But times have changed.

“Big-league players today tend to come from warm-weather climes, where once they came from the Northeast and Midwest,” Mr. Thorn said.

Yes, we’re looking at you, California, and your sunny weather.

The major league season once had fewer than 100 games, and warmer places with friendlier climates — like California — allowed for longer playing seasons and more time to train, Mr. Thorn explained. Before the Dodgers and Giants moved from New York to California after the 1957 season, though, there were no major league clubs in the state.

“The Pacific Coast League was a vibrant minor league, an alternative for kids growing up in California to play out much of their career without ever hitting the majors and being paid very well,” he said. “So Major League Baseball began to pluck the best players” from across the country “in a way that they hadn’t in the early years.”

The results? Let’s look at our own teams, which have more players on their active rosters from California than from New York. The Yankees have only two players from here — the Mets, none. (T.J. Rivera and Steven Matz, who are from New York, were not playing by the end of the season because of injuries.)

And as for the Dodgers and Astros, who play in Game 1 of the World Series tonight? No native New Yorkers.