World Cup loses top teams

So much for that idea:

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) officially announced Thursday that it would not participate in the event scheduled to take place next March. The Japan Professional Baseball (NPB) also said they would stay away from the World Cup.

Park Yong-oh, commissioner of the KBO, will met his Japanese counterpart Negoro Yasuchika this weekend to discuss matters of mutual concern and then meet MLB commissioner Bud Selig in Houston next Wednesday to hand over the official decision of the two Asian baseball-governing bodies.

Lack of consideration for South Korea and Japan was outlined as the primary reason for the boycott, the KBO explained. According to the KBO, the tournament is heavily centered on benefiting the MLB and its players association.

Currently 53 percent of the revenues allotment goes to the MLB, the players association and the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), while the rest will be used for prize money and participation fees for the remaining countries.

The NPB also said that the scheduling clash with its domestic league was another major reason for not wanting to participate. With many teams suffering financial problems, several are known to be discussing merging together and the NPB is also considering going to a single-league system.

Park has reportedly suggested forming a steering committee for the tournament composed of the executives from South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. last March, which wasn’t accepted by the MLB side.

Lessons learned: Major League Baseball needs to accept that while it is the 900-pound gorilla of baseball, it is, in the global scheme of things, just one professional league of many. A true professional World Cup will have to be a proper IBAF event, not just a MLB marketing scheme. The problem is that unlike football around the world -- and the domestic baseball competitions of other countries -- MLB is not subject to a governing body which could demand the participation of American players. If it is going to be successful globally, MLB must learn from the NBA and NHL. North American basketball and ice hockey works in international competitions. Why not baseball?