The inaugural World Baseball Classic will be held in March 2006, featuring a US squad composed of professional players and teams from 15 other nations, many with professional stars of their own.
The tournament marks a broad move into the worldwide marketplace, announced only three days after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to drop the sport from the Summer Games after 2008, reports the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
Many within baseball had complained about the IOC decision, but Commissioner Bud Selig put a different spin on it.
"I don't know if frankly I consider it a blow," Selig said on the eve of the All-Star game. "I'm sorry they made the decision, but we're moving on in a very dramatic way to internationalise the sport."
The tournament - to be played again in 2009, then every four years thereafter - would take place during the first three weeks of March, finishing just before the NCAA men's basketball tournament reaches its peak.
With all the major stars theoretically available, baseball could have a scaled-down version of soccer's popular World Cup.
Major league owners and the players association would "jointly govern" the 18-day competition, essentially owning an event they foresee growing into an international spectacle.
