Dodger-Branded Merchandise is Already Booming in Japan

The Dodgers’ influence on the baseball culture of Japan dates to the 1950s and is well-documented. The last month has provided its own chapter to that long history. 

By signing Shohei Ohtani to a record 10-year, $700 million contract, the Dodgers unabashedly sought to re-establish themselves as the preferred Major League Baseball team of Japan. The impending signing of free agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million deal will only further that goal. 

Typically, a contract doesn’t pay for itself. Given the outsized opportunity the Dodgers have to push their brand before Japanese consumers, the signings of Ohtani and Yamamoto might prove exceptional.

The Japan Times recently reported that Dodgers merchandise is flying off the shelves in Japan. According to reporter Jason Coskrey,

The question is not whether the Dodgers’ brand can expect renewed popularity in Japan. One Japanese baseball merchandise retailer reportedly anticipated a backlog of Ohtani’s number-17 jersey to extend into January.

The question is, how many shelves can fit Dodgers-branded merchandise? The answer is beginning to trickle in.

The author Jeffrey J. Hall noticed it at his local liquor store in Japan.

If there was any confusion as to why “Dodgers wine” is suddenly an item, Hall goes on to note that the Angels benefited from the “Ohtani Effect” too:

None of this counts as a surprise. Shortly after the Dodgers signed Japanese star Hideo Nono in 1995, Dodgers merchandise sales vaulted five places in the MLB rankings. Japanese tourism to the United States soared, spurred by an interest in seeing him pitch and snapping up his merchandise.

Compared to Nomo, Ohtani’s celebrity is even larger in Japan at the time each joined the Dodgers. Expect the wave of Dodgers merchandise in their homeland to continue to swell.

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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