A final impediment is the MLB’s concern that it does not appear as if it is stealing Asia’s best players. Bud Selig, the MLB commissioner, has publicly articulated such an apprehension, which may eventually manifest itself in restrictions on the importation of players from Asia. For now, Ichiro will remain one of the major league’s top players, Asian or otherwise. And while he may be joined by more Asian players in the next few years, Asia is unlikely to become as prolific a source of baseball talent to Canada and the United States as Latin America has been.