ESPN has an interesting article that breaks down the best paid athletes by country. All 182 of them.
Baseball can claim twelve of those, third most represented sport after soccer and basketball. The highest of those is Alex Rodriguez of course. ARod must share the title of highest paid athlete with Manny Pacquiao, a boxer from the Philippines.
| Country | Best-Paid Athlete | League, Team (or Competition) | Annual Salary | Per Capita GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Jason Bay | MLB, New York Mets | $18,125,000 | $39,795 |
| Cuba | Yuniesky Betancourt | MLB, Milwaukee Brewers | $4,300,000 | $5,437 |
| Curaçao | Jair Jurrjens | MLB, Atlanta Braves | $3,250,000 | $20,295 |
| Dominican Republic | Alfonso Soriano | MLB, Chicago Cubs | $19,000,000 | $4,618 |
| Japan | Ichiro Suzuki | MLB, Seattle Mariners | $18,000,000 | $39,864 |
| Mexico | Jorge De La Rosa | MLB, Colorado Rockies | $10,000,000 | $7,956 |
| Nicaragua | Vicente Padilla | MLB, Los Angeles Dodgers | $2,000,000 | $1,114 |
| Panama | Carlos Lee | MLB, Houston Astros | $19,000,000 | $7,155 |
| Puerto Rico | Carlos Beltran | MLB, New York Mets | $19,325,436 | $24,744 |
| Taiwan | Hong-Chih Kuo | MLB, Los Angeles Dodgers | $2,725,000 | $18,500 |
| USA | Alex Rodriguez | MLB, New York Yankees | $32,000,000 | $44,872 |
| Venezuela | Johan Santana | MLB, New York Mets | $21,644,707 | $11,404 |
Go figure, Malaysia’s highest paid athlete is in the sport of badminton.