Nearly 25 years after Ichiro Suzuki embarked on a Hall of Fame career for the Seattle Mariners, the impact of Japanese players in Major League Baseball is at a high point.

Last year, the Padres and Dodgers got the MLB regular season started early with two games in South Korea. This year, it’s the Cubs and Dodgers kicking things off the week before league-wide Opening Day.

Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night, hitting a home run in an exhibition against the Yomiuri Giants.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar is suddenly at risk of missing the team's opening series in Tokyo, Japan against the Chicago Cubs.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was born in Japan, and Shohei Ohtani and the four other Japanese players will compete at home for the Dodgers and Cubs.