I got to hand her the trophy. That moment is always in the back of my mind.Why do you think your country is such a baseball powerhouse?Well, in the Dominican, baseball is life – it’s not like in America or other countries where you have football andbasketball and lots of choices. Kids play baseball, that’s what they do.You played for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan for the 1995 and 1998 seasons and returned for the All-StarSeries last year. What sticks out most about Japan for you?Japan is always going to be in the back of my mind, my heart. Every opportunity I get I go back there because oftheir cultural beliefs, their respect, the way the Japanese handle themselves – they’re a very respectful people. If Icould pick one place to spend the rest of my life, it would be Japan.Do you have any advice for young players from other countries looking to play in MLB?Train hard and play hard, but get an education – that’s the most important thing.How long will you continue playing?I want to keep playing for five more years. In the last five years, I haven’t slowed down a bit… That’s my goal though– you set goals and try to reach them. I’m going to try to reach this one and if I don’t… Hey, it’s been a great ride.

On Opening Day 2007, a recordnumber (246) of foreign-bornplayers were on rosters for

the 30Major League Clubs, hailingfrom 15 different countries andterritories. Overall, 3,344 out of themore than 7,500 players (44.3%) inMajor League organizations(includesMinor Leagues) represent35 countries and territories acrossthe world. AmongMLB Clubs, theNew YorkMets had themostforeign-born players (15) for thesecond consecutive season.

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INTERNATIONALPLAYERS ONMLB ROSTERS

“I get alongwitheverybody, Dominicans,Americans, Japanese,all different backgrounds –it doesn’tmatter tomeas long as they’re here toplay the game.”

Q&AWITH JULIO FRANCO

MLB INTERNATIONALSTAFF DIRECTORY

CENTRAL OFFICE (New York)(+1) 212-931-7500Paul Archey, Sr. VP,Int’l Business Operations

BROADCAST OPERATIONSRussell Gabay, VP & Executive ProducerTom Guidice, Sr. Broadcast Specialist

LICENSING & SPONSORSHIPShawn Lawson-Cummings, VP, Int’lLicensing & SponsorshipDeidra Varona, Director, Int’l LicensingJacquelyn Walsh, Director, Int’lCorporate Marketing & Retail ServicesJosephine Fuzesi, Sr. Manager, Int’lLicensingWhitney Sanders, Sr. Coordinator, Int’lLicensingDebora Lehrer, Coordinator, Int’lLicensing & Sponsorship

MARKET DEVELOPMENTDominick Balsamo, Director, MarketDevelopment & CommunicationsMike McClellan, Program Manager,Game DevelopmentMike Cafaro, Sr. Coordinator, EventMarketingErin Sloneker, Coordinator, MarketDevelopment & Communications

TV & SPONSORSHIP SALESItalo Zanzi, VP, Int’l Broadcast Sales &Lat. Am. /U.S. Hispanic MarketingVictor Coto,Manager, Lat. Am.Sales & MarketingSonia Gomez, Account Executive, Int’lBroadcastingMonica Lopez, Sr. Coordinator, ClientServices

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC, INC.James Pearce, Tournament DirectorJane Kim,Manager, Event OperationsAndres Betancur, Coordinator, EventOperationsJB Hacking, Coordinator, EventOperations

REGIONAL OFFICESAUSTRALIA & OCEANIA (Sydney)(+61) 2-9238- 2292Tom Nicholson, DirectorElizabeth Cage,Manager, Media &CommunicationsWarren King,Manager,Events & Market Development

CHINA (Beijing)(+86) 10-8523-3020Michael Marone,Manager

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA(London)(+44) 207-453-7000Clive Russell, DirectorJason Holowaty,Manager, GameDevelopmentWendy Yates, Office Manager

JAPAN & ASIA (Tokyo)(+81) 3-3507-5799Jim Small,Managing Director, VP AsiaDarrick Thomas,Marketing ManagerHiroko Kato, Account ExecutiveSami Kawakami, Account Executive

MLB INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS

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22-year old Rick Vanden Hurk becamejust the second pitcher from theNetherlands to start a Major Leaguegame when he made his debut with theFlorida Marlins on April 10.

Venezuela-nativeMagglio Ordoñezis having an MVP-caliber year forDetroit in 2007,leading all of MLBin batting averagethrough much ofthe first half.Ordoñez also playedfor his country inlast year’s inauguralWorld BaseballClassic.

2006 AmericanLeague MostValuable PlayerJustin Morneau isproving himself adynamic force in theTwins lineup yetagain in 2007. TheCanadian sluggerhas provided a walk-off homerun forMinnesota in each ofthe first threemonths this season.

Australian Peter Moylan has become acornerstone of the Atlanta Bravesbullpen since he signed with the Clubfollowing a stellar performance in the2006 World Baseball Classic.