That's a point of pride at home, but also a reason to worry. What happens to baseball in Japan, to the country's pro league, if the stars all leave for the United States? About a dozen Japanese played in MLB last season,

Expectations are growing for the Japanese market to be a driving force for Major League Baseball's global growth strategy.

The baseball-mad country of Japan greeted perhaps the brightest star it has ever produced with silence. When Shohei Ohtani stepped into the batter’s box to open Major League Baseball’s season against his fellow countryman,

TOKYO -- The expectations for Shohei Ohtani's first trip to Japan as a major league player were massive and unyielding. He is a near-mythic figure in his home country, and his presence there this week felt as much like a royal visit as it did a guy coming into town to play some baseball.