Major League Baseball is swinging in the culture and fashion department to reach the next generation of fans.
MLB and Media Company Complex have partnered with contemporary artist Murakami Takahashi to release a limited edition collection of merchandise and trading cards, including his distinctive vibrant colors and floral artwork.
Murakami-designed jerseys and trading cards will be provided through the league's retail partner, the Commerce and Collectibles of Fanatics division. The collaboration will be announced one month before the 2025 Tokyo Series (March 18th and 19th). This finds a pair of regular season games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs. The Tokyo Series will showcase some of the league's biggest Japanese talent, including Shoes Hei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Imanagaland.
“As we continue to grow our game globally, having a Japanese artist with Murakami's caliber will be able to celebrate Japan's deep connection to baseball,” Uzma Lone Dowler, chief marketing officer of MLB, said in a telephone interview. “It also allows us to introduce baseball fashion as a powerful form of cultural storytelling.”
Murakami, 63, recently made a headline to reunite with LVMH mega brand Louis Vuitton. He boasts a massive social media presence with nearly 3 million Instagram followers.
Known for mixing Japanese and Western influences, the founder of the Super Flat Art Movement also designs album cover art for hip-hop artists such as Kanye West and Future. The MLB and Murakami partnership are the latest push for the league to attract the attention of younger fans.
“This is central to our strategy and is enhancing the generational talent that exists within MLB today,” Dowler said. “We have a younger generation of players. It leads to younger generations of fans who consume our sport, whether they go to the game or interact with us on social media platforms. It's cool to see everything that comes to life through this initiative.”
Murakami previously partnered with the Cubs in 2019 as part of his collaboration with Festival ComplexCon. This time, the League Wide Partnership is expected to reach even more as design products will be available online and in Dodger Stadium and Wrigley Field stores. The league hopes that the Murakami Initiative will help drive marketing momentum in 2026.
“We want to build on momentum,” Dowler said. “Not only the Tokyo Series and its surroundings, but not just the day we are there, how we build on this and have a presence in the Japanese market.”
