Baseball United

Baseball United is a professional baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia. It began with two "showcase" games in Dubai in November 2023. The first season with four teams representing cities in India, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates is expected to take place in 2024.

History
The United International Baseball League was founded on July 26, 2022, with a mission of bringing professional baseball to India, Pakistan, and the Middle East. Baseball Hall-of-Famers Mariano Rivera and Barry Larkin were announced as founding stakeholders. Rather than build new baseball fields, the league plans to redevelop existing cricket fields into baseball diamonds.

On August 18, 2022, the UIBL announced that it would play nine of its inaugural games at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. In November, the UIBL announced it would rebrand to "Baseball United".

Baseball United partnered with Pakistan Federation Baseball to organize the West Asia edition of the 2023 Asian Baseball Cup in Islamabad. In April 2023, active MLB shortstop Elvis Andrus joined the league's ownership group.

On May 15, 2023, the league announced its first franchise as the Mumbai Cobras. Former MLB All-Star Chris Sabo was named the team's first manager.

On May 30, 2023, the second team of the league was announced as the Karachi Monarchs. The Monarchs name references both the Karachi Kings cricket team, as well as the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues. League officials said that the Monarchs and Cobras are expected to be the league's biggest rivals, noting the fierce India–Pakistan cricket rivalry and likening it to the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. On June 5, 2023, Karachi appointed former major leaguers Adrian Beltre and Miguel Tejada as its general manager and manager, respectively. On August 4, 2023, The Baseball United announced Dubai Wolves and Abu Dhabi Falcons as their latest two baseball teams representing Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The league's draft began on October 23, 2023. Karan Patel, a right-handed pitcher who reached Double-A in the Chicago White Sox organization, was selected first overall by the Mumbai Cobras. Prominent former MLB players drafted included Dominicans Robinson Canó and Bartolo Colon, Venezuelan Pablo Sandoval and Curaçaons Didi Gregorius and Andrelton Simmons.

Teams
The four teams that will take part in the first season are: