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March 21, 2025
An interior look at Tokyo Dome which will host the Dodgers and Cubs for opening day (Photo Credit: TripAdvisor)
With the closing of spring training in the MLB coming soon, many fans are eagerly looking forward to this year’s opening day. However, many looking to catch the first game of the season in person will have to make sure that they have their passports in order. Opening day, as has been the tradition of the last few years, will take place internationally this year in Japan on Mar. 18.
This is nowhere near the first time that the season has started in a nation other than the usual United States or Canada. The first ever international season opener for the MLB took place in 1999 with the Colorado Rockies taking on the San Diego Padres in Monterrey, Mexico. Since then, there have been nine other games that have started in nations that are not actively holding teams a part of the MLB.
This is not the first time Tokyo, Japan has hosted a season opener either as the city has held five other season openers. The last Japanese season opener took place in 2019 with the now defunct Oakland Athletics going against the Seattle Mariners.
Having the season opener take place in Japan this year is a clear no-brainer to the MLB. The two teams that are starting the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs, also come to no shock. The Dodgers have become a powerhouse with Japanese superstars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobo Yamamoto, as have the Cubs with fellow Japanese player Seiya Suzuki.
Japan itself is a nation that has recently been rivaling the United States when it comes to national obsession over the sport of baseball. The rise of international superstar Shohei Ohtani has played a large factor with over an average of 12 million Japanese viewers tuning into the World Series between the Dodgers and New York Yankees (MLB). Even the culture surrounding high school baseball within the nation has skyrocketed in recent years with the Koshien, the high school baseball championship in Japan, averaging around six million viewers according to the Japan Times.
With opening day commencing in Japan, the games will begin at 3 a.m. Pacific Standard Time in the Dodgers hometown of Los Angeles. Even though Mar. 18, is the opening day for the Dodgers and the Cubs, the rest of the league will have their opening day on Mar. 27. The only other teams that start on a different date are the Tampa Bay Rays and the Colorado Rockies. This is the case as the Rays prepare to take over George Steinbrenner Stadium after the destruction of their native Tropicana Field due to Hurricane Milton.
Sources: Japan Times, MLB
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