The MLB sent The Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Chicago Cubs to Tokyo Japan to compete in games on March 18th and March 19th.
The two games that the teams competed in marked the start of the 2025 MLB regular season. The MLB was able to showcase 5 of their Japanese players over the two game series. This list of players included, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Shota Imanaga, and Seiya Suzuki. Both games in the series were sold out at the historic Tokyo Dome, according to Yahoo Sports.
The first game in the series ended up with the Dodgers winning 4-1 over the Cubs. This game was a historic moment for Major League Baseball as both teams that were facing off on opening day had Japanese born starting pitchers. The Dodgers started Yoshinobu Yamamoto while the Cubs started Shota Imanaga. Japanese star, Shohei Ohtani also recorded a impressive performance as he tallied two hits which included a double.
In the second game, it was a similar result with the Dodgers taking the win again. This time, the Dodgers started another Japanese pitcher but he is a rookie. Roki Sasaki, who signed as an international free agent in the offseason, got the unique chance to make his MLB debut in front of fans in his birth country. Although Sasaki’s start only lasted 3 innings, the Dodgers won the game 6-3.
Both teams that participated showcased all 5 players that were rostered going into the Tokyo Series.
The MLB regular season will now take a quick break and start up again on Thursday, March 27th.
A big reason for this series was to market the MLB game to Japanese baseball fans. Japan’s a growing baseball market with players like Ohtani and Yamamoto showcasing the development of baseball in Japan. Going into 2025 there is projected to be 12 Japanese born players to be on opening day rosters between the 30 MLB teams.
List of highest played MLB players
While looking at the top paid players in the MLB there are two players within the top ten highest paid MLB players. Japanese players are an intriguing option for many teams to sign as they will likely also be able to tap into the Japanese sports market and possibly get bonus advertising money through their players.
This isn’t the first time the MLB has sent their teams to play overseas. Just last season the league sent the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres to face-off in Korea, and they also had the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets play in London, England. The Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros played each other in Mexico last season.
MLB series played abroad
Written by: Evan O’Reilly
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