Some collaborations mark a moment in time so precisely that the objects they produce become historical artifacts. The Takashi Murakami x MLB Tokyo Series collection is exactly that. In March 2025, two of baseball’s most storied franchises, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs, opened the MLB regular season at the Tokyo Dome. To celebrate that moment, MLB and Complex partnered with one of the world’s most important living artists. The result is one of the most layered sports collectibles of the decade. At Rare Inventory, we carry both Rawlings commemorative baseballs from that drop: one for each team.
The collaboration: when contemporary art met Major League Baseball
The Takashi Murakami x MLB Tokyo Series collection launched on March 7, 2025. The exclusive partnership brought together Murakami and Major League Baseball to celebrate two of the league’s most storied teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs, for a limited-edition collection of collectibles and merchandise.
The context behind the event matters enormously. The 2025 MLB Tokyo Series allowed Japanese superstars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Seiya Suzuki to play in front of their home crowd, a moment that made the series far more than a regular season opener. Furthermore, Murakami himself described the collaboration as building upon the historical friendship between Japan and the United States, expressing gratitude for the chance to highlight Shohei Ohtani as an athlete who emerged from Japan and made a name for himself on a global stage.
This was not a standard sports licensing deal. Murakami’s influence stretches from fine art galleries to fashion shows, and this collaboration extended his artistic vision to one of baseball’s most historic international events. As a result, the collection attracted attention from art collectors, baseball fans, and cultural observers in equal measure.
The full collection: what Murakami brought to baseball
The collection included New Era 59FIFTYs, knits and adjustable caps, Rawlings baseballs and gloves, Victus bats, totes, keychains, and more, all infused with Murakami’s unmistakable aesthetic.
Moreover, the trading card component added another layer of collectible depth. Fanatics Collectibles, which owns Topps, produced a trading card set featuring Murakami’s artwork. The chase card in that limited offering was a one-of-one dual-autograph card of Murakami and Ohtani, one of the most desirable and rare cards of all time.
The apparel side featured Murakami’s iconic floral artwork on individual jerseys for Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman from the Dodgers, and Shota Imanaga, Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson from the Cubs.
Within that entire catalog, however, the Rawlings commemorative baseballs stand apart. They combine the official Rawlings MLB baseball, the same object used in the actual games, with Murakami’s visual language applied directly to the surface. Consequently, they sit at the exact intersection of sports memorabilia and contemporary art object.
The two balls at Rare Inventory
Takashi Murakami x MLB Tokyo Series – Commemorative Ball Dodgers New Era
The Dodgers ball carries the New Era branding alongside Murakami’s signature visual language, bold colors, cherry blossom motifs, and his iconic smiling flower characters. The blue and white palette of the Dodgers works naturally against Murakami’s vibrant style, creating a piece that reads as both a faithful team collectible and an art object. For Dodgers fans who collect Murakami, or Murakami collectors who follow baseball, this is the obvious centerpiece.
Takashi Murakami x MLB Tokyo Series – Commemorative Ball Rawlings Chicago Cubs Baseball
The Cubs ball takes a different visual direction. The Rawlings branding sits alongside the Cubs’ traditional color identity, the iconic C logo reimagined through Murakami’s flower-driven aesthetic. The collection includes cherry blossom motifs alongside Murakami’s signature characters, and the Cubs ball applies those elements in a way that respects the team’s visual heritage while making the Murakami presence impossible to miss. For collectors who want the other side of the matchup, this piece completes the pair.
Together, the two balls document both teams at one of the most culturally significant games of the 2025 MLB season.
Why these balls hold serious collector value
Three factors position these pieces above standard sports memorabilia.
First, the event itself. The 2025 MLB Tokyo Series marked a partnership that celebrated the deep cultural connection between America’s favorite pastime and its influence in Japan. It opened the regular season at the Tokyo Dome with some of baseball’s most globally followed players. In other words, this wasn’t a mid-season exhibition, it was the opening act of the 2025 MLB season, on foreign soil, with enormous cultural stakes.
Second, Murakami’s market trajectory. As we’ve covered in our full Takashi Murakami guide, Murakami’s market delivers consistent long-term returns. Pieces tied to specific, dateable cultural moments in his career benefit from that trajectory. The Tokyo Series baseballs connect to a fixed date, a fixed event, and a fixed partnership, exactly the kind of specificity that drives long-term collector interest.
Third, the format. A Rawlings baseball is an official MLB game ball. Murakami’s artwork directly on that surface creates a genuine hybrid object: sports equipment transformed into art. MLB’s collaboration with Murakami cemented itself as more than just a merchandise drop, it became a cultural event and a celebration of baseball’s global reach. Furthermore, that cultural weight applies directly to every physical object in the collection.
Dodgers or Cubs: which one should you buy?
If you collect one team, the answer is straightforward. If you collect Murakami, both balls together tell the complete story of the matchup. And if you approach this from a pure collectible perspective, owning the pair documents both sides of a historic game, which is always more complete than owning just one.
Both balls ship original and in excellent condition from Rare Inventory. Stock is limited and we don’t restock.
Browse the full Takashi Murakami collection at Rare Inventory for more pieces from this and other collaborations.
