Hands Across The Sea — How U.S.-Japan Baseball Relations Came To Be

First in a three-part series

TOKYO — MLB Opening Day is coming to Japan again — for the sixth time — in March when the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs play a two-game series March 18-19.

MLB teams have been visiting Japan for over a century, dating back to 1908, when the Reach All-Americans, a team of major league reserves and minor league players toured Asia. They were sponsored by the Reach Sporting Goods company which sold baseball bats, balls and gloves and was looking to expand its markets to Asia. They played 17 games against Japanese university teams.

The experience set the stage for American players Art Schaeffer and Tommy Thompson to coach at Keio University in 1910.