Perfect Game’s ambitious global expansion plans go beyond exporting the youth baseball development platform’s brand.
“It’s about building a global platform for youth baseball and connecting some of the strongest baseball cultures in the world,” PG chairman Rick Thurman told Buying Sandlot.
“Baseball is growing globally on a very big level, and that’s part of our expansion. … The goal is infrastructure and long-term trust. It’s not just a one-off tournament. We want to be there long term and grow something that’s going to be there for many generations to come.”
That effort is going into hyperdrive with PG’s recently-announced Asia-Pacific Zone expansion.
Greater presence in Pacific Rim nations
Focus on ages 10-15
Regional rollout of DiamondKast data/digital scoring tool
Tech implementation and integration
Showcase events to ID talent and measure metrics
Foreign player profiles with video content, cross-region comparison
Multi-year strategy for 15U Pacific Baseball Championship
Asian teams competing in U.S. events
Canada and Mexico are included in the circuit
“When you look across Asia and the Pacific Rim, places like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, the Philippines, you see incredible traditions for baseball,” Thurman said. “Their fundamentals, their discipline, the way they execute, player development — it has produced elite baseball players for many generations.”
The meeting of the worlds also presents a fascinating contrast.
American youth baseball development is heavy on competition, game volume, exposure and metrics within a prominent club and travel scene.
Asian countries emphasize discipline, execution, fundamentals and situational play through repetitive training; school competition is also a major tradition — Japan’s sprawling annual high school tournament is a major national event.
Thurman envisions a “two-way exchange” where best practices are shared and coaches and players learn through exposure, elevating the game globally.
“Our goal is to bring all those strengths together where we can combine PG’s competition model, exposure platform and scouting ecosystem with the development philosophies that exist throughout the Asia-Pacific Zone,” he said.
“We’re not going there to replace their structure or change anything. We’re going there to almost be an adjacent pathway. We don’t want to compete with the schools. Most of our stuff will be done during the offseason or holiday windows and we’ll figure out regional training and invitational competition on an international level.”
PG also plans to expand its presence in the Caribbean and South America; Thurman said it will not solely focus on countries with established baseball traditions.
“We believe it is going to create a stronger global game, a stronger baseball ecosystem,” he said. “It should really open up a lot of international pathways for young players and create premier stages for elite baseball players.”
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Good game.