NEW YORK (AP) -The percentage of major league baseball players born outside the 50 states remained the same this year.
Of the 818 players on rosters at the start of the season, 229 were born outside the 50 states, the commissioner’s office said Monday. That matched the 28 percent last year, down from 29 percent in 2007 and the record 29.2 percent set in 2005.
The Dominican Republic had the most with 81, a decrease of seven from last year and 17 from 2007.
Venezuela (52) was next, followed by Puerto Rico (28), Mexico (14), Canada and Japan (13 each), Cuba (seven), Curacao and Panama (four apiece), Australia and South Korea (three each), Colombia, Nicaragua and Taiwan (two apiece), and the Netherlands (one).
Seattle (15) had the most foreign-born players, ending the New York Mets’ run of three straight years with the highest total. Boston, the Mets and the New York Yankees were tied for second with 12.
There were 3,335 of 6,973 minor leaguers born outside the 50 states, with the percentage matching last year’s 47.8.
The pool included players on opening-day rosters and disabled lists, and suspended Philadelphia reliever J.C. Romero.
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