The international flavor of Major League Baseball will continue next season after an announcement that is sure to excite fans both at home and across the Pacific Ocean.
There have been rumors for months that there would be another matchup played overseas to herald the start of play in 2025.
After all, fans and players alike enjoyed the Seoul Series that opened the current campaign in South Korea with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
And now there will be an encore, also in Asia.
MLB Network revealed Thursday that the 2025 opener will be between the Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs.
And two games will be played in the Tokyo Dome on March 18th and 19th.
There will be a major difference between the season-opening two-game set in South Korea in March and the one that will kick off 2025.
In Seoul, the Padres had the only Korean-born player on the teams in infielder Ha-Seong Kim.
In a stark contrast, barring something unforeseen, each of next year’s combatants will have two Japanese stars.
The Dodgers, of course, boast the most accomplished Japanese-born player in the big leagues and arguably the game’s biggest star in two-way performing Shohei Ohtani.
LA also signed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the richest contract in the history of the game before the season – 12 years and $325 million.
The Cubs feature rookie All-Star pitcher Shota Imanaga and outfielder Seiya Suzuki.
The opening series will unquestionably be a national sensation in Japan and tickets will go for a premium.
And it will further prove the expanding international flavor of Major League Baseball.
