Prior to the 2024 season, there have only been a total of 28 regular season games played outside the United States and Canada. This is quite remarkable considering the international reach of the sport throughout the years and given that the sport has been around since the Reconstruction Era just after the American Civil War. The league’s regular season reach began back in August of 1996 with a three game series between the San Diego Padres and New York Mets in Monterrey, Mexico.
Since regular season games began to past the borders of baseball’s home markets, regular season games have been played in Monterrey, Tokyo, Sydney and London. In the 2024 season, MLB will return to London and Mexico City while heading to the South Korean capital of Seoul for the first time.
Games have also been played in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is a United States commonwealth. Since the island of Puerto Rico is considered as United States territory, MLB does not consider them as international games. Prior to their move to become the Washington Nationals during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, the Montreal Expos played a total of 43 home games at Estadio Hiram Bithorn in San Juan. A three-game series between the New York Mets and Miami Marlins was slated for San Juan in 2020, but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The international window of the MLB regular season sees the Los Angeles Dodgers and Padres opening the 2024 season with a two game set in Seoul on March 20 and 21. A month later, the Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies head to Mexico City for a two game series on April 27 and 28. On June 8 and 9, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies play at London Stadium in the United Kingdom.
Some key facts about the international games includes the last professional game of Ichiro Suzuki in his native Japan at the Tokyo Dome on March 19, 2019. A game that the Seattle Mariners would win in 12 innings against the Oakland Athletics 5-4. To date, that is the only game in the history of MLB’s regular season international slate off games that has gone into extra innings.
Major League Baseball plans to have games in mainland Europe starting in 2025 in Stade de France in Paris, France. The games in Paris and London, will likely alternate every other year starting in 2025. Among the teams lobbying to be part of the first Paris series is the New York Yankees.
Below is the full historic list of MLB regular season games being played in venues outside of the United States and Canada:
1996
| Monterrey, Mexico – Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey
Aug 16 – San Diego Padres 16, New York Mets 10
Aug 17 – New York Mets 7, San Diego Padres 3
Aug 18 – San Diego Padres 9, New York Mets 0
1999
| Monterrey, Mexico – Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey
Apr 4 – Colorado Rockies 8, San Diego Padres 2
2000
| Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Dome
Mar 29 – Chicago Cubs 5, New York Mets 3
Mar 30 – New York Mets 5, Chicago Cubs 1
2004
| Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Dome
Mar 30 – Tampa Bay Devil Rays 8, New York Yankees 3
Mar 31 – New York Yankees 12, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1
2008
| Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Dome
Mar 25 – Boston Red Sox 6, Oakland Athletics 5
Mar 26 – Oakland Athletics 5, Boston Red Sox 1
2012
| Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Dome
Mar 28 – Seattle Mariners 3, Oakland Athletics 1
Mar 29 – Oakland Athletics 4, Seattle Mariners 1
2014
| Sydney Cricket Ground – Sydney, NSW, Australia
Mar 22 – Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Arizona Diamondbacks 1
Mar 23 – Los Angeles Dodgers 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 5
2018
| Monterrey, Mexico – Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey
May 4 – Los Angeles Dodgers 4, San Diego Padres 0
May 5 – San Diego Padres 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 4
May 6 – San Diego Padres 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 0
2019
| Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Dome
Mar 20 – Seattle Mariners 9, Oakland Athletics 7
Mar 21 – Seattle Mariners 5, Oakland Athletics 4 (12)
| Monterrey, Mexico – Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey
Apr 13 – Cincinnati Reds 5, St. Louis Cardinals 2
Apr 14 – St. Louis Cardinals 9, Cincinnati Reds 5
May 4 – Houston Astros 14, Los Angeles Angels 2
May 5 – Houston Astros 10, Los Angeles Angels 4
| London, England – London Stadium
Jun 29 – New York Yankees 17, Boston Red Sox 13
Jun 30 – New York Yankees 12, Boston Red Sox 8
2023
| Mexico City, Mexico – Estadio Alfedo Harp Helu
Apr 29 – San Diego Padres 16, San Francisco Giants 11
Apr 30 – San Diego Padres 6, San Francisco Giants 4
| London, England – London Stadium
Jun 24 – Chicago Cubs 9, St. Louis Cardinals 1
Jun 25 – St. Louis Cardinals 7, Chicago Cubs 5
2024
| Seoul, South Korea – TBA
Mar 20 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Diego Padres
Mar 21 – San Diego Padres vs Los Angeles Dodgers
| Mexico City, Mexico – Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu
Apr 27 – Houston Astros vs Colorado Rockies
Apr 28 – Houston Astros vs Colorado Rockies
| London, England – London Stadium
Jun 8 – New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies
Jun 9 – New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies
