Season opening in Japan

The 2024 MLB season opened with the Seoul series which saw the San Diego Padres take on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Hometown hero Ha-seong Kim of the Padres received a standing ovation when he took to the field for the opening game.  

This year the MLB has again sent the Dodgers abroad for the first series of the season but this time against the Chicago Cubs. 

With three of the best Japanese players in the league, most notably reigning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers are expected to be heavy crowd favourites.

The Cubs also have a couple players that are returning home for the first series in starting pitcher Shota Imanaga and outfielder Seiya Suzuki. 

Since Ohtani’s introduction into the league the number of Japanese players on MLB rosters has almost doubled which is a testament to the quality of Japan’s national league the NPB.  

With Shohei’s continued success in America, with him now considered the face of the league, the MLB has continued to grow in popularity in Japan where baseball is the most popular sport.  

The LA Dodgers world series win over the New York Yankees last season drew an eight-figure viewership in Japan with fans tuning in to see Ohtani’s and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s impressive showings.  

This is MLB’s first time back in Japan since 2019 and the Japanese fans will get to see the debut of one of their own when Roki Sasaki takes the mound for the second game of the series for the Dodgers.  

Sasaki shone for his country during the 2023 World Baseball Classic on the way to Samurai Japan winning the competition and joined his fellow countrymen in LA at the start of this year.  

Many are expecting the Tokyo series to be most successful international series in league history as the MLB continues to push its product into the Asian market.