Problem
Although baseball is played in many countries, its impact has been greatest in the United States, Cuba, and Japan. But baseball has nevertheless acquired distinct meanings in each of these settings, and its significance has varied over time in each tradition. Using two examples each from the United States, Cuba, and Japan: (i) compare and contrast the political meanings of baseball in these countries; (ii) analyze the extent to which these baseball systems have been open to talent or closed [on the basis of race, for example]; and (iii) compare and contrast the styles of play that have defined the greatest players in these traditions.