Baseball starts in two weeks*!

Manny Machado and Bryce Harper have signed with San Diego and Philadelphia, respectively, and although quality players like pitcher Dallas Keuchel remain available, most big league teams have a good feel for their chances heading into the regular season.

If you’re a fan of the Seattle Mariners or Oakland A’s, your regular-season rooting begins two weeks from today as the American League West rivals play a two-game series in the Tokyo Dome on Wednesday, March 20, and Thursday, March 21.

The actual opening day, when all 30 teams play (weather permitting) is Thursday, March 28. The first pitch of the season should come shortly after noon Central in New York, where the Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles. Like Mariners and A’s, the Yankees will have two overseas games this season, as they’re heading to London to play the Red Sox on Saturday, June 29, and Sunday, June 30.

It’s nice to see baseball continue to embark on these traveling road shows, which go all the way back to a three-game set in Monterrey, Mexico, between the Mets and Padres in August 1996. MLB opened its season in Tokyo in 2004, 2008, and 2012, then sent the Dodgers and Diamondbacks to Sydney, Australia, in 2014.

After the Dodgers and Padres played three games in Monterrey last May, the Cardinals and Reds head there in mid-April while the Angels go back in May to face the Astros.

Those all were regular season contests, but none had the geopolitical implications of Tampa Bay sending the Rays to Havana for an exhibition against the Cuban national team in March 2016.

Many remember when the Montreal Expos played dozens of home game in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2003 and 2004, but the U.S. Commonwealth also has hosted six other games, from a 2001 Blue Jays-Rangers tilt to last April’s two game series between Cleveland and Minnesota.

There has been some stateside innovation as well, such as the 2016 Marlins-Braves game at a brand new ballpark at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and the MLB Little League Classic, which takes place during the Little League World Series each August in Williamsport, Pa. That game is in its third iteration in 2019, when the Pirates host the Cubs.

All these efforts make a lot of sense in a time where the MLB talent pool is almost truly global, yet its popularity in North America is increasingly confined to geographical areas where fans can reasonably drive to a stadium. Exposure is a good thing, especially in areas that will never house a major league team or, in the case of Williamsport, where the purity of the sport is essential to local identity.

These oddball attempts tend to drum up interest in what otherwise might be overlooked regular-season matchups, and so long as MLB picks its spots around the rest of the sports calendar, media behemoths like ESPN will happily pay attention. (That said, aligning opening day with the NCAA’s Sweet 16 games remains a puzzler.)

But for all their upside, alll these extraordinary events are ultimately publicity stunts. Kudos to the players for going along with the effort, especially those willing to skip across the pond right before the All-Star break.

Baseball could make much more progress in fan service by changing its archaic blackout rules. The MLB.tv service, MLB At Bat app, MLB Network and partnerships to offer out-of-market games through premium cable and satellite packages are a drastic improvement over even 10 years ago, but the league still continues to adequately define each team’s media market when it would be significantly more practical to make all the games available to anyone who wants to pay and sort out compensation to local rights holders on the back end.

The best way to enjoy baseball is to play or coach. Beyond that it remains a wonderful live experience, for those who can afford the tickets or get to the park. It’s not a bad TV product, either, provided you can find your favorite player or team’s game.

In a rush to share baseball with everyone, MLB should also remember those who truly sustain its popularity with each passing summer.