The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers open the regular season against the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, with tickets at a premium for the two-game series that begins Tuesday in the wee hours of the morning on the East Coast.
The series features native son Shohei Ohtani and his Dodgers teammates Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. They will be joined by Shōta Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs. Imanaga is slated to face Yamamoto in the opener, with Sasaki making his big-league debut against Justin Steele Wednesday.
“It’s hard to tell if this is the golden age of Japanese players in the U.S., because I know there’s a lot of Japanese players who came before us,” Ohtani said in Tokyo through his interpreter. “But having five [Japanese players in the series] is a big deal.”
No doubt, it’s the greatest collection of Japanese talent ever in one Major League Baseball series.
“I can only imagine how it feels for these guys,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before his team broke spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., last week. “There’s a lot of emotions. To come back and start the regular season in front of their hometown fans. I can’t imagine how many eyes are going to be on that series.”
Judging by the resales on the secondary ticket market, the interest is astronomical. On Monday, StubHub listed only 20 tickets available for sale, with prices ranging from $3,235 deep on the third baseline to $7,548 in the upper level to the left of home plate. The tickets for the second game—about twice as many are still available for purchase—are similarly high prices, with the least expensive being listed at $1,949 in the upper level behind home plate. The Tokyo Dome now seats 45,460.
How big is this series in Japan? The games will be live streamed in 150 theaters and available on Amazon Prime Video. The first two games of the World Series between the Dodgers and New York Yankees this past October set viewership records in Japan despite beginning 9 a.m. local time. With these games starting at 7 p.m. local, the sky is the limit.
The buzz hasn’t escaped the notice of the players.
“I really feel the excitement of the country with the games being played here,” Yamamoto said in Tokyo this week.
Imanaga said he had so many requests from friends and family he was scrounging around for opening day tickets. The 31-year-old, who’s in the second season of four-year, $53 million contract and quickly became the ace of the Cubs staff, doesn’t think he will go broke providing tickets.
“The plan is to invite my family,” Imanaga said in an interview through his interpreter after a recent outing at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. “It might cost a lot, but that’s why I’ve been saving up since playing in Japan. So, it should be fine.”
These five Japanese players all played together for Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic on the team that defeated the U.S. on the final pitch of the tournament. Ohtani struck out Mike Trout on a full-count pitch to give Japan its third WBC title in the last five tournaments.
“I feel like I know them well and that we’re friends,” Imanaga said about the Dodgers trio, tongue firmly tucked in cheek. “But I don’t know if they think the same way about me.”
After some laughter, Imanaga added: “Maybe I am more friendly with them than they are with me.”
The pitching matchups are outstanding, but the return of Ohtani is the highlight. Aside from the preliminary round of the 2023 WBC in the Dome, Ohtani hasn’t played in Japan since he left the Hokkaido Nippon Ham-Fighters for the Los Angeles Angels in time for the 2018 MLB season.
He’s a fan favorite and a merchandising marvel, earning $65 million a year in Japanese-based sponsorships on top of his $70 million salary eventually due from the Dodgers. Before the 2024 season, Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million deal as a free agent in 2023 with the Dodgers, $680 million of it deferred.
The Dodgers decided to slow down Ohtani’s pitching comeback as the team prepared to open the season in Asia for the second consecutive year. Last year they opened in South Korea against the San Diego Padres.
In returning from the second reconstructive surgery on his right elbow, Ohtani hasn’t tossed a bullpen since Feb. 25 and won’t throw to live hitters until the team returns to Los Angeles after the Tokyo trip, Roberts said.
Still, in 2024 he won his second consecutive league MVP as a designated hitter and became the first player to amass 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a single season, with 54 and 59, respectively.
Barry Bonds recently said Ohtani should consider giving up pitching, but even hitting has been problematic.
Ohtani tore the labrum in his left shoulder attempting to steal second base during Game 2 of the World Series and had surgery after the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in five games. He’s only recently returned to hitting, and he’ll be the club’s DH in the Dome.
“I wanted to prioritize the hitting aspect as we head into the season,” Ohtani said. “To give a little breather mentally and physically to the pitching side of things. This is according to plan, and I’m actually pleased with what’s going on.”
Sponsorships based on the signing of the three Japanese players have been lucrative for the Dodgers as well. They just inked a two-year deal with Japanese sake-maker Hakkaisan Brewery, which will sell its products starting this season at Dodger Stadium.
Last season, the Dodgers signed more than $100 million in Japanese sponsorship deals based on the signing of Ohtani and Yamamoto, after the latter inked as a posted free agent a contract for 12 years, $325 million with no money deferred. He missed nearly two months of the season with a right shoulder injury.
Sasaki, under international signing rules, chose the Dodgers this offseason for one-year, $6.5 million in cash, but he’s tied to the team for six seasons under the rules of MLB free agency. Sasaki previously pitched for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan’s Pacific League, and he had a 30-15 record, 2.02 ERA and 524 strikeouts in 69 starts.
He looked sharp in his final spring tune-up this past Tuesday against Cleveland, allowing one hit, striking out two and walking two in four innings before throwing another inning in the bullpen.
He’s ready. More than ready.
“To be able to pitch in Japan is a very special and unique opportunity,” Sasaki said through his interpreter. “Pitching in the major leagues is obviously something I’ve worked a long time to do. So, I’m really excited.”
