TOKYO – Welcome home, Shohei Ohtani.
Playing in his home country of Japan for the first time in a major league uniform, Ohtani launched a home run in his second at-bat of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ exhibition contest against the Yomiuri Giants.
It marked Ohtani’s first time playing here entirely since the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic with Samurai Japan – and a chance to face his former Samurai Japan teammate, Giants right-hander Shosei Togo.
After drawing a first-inning walk, Ohtani swung at the first pitch he saw in his second at-bat, scorching a breaking ball and standing to admire his work as it soared halfway up the right-field bleachers to extend an early Dodgers lead.
The ball left his bat at 105 mph and landed a projected 391 feet away. Ohtani has tested the bounds of this ballpark before, hitting one through the ceiling of the building dubbed “The Big Egg” back in 2016.
SHOHEI OHTANI HOMERS AT THE TOKYO DOME! #TOKYOSERIES pic.twitter.com/04dK1gKnt5
— MLB (@MLB) March 15, 2025
Ohtani’s homecoming was always set to be the main storyline of the Dodgers’ first-ever visit to Japan for major league regular-season games. It is impossible to walk through the streets of Tokyo without seeing Ohtani’s face plastered on advertisements, and a series of ads featuring Ohtani played throughout the festivities at the Tokyo Dome. The Dodgers have sought to “paint Japan Dodger blue.” It’s impossible without Ohtani.
“There’s a lot of love for Shohei here,” Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell said pregame. “It’s pretty apparent.”
When Ohtani emerged from the dugout hours before Saturday’s exhibition contest to play catch as part of his continued rehabilitation as a pitcher, a sold out crowd roared.
The thousands of credentialed media ran to get a shot at the most popular man in the country and the sport, one compared to the likes of Taylor Swift and “Justin Bieber, times 10” by teammate Tyler Glasnow.
“We’re all waiting in great anticipation,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Shohei, to be quite honest, in the last seven years has represented almost singlehandedly the people of Japan. So for him to come back here in person, it’s going to be an emotional night for a lot of people, I’m sure.”
Ohtani hit a two-run homer in the top of the third inning (Masterpress/Getty Images)
The Dodgers’ two-game regular season series against the Chicago Cubs will feature five Japanese-born stars, an accomplished group of names that features Yoshinobu Yamamoto (the owner of the richest contract for a pitcher in baseball history), the most sought-after free agent this past winter (Roki Sasaki) a top finisher in Cy Young voting a year ago (Shota Imanaga) and one of the better sluggers in the game in Seiya Suzuki.
Each of their homecomings will have their moment this week. Yamamoto and Imanaga will be the first Opening Day matchup ever of Japanese-born stars. Sasaki will make his major league debut.
None parallel to the moments that will come throughout the week for the reigning NL MVP in Ohtani. The crowd roared when he was introduced for the starting lineups. They rose again as Ohtani doffed his helmet striding to the plate for his first at-bat. And they came to life again, cheering as he homered even against the Giants in their own home ballpark.
(Top photo: Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
