<P> In 2001, Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season . There had long been suspicions that the dramatic increase in power hitting was fueled in large part by the abuse of illegal steroids (as well as by the dilution of pitching talent due to expansion), but the issue only began attracting significant media attention in 2002 and there was no penalty for the use of performance - enhancing drugs before 2004 . In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all - time home run leader, surpassing Hank Aaron, as total major league and minor league attendance both reached all - time highs . </P> <P> Widely known as America's pastime, baseball is well established in several other countries as well . As early as 1877, a professional league, the International Association, featured teams from both Canada and the US . While baseball is widely played in Canada and many minor league teams have been based in the country, the American major leagues did not include a Canadian club until 1969, when the Montreal Expos joined the National League as an expansion team . In 1977, the expansion Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League . </P> <P> In 1847, American soldiers played what may have been the first baseball game in Mexico at Parque Los Berros in Xalapa, Veracruz . The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in Cuba, which maintains a rich baseball tradition . The Dominican Republic held its first islandwide championship tournament in 1912 . Professional baseball tournaments and leagues began to form in other countries between the world wars, including the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia (1934), Japan (1936), Mexico (1937), and Puerto Rico (1938). The Japanese major leagues have long been considered the highest quality professional circuits outside of the United States . </P> <P> After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many Latin American countries, most prominently Venezuela (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955). Since the early 1970s, the annual Caribbean Series has matched the championship clubs from the four leading Latin American winter leagues: the Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League . In Asia, South Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990) and China (2003) all have professional leagues . </P>

Where was the first baseball game ever played