Baseball Australia is looking to expand the Australian Baseball League as early as next year. Not only is the league looking to expand in Australia but also beyond the borders.

It appears that negotiations are going on with Taiwan.



Baseball Australia is negotiating with Asian interests to expand the six-team Australian Baseball League as early as next year.



BA chief executive Ben Foster said teams financed by Asian baseball enthusiasts could be based in Australia, stocked with players from their nation. According to Foster, the ABL is mulling the possibility to expand with two teams, possibly one of them from Asia.

With (an) Asian team(s) playing in the ABL, games can be broadcasted in Asian home countries. Teams from Korea or Japan may also be a possibility as Baseball Australia has strong ties with both countries.

According to Foster, the ABL will return next year at least as big but likely even bigger.

Last season was the first without support from MLB, who pulled back after the 2015/2016 season. According to MLB, the ABL was a money pit. Even though the league had to do things on its own, it had a good season, partially because of the downsized schedule.

Also, some big names that were signed contributed to the good numbers.

The ABL championship series will start coming Friday with the Melbourne Aces having the home advantage over the Brisbane Bandits, as winner of the regular competition. Mark Hamburger will likely be the starting pitcher for the Aces. It remains to be seen if Jeremy Guthrie will return to pitch in the championship series. He headed home for contract talks among other things.