Last year, the Padres and Dodgers got the MLB regular season started early with two games in South Korea. This year, it’s the Cubs and Dodgers kicking things off the week before league-wide Opening Day.

The influx of Japanese players on the Dodgers' roster has allowed the Okinawa-born Dave Roberts to reconnect with his background, and now he's poised to guide his team in a season-opening series in Tokyo.

Shohei Ohtani took the field at the Tokyo Dome to the roar of applause as a brief snippet of his walk-up song, "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco, played in the background. Never mind that Friday was just a workout day -- the excitement was real,