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Players reside, work, or study in NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, or nearby Pennsylvania.
World League
A 2027 pilot proposal · New York City
The world
already lives here.
Twelve nations. One city. One local player pool. A summer tournament that turns New York’s global communities into baseball’s next great stage.
Independent concept · Not affiliated with MLB or the World Baseball Classic
USAUnited StatesMEXMexicoDOMDominican RepublicVENVenezuelaPURPuerto RicoJPNJapanKORKoreaINDIndiaCUBCubaAUSAustraliaITAItalyISRIsraelUSAUnited StatesMEXMexicoDOMDominican RepublicVENVenezuelaPURPuerto RicoJPNJapanKORKoreaINDIndiaCUBCubaAUSAustraliaITAItalyISRIsrael
01 / The spark
A neighborhood field.
A world stage.
New York already has the countries, the players, and the rivalries. The question is simple: what if they met on one field for a tournament of their own?
World League NYC is a proposed summer competition for first- and second-generation New Yorkers. It borrows the emotional electricity of international baseball and gives it a local address.
12Founding teams
3Pools of four
18Pool-play games
4Playoff teams
02 / The format
Country pride.
Local roots.
A community-first competition designed to complement—not imitate—the World Baseball Classic.
→
Represent home
Born in the represented country—or with at least one parent born there. The USA roster welcomes the wider metro pool.
→
Win the pool
Four nations per pool. Three games each. The three pool winners and best runner-up reach the semifinals.
Proposed eligibility framework for discussion. Final rules would be developed with baseball, legal, and community partners.
03 / The founding twelve
Every uniform
carries a story.
04 / Tournament one
Proposed format
2027
Three pools of four. Three games per nation. Four teams advance.
Summer 2027 · Maimonides Park · Coney IslandPool A
Harbor Pool
United StatesVenezuelaKoreaIsrael
Round robin · Three games each
Pool B
Boardwalk Pool
Dominican RepublicPuerto RicoJapanAustralia
Round robin · Three games each
Pool C
Skyline Pool
MexicoCubaItalyIndia
Round robin · Three games each
Pool play
Every nation faces the other three teams in its pool.
Semifinals
Three pool winners plus the best second-place team, seeded 1–4.
World Final
The two semifinal winners play for the first New York title.
How the fourth team advances
The best runner-up is selected by record, then tournament tiebreakers. Semifinals pair No. 1 vs No. 4 and No. 2 vs No. 3.
Illustrative 2027 format proposed for Maimonides Park; pool assignments, dates, seeding, and tiebreakers remain subject to baseball, facility, broadcast, and partner approval.
05 / The launch plan
2027 proves it.
2028 turns professional.
The inaugural tournament is a concentrated proof of concept—not the finish line. It gives baseball partners one summer to measure the audience, talent, operations, and commercial case for a professional World League NYC.
2027Pilot tournament
Prove the demand.
Twelve national teams, 21 games, one local player pool, and one compact event built to create a clear operating and audience baseline.
- Paid players and staff
- Ticket, merchandise, sponsorship, and media tests
- Community-led attendance and content
2028Professional league
Build the institution.
A recurring professional competition with contracted rosters, deeper club operations, a longer season, and a media product fans can follow every week.
- Professional player and staff contracts
- Expanded regular season and club identities
- Year-round development, sales, and storytelling
01Audience
Who attends, watches, returns, and brings others.
02Baseball
Player depth, competitive quality, and development potential.
03Operations
Venue, staffing, scheduling, broadcast, and game-day delivery.
04Business
Tickets, merchandise, sponsors, media, and cost per game.
The 2027 question is not whether the concept can look like a league. It is whether New York proves it deserves one.
PATHWAY 08
INDIA → BASEBALL
INDIA → BASEBALL
06 / The growth bet
What if baseball met cricket halfway?
India is not a novelty team. It is a deliberate player-development and audience strategy.
New York’s cricket community creates a rare local laboratory: scout transferable skills, teach baseball mechanics, and let a new fanbase follow players from their own neighborhoods.
- 01Scout
Open combines at cricket grounds and indoor facilities.
- 02Translate
Fast bowlers to pitching; keepers to catching; batters to the box.
- 03Develop
A 12-week baseball fundamentals and analytics academy.
- 04Compete
A visible roster spot—and a reason for families to watch.
07 / The case for baseball
Built for the space
between WBCs.
The WBC proves the power of country versus country. New York can make that connection local, recurring, and developmental.
Grow belonging
Turn heritage into a weekly invitation to the ballpark—not only a tournament every few years.
Find overlooked talent
Give former college players, international amateurs, and crossover athletes a meaningful stage.
Create global content
Build multilingual, personality-led stories from the most internationally recognizable city in America.
Test the future
A contained pilot for new markets, community partnerships, rules, media formats, and fan rituals.
A proposal from the city
that already contains the world.