here's a little more info on the "world series" for any of those that care. Your right zaphod, i don't know why they call it that, but i guess after a hundred years there is no point in trying to change the name.
The "World" appellation has stuck despite the fact that only teams in the two major leagues, which happen to cover only the United States and Canada, actually participate. At the time the term was first used, baseball at the major league level was only played in the United States. While some would contend that there is no reason to believe that the World Series winner is a significantly better team than any club team outside Major League Baseball, no challenges have been made by other leagues. Moreover, virtually all of the best international players — from the Pacific Rim, Latin America, the Caribbean, and elsewhere — play on Major League rosters, with the notable exception of Cuban nationals.
The World Series winners have occasionally played winter exhibition series against the best players of other leagues around the world, such as Japan. Sometimes the Japanese have gained the upper hand in those series; but since they are only exhibitions, their results cannot be regarded as conclusive. Attempts to pit the North American champions against champions in the Japanese or Latin American leagues in a truly meaningful way have, so far, not succeeded.
A persistent myth is that the "World" in "World Series" came about because the New York World newspaper sponsored it. Baseball researcher Doug Pappas refutes that claim, demonstrating a linear progression from the phrase "World's Championship Series" (used to describe the 1903 series as well as some of the 19th-century postseason series) to "World's Series" (a term first used in the 1880s and which persisted for decades) to "World Series". Furthermore, investigation of the New York World for the relevant years revealed no evidence of the supposed sponsorship. (For details, see Mr. Pappas' web page on the subject.)
In deference to any controversy, more and more the term "World Series Championship" is being used, the subtlety being that it is merely a title and not a political statement.
Baseball tournaments between international teams do occur, notably at the world championships and at the Olympic Games. The United States sends a team of minor league players to the Summer Olympics, as it takes place during the regular Major League season. At the 2004 Summer Olympics the United States was not represented at all, since its team of minor league players did not survive the qualifying rounds. The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) has lobbied MLB to suspend play during the Summer Olympics, so that MLB players could compete for their respective national teams, and has agreed to shorten the Olympic tournament if MLB agrees to freeing its players. According to the IBAF chairman, such a move would do more for popularizing baseball around the world than any amount of money spent by the MLB for its current worldwide marketing.
Recently, Major League Baseball conducted the inaugural World Baseball Classic. In light of the International Olympic Committee recently voting baseball out of the Summer Games as a medal sport, the results of this competition hope to prove to the IOC that baseball is truly an international game. 16 countries competed in the classic, including baseball hotbeds Japan, United States, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Korea, along with China, Chinese Taipei, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Italy, Mexico, South Africa and Panama. In the Final, Japan defeated Cuba, 10-6. The United States, favored by most to at least make the last stages of the tournament, were eliminated in the second round. The WBC is planned to be held again in 2009, and every four years after.
The term World Series has since been appropriated by other championships, such as the College World Series, the Little League World Series, the World Series of Golf, the World Series of Poker, the World Series of Birding and the World Series of Martial Arts. World Series Cricket was a short-lived but influential cricket competition.
