Opening Day in Tokyo: Cubs, Dodgers and the Legacy of Victor Starffin

(Fox/Fox Sports)

Baseball fans, Opening Day is here! Opening Day for the Cubs and Dodgers was technically Tuesday, March 18, in Tokyo. They will play another regular-season game this morning, before flying back to the United States to finish spring training. Playing this week in Tokyo are Japanese natives including Shota Imanaga, Roki Sasaki, Seiya Suzuki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto & Shohei Ohtani. Both games were sold out, with tickets on the secondary market more expensive than this year's Super Bowl.

For 26 other MLB teams, Opening Day will occur Thursday, March 27, with 14 games scheduled that day. Thirty of the league’s top pitchers are set to take the mound, featuring 22 All-Stars, four making their debut with new teams, and one poised to become the quickest top overall draft pick to start a season opener.

Japan has a deep and complex relationship with baseball, and no story captures that connection better than Tokyo Giant: The Legend of Victor Starffin. Baseball has been a central part of Japanese culture for over 150 years, much like how it holds the title of America’s national pastime. The game was first introduced to Japan in 1872 by American professor Horace Wilson, who taught it to his students at Kaisei Academy in Arakawa, Tokyo. Since then, it has grown into Japan's most popular sport.

Victor Starffin’s story is not your everyday baseball story. Born in Russia, Starffin fled the Russian Revolution with his family and eventually settled in Japan. There, he found his calling on the baseball diamond, becoming the first pitcher in Japanese professional baseball history to notch 300 career wins. But Starffin’s success didn’t come easy.

As a foreigner in Japan, he faced intense xenophobia and the constant struggle to fit into a culture that, at times, viewed him as an outsider. He lived through poverty, political tension, and the upheaval of World War II while carving out his place in Japanese baseball history. His fastball was legendary, but his resilience in the face of adversity made him a true icon.

In Tokyo Giant, Starffin’s story comes to life through the eyes of his two daughters, who give us a deeply personal look at their father’s triumphs and tragedies. The film explores not only Starffin’s incredible athletic career, but also the shifting identities and cultural tensions that shaped his life.

So, as you settle in to watch the Cubs and Dodgers kick off the season, take a moment to reflect on the remarkable legacy of Victor Starffin, the Russian-born pitcher who became a Japanese legend.

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