Establishment of professional league in the Middle East and South Asia… Old stars such as Colon and Sandoval join
Bartolo Colon (50), Robinson Cano (41), Pablo Sandoval (37), Didi Hrehorius (33), and Willin Rosario (34). Retired players who once dominated American professional baseball are picking up bats and gloves again. Not a friendly match, but a real match. The stage is the baseball wasteland of the Middle East. Foreign media such as AP announced on the 24th that Baseball United (BU), a baseball league based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), conducted its first player draft.
BU was established in July last year targeting the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Businesswoman Kathy Shayk and major league legends Mariano Rivera, Barry Larkin, Adrian Beltre, and Felix Hernández joined forces. The purpose was “Let’s make one billion fans fall in love with baseball.” The first season will begin with four teams, including two UAE teams (Dubai Wolves and Abu Dhabi Falcons) and one team each from India (Mumbai Cobras) and Pakistan (Karachi Monarchs), with plans to add four more teams in the future.굿모닝토토
The first pick in the first draft on this day was Karan Patel (26), the first Indian-American to be drafted in the Major League (Chicago White Sox). He played in Single-A and Double-A. What happens next is controversial. Didi Hrehorius, former New York Yankees starting shortstop, Pablo Sandoval, former Major League All-Star, and Robinson Cano were named. Colon appeared in the second round, and Willin Rosario, who also played for Hanwha in Korea, also appeared. Although there are retired players, there were many players in their late 20s to early 30s with major league or Triple A experience. The BU League will hold an all-star exhibition game divided into two teams (East and West) at the Dubai International Stadium on November 24th and 25th.