For the first time in a century and a half, Major League Baseball is experiencing a season that began and will end away from home. In March, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs They opened the 2025 campaign at the Tokyo Dome. Almost eight months laterthe story closes in the Toronto Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays have a 3-2 lead in the World Series against those same Dodgers who delivered the first blow of the year in Japan.
The story is not a mere anecdote. It marks MLB’s definitive step towards a global model that reconfigures the identity of its flagship sport. The MLB was born in the fields of the eastern United States in the 19th century, expanded with the railroad and grew with the heroes who shaped the myth of the national pastime. In 2025, its geography changed. ANDThe first launch was made in Asia and the trophy could be raised in Canada.
The opening in Tokyo was a spectacle of symbols. Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese superstar who today dresses as a Dodger, filled the stadium with more than 55 thousand fans. The local public celebrated each pitch as if it were a World Series, and international broadcasts recorded record numbers in the Asian market. MLB International reported audiences a 30 percent higher compared to the start of 2024.
The commissioned trophy will be raised in Canada
Now the attention shifts to Toronto. The Blue Jays are seeking their third title, 32 years after the two-time championship in 1992 and 1993. Canada is not a new guest in MLB history, but it had never been the scene of a coronation in a year where the season began outside the United States. In 1993 the Blue Jays beat the Phillies at home, but playball was sung in the United States. Blue Jays began the campaign in Seattle and Montreal Expos in Cincinnati.
The first experience outside the United States and Canada came in 1996 when the Padres and Mets faced each other at Monterrey Stadium.
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International television contracts, especially with Asia and Europe, pushed the change. According to Forbes, MLB projects a 15 percent increase in global revenue thanks to its expansion strategy. The Rating in Japan and Canada marked a milestone in the first two games of the current fall classic.
As the world watches the outcome in Toronto, the 2025 season teaches us that baseball no longer belongs to a single country.
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