Untapped Potential: MLB’s Expansion to Fanbases Across the Pacific
Asian-born players in Major League Baseball are nothing new. There are the pioneers and legends like Masanori Murakami, Chan Ho Park, Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki, and Hideki Matsui. However, this current batch of Asian-born players is surging and making an impact more than ever. In today’s world, news travels fast, especially positive news. Cheering them on gives fans in players’ home countries an incomparable sense of pride, like when Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, and Hyseong Kim won the 2025 World Series as members of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The places that these players hail from are full of growth opportunities for MLB.
East Asian countries have the people and markets for MLB to develop and expand the existing baseball culture. Japan’s population is estimated to be 123 million, while South Korea has approximately 52 million people. Taiwan rings in at around 23 million. The largest number of people comes from China, with an estimated 1.4 billion people. Additionally, their Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau have seven million and almost three-quarters of a million people, respectively. For reference, the US population is nearly 348 million, and Canada’s population is about 40 million. All population number estimates taken from worldometers.info, rounded to the nearest million except for China and Macau. The East Asian countries added together result in over 1.6 billion people. The US and Canada combined are about 388 million. The main hubs of existing baseball interest in Asia are Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Each place has its own league, including Nippon Professional Baseball, the Korea Baseball Organization League, and the Chinese Professional Baseball League. Though baseball is popular in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, China and its SARs generally lag in interest, which shows in their respective international rankings. If MLB can find a way to attract people in China, its influence in Asia would move up another level. The NBA is extremely popular there; maybe the MLB could look into what the NBA is doing to captivate fans from China.
The thing about international free agents is that they have an existing following that could be larger than a minor leaguer who gets called up because they were already at the professional level in their home countries for several years. In two short MLB seasons, Jung Hoo Lee has endeared himself to the entire San Francisco Giants organization and fan base. Recognizing Lee’s growing popularity, during weekend games, the Giants have a designated section in the center field bleachers named the “Jung Hoo Crew”. The ticket also includes a t-shirt for fans to wear or take home. There have also been self-initiated fan clubs, like the ‘Hoo Lee Gans’, who try to mirror the coordinated cheering and passionate culture that is common in Korea or Japan. The number of Asian faces in the crowd at Oracle Park has definitely increased since Lee’s arrival, and I would imagine it would be similar for teams like the Dodgers, Cubs, and Mets since they’ve signed their Asian-born players.
Another dimension where MLB has made an effort to reach Asian fans is by having jerseys with names in players’ native languages. When I visited Wrigley Field, I saw a few rows of a clothing rack dedicated to jerseys with Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki’s names in Japanese. Since the Dodgers’ World Series win, they’ve been selling snapbacks with a patch reading “二O二五王者” or 2025 Champions. If MLB designs more merchandise that reflects or embraces Asian heritage and culture, I believe more Asian people will buy it. During my time in Hong Kong, I came across MLB and New Era stores, which were something I didn’t expect. What disappointed me was that the MLB stores were mostly selling lifestyle clothes with team logos on them, but it already seemed like a step forward from not having a store at all.
Now, every year, international free agency is a large part of the free agent market. This year’s international free agent class coming to the MLB from the Asian leagues, such as NPB and KBO, is stacked with the likes of Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, Tatsuya Imai, Sung Mun Song, Kona Takahashi, and more. In addition, the upcoming World Baseball Classic might uncover more stars who could be destined to play in the MLB. With the entire baseball world watching, the stage is set.
MLB has arrived in Asia and brought in more fans on North American soil, thanks to the influx of players leaping from their home countries. Discussing MLB highlights and videos is one of the ways I stay in touch with my Hong Kong teammates and coach. In talking with my coach, he began watching MLB a few years ago because of Ohtani’s improbable feats and greatness. Also, one of my teammates watched the World Series for the first time this past season, partially due to the number of Asian players participating. Even Asian fans in North America are watching more closely and must decide between cheering for Asian players or their hometown team. For example, during the World Series, I saw an Instagram reel of a Japanese restaurant owner in Toronto who was asked which team he’d be rooting for. He expressed he was torn because he liked Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki, but in the end, he still chose the Blue Jays. With the opening of these markets, MLB will continue to expand with more players eager to make the league, as well as media contracts and merchandise for fans to purchase.
