Major League Baseball on Friday called this week's Tokyo Series between Japanese standout Shohei Ohtani's World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs the largest standalone international event in its history.

Shohei Ohtani’s every step, swing and smile were intensely followed this week during his homecoming at the Tokyo Dome, an event that would make most mortals wilt under the pressure.

This week wasn’t about the defending World Series champions visiting Japan, or Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s transformation, or even Roki Sasaki’s major league debut.