The Los Angeles Dodgers landed at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Thursday afternoon (local time) and were greeted by a throng of fans who were particularly excited to welcome home Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
Ohtani left Japan for Major League Baseball in 2018, Yamamoto joined the Dodgers last year, and Sasaki is now entering his first season with the club after a whirlwind recruiting process.
Each of the three not only figure to play prominent roles for the Dodgers in 2025, but they are sources of pride for Japan. And with the Dodgers set to play the Tokyo Series next week, the trio wants to ensure the team is plenty comfortable.
During an appearance on MLB Network, manager Dave Roberts revealed Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki organized a players-only dinner for the Dodgers:
“There’s a Major League Baseball event one of these nights, there’s a Dodger event when we get there. We have a workout when we get there. We get in at, like, three in the afternoon. We’ll have a little meal and then go work out.
“But Shohei, on Sunday, he, Yoshinobu and Roki are hosting just the players, which is great. It’s mandatory. So just the players are going to be there — all 31 guys — and they’re going to bring this crazy sushi chef, go to some dinner. They’re going to host it. It’s awesome.”
The three Japanese Dodgers arranging such an event in some sense repays teammates for the hospitality and gratitude they showed in welcoming the new players.
Miguel Rojas was particularly active in establishing a positive environment for Ohtani and Yamamoto last year, and did so again for this season by allowing Sasaki to take his No. 11 jersey.
Dodgers games in Japan
The Dodgers play two exhibition games at the Tokyo Dome before their Opening Day matchup with the Chicago Cubs. The Tokyo Series is two games played from March 18-19, with the Cubs the home team for both contests.
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