Nearly 25 years after Ichiro Suzuki embarked on a Hall of Fame career for the Seattle Mariners, the impact of Japanese players in Major League Baseball is at a high point.

Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.

Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run home run in his return to his home country and the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 5-1 victory over Japan's Yomiuri Giants on Saturday at Tokyo. Michael Conforto and Teoscar Hernandez also hit home runs for the Dodgers,

Shohei Ohtani met the moment in his return to the Tokyo Dome, because of course he did. In Saturday’s exhibition against the Yomiuri Giants, Ohtani – ever the showman – was quick to slug a home run while wearing a major league uniform in his home country for the first time for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The crowds at Tokyo Dome go silent for Ohtani’s at-bats then erupt in cheers for anything he does, but he seems largely unaffected by a level of attention that might be matched by only a handful

Baseball mania reached fever pitch in Japan on Friday with public appearances of national hero Shohei Ohtani and other Japanese players set to take part in MLB season-opening games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.