The Ohtani and Sasaki effect as Fanatics report sales bonanza from MLB Tokyo Series

Reigning champions, Los Angeles Dodgers had little difficulty in overcoming the Chicago Cubs in both games that formed part of the Tokyo Series with a 6-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday following their previous 4-1 victory.

However the big winners at the 2025 MLB season curtain raiser were Fanatics.

The merchandise group announced that after the two games, the MLB Tokyo Series generated $40 million of fan gear and trading card sales, making it the best-selling special event since the company was founded in 2011.

The breakdown of the money generated came from products such as exclusive Tokyo Series fan gear and trading cards sold through e-commerce and wholesale, Fanatics-operated MLB Official Shop retail locations across Tokyo and the MLB Flagship Shop in New York City.

The biggest success from the event was undoubtedly a limited-edition collection created for the event by celebrated Japanese artist Takashi Murakami which sold out in less than an hour as baseball fans clamoured for a souvenir of the Series in the Japanese capital.

Opening day for the 2025 MLB regular season is March 27 with the Dodgers facing Detroit Tigers back at their Dodger Stadium LA home.

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