Best MLB Players by birthplace

Baseball may be America’s pastime, but its popularity spans the globe. The game’s reach will be on display in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, with the first round of pool play beginning March 8.

The rosters aren’t finalized yet, but the United States has loaded up as it prepares to defend its 2017 title. And this 20-team tourney is just a snapshot of baseball’s worldwide impact. Fifty-seven countries and territories have provided at least one Major League player throughout the history of the game.

So let’s rank them, from most to least populous by MLB standards. Let’s also put a little spotlight on the bWAR leader from each part of the world. Ties are broken alphabetically.

There are just a few notes before we jump in:

1) United States: 18,902 players (277 HOFers)
WAR leader: Babe Ruth (183.1)
Before anything was described as “Ruthian” or anyone was lauded as “The Babe Ruth of” their respective field, the Babe Ruth was one of the most legendary figures in 20th-century America.

2) Dominican Republic: 864 players (4 HOFers)
WAR leader: Albert Pujols (101.6)
The likes of Pujols, Juan Marichal, Pedro Martinez, Vladimir Guerrero Sr. and David Ortiz aren’t just Hall of Fame players; they are national heroes who inspire the masses in a country where baseball is a way of life.

3) Venezuela: 462 players (1 HOFer)
WAR leader: Miguel Cabrera (67.7)
The newest member of the 3,000-hit, 500-homer club, Cabrera appears destined to become the second Venezuelan player inducted into the Hall of Fame, following in the footsteps of Luis Aparicio.

4) Cuba: 383 players (6 HOFers)
WAR leader: Rafael Palmeiro (71.9)
Cuba has the most Hall of Famers of any country other than the U.S.: Tony Perez, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva, Cristóbal Torriente, Martín Dihigo and José Méndez. Trying to decide which player is the best can lead to a fun debate.

5) Puerto Rico: 302 players (4 HOFers)
WAR leader: Roberto Clemente (94.8)
Thirty-two Puerto Rican-born players reached the Majors before Clemente debuted with the Pirates on April 17, 1955. Few players, regardless of nationality, have made as profound an impact on and off the field since. Roberto Alomar, Iván Rodríguez and Orlando Cepeda represent the rest of Puerto Rico’s Cooperstown quartet.

6) Canada: 262 players (2 HOFers)
WAR leader: Fergie Jenkins (84.1)
You can’t help but marvel at Jenkins’ 1971 season. On the mound, he produced a 10.1 bWAR over an NL-best 325 innings en route to taking home his only Cy Young Award. But he was also a threat at the plate as he hit six homers and logged a 102 OPS+ in 113 at-bats. Twenty years later, the Chatham, Ontario native became the first Canadian to make it to Cooperstown. The second was Larry Walker.

7) Mexico: 145 players
WAR leader: Fernando Valenzuela (41.5)
Raised in the small village of Etchohuaquila as the youngest of 12 children, Valenzuela transcended the sport and became MLB’s first Mexican superstar before his 21st birthday.

8) Panama: 78 players (2 HOFers)
WAR…