Major League Baseball, also known as MLB, decided to start the 2025 season the earliest a season has ever started. By having the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers play in Tokyo, Japan. For the Tokyo Series, some fans enjoyed it while other fans did not like it so much.
To start, let’s introduce the teams as the Chicago Cubs. They have 2 Japanese-born players, Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki. They are playing the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have 3 Japanese-born players. Two of them are known as pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. Then, the best player in the world, Shohei Ohtani. These games were played at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, and these games were played on March 18 and 19, 2025. The reason MLB schedules these international games is. It is to try to grow the game of baseball all around the world.
The MLB does this and schedules a lot of international games. They had many more international games that were going to be played during the 2025 season. But it was canceled due to disagreements between MLB and the countries where they were trying to play. Which will likely be easier for teams to handle, instead of doing it early in the season.
Did MLB play the Tokyo series too early, or was it at a good time?
Many say no because it had success in the place it was successful in Japan. According to ESPN, “the league said the Tokyo Series opener drew an average of more than 25 million viewers across all platforms. Making it the most-watched MLB game ever in Japan.” Which means it was successful where the game was, but many are asking whether the fans back home thought it was good or not. As a fan of the Chicago Cubs, I didn’t watch a single pitch of either game. For me, the reason was that it started too early in the morning. Lots of people, including me, forgot about it. Lots of people also say that the MLB advertising for it was not a lot, and people could know about i,t but forget to watch it. It is also during a time when most of the country isn’t focused on baseball right now. The games also started at 3 AM in Los Angeles and 5 AM in Chicago. This was also the earliest the MLB has ever had regular-season games.
Should the games have been spring training games rather than a regular-season game?
The reason the MLB didn’t want to have this be games that don’t matter is. It is because if it didn’t matter, it would not be as exciting for the people in Tokyo. Whereas now that it matters, both of these teams need to start the season the right way. What I would say is that these games didn’t feel important because both the starting pitchers in these games were taken out before the 5th inning. That was unusual because starting pitchers should last a while into a game. But the players had limitations because it was early in the season. That is a good reason, it should have been spring training games rather than a regular-season game.
Could players get hurt playing this early?
An article written by ESPN states that “Major League Baseball says pitcher injuries are more likely to occur during spring training and early in the season”. The MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred, said this about early-season injury concerns, “It looked like it turned the other way last year. We don’t know what that means, whether that’s going to continue or not. I think in terms of the lens, early in the season was not an aberration. There is a pattern that has been an early-season problem for a while.” Yes, because there is a reason why managers restrict the number of innings position players play during spring training. Also, the number of innings pitchers throw is also well. It is because the risk of injury is very real. It can affect the season and their season if one of the best players gets injured and is out for the season.
Why did the MLB play its first games in Japan instead of the USA?
According to Sayantan Guha, writer for mirror.com, the article says, “Japan’s passion for baseball is undeniable. The sport has been a cultural phenomenon for over a century. Legendary figures like Sadaharu Oh and modern-day superstars like Shohei Ohtani are cementing its status. Babe Ruth’s barnstorming tours in the 1930s first introduced American baseball to Japanese fans. Decades later, the relationship between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) remains strong. For MLB, playing season openers in Japan isn’t just about honoring that connection—it’s about expanding the game’s global footprint”. This is one of the main reasons the MLB decided to start its season in Japan. It is in a country that is starting to become one of the best baseball countries in the world. The MLB is most likely having its season technically start in Japan because they are likely trying to grow the game of baseball. It also gets more fans of the MLB around the world. But if I were the MLB, I would much rather want to start the season back home, where most of the teams play and where most of the fans of baseball are.
