Baseball’s Bridge Across the Pacific Exhibit at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game
Truist Park – All-Star Village, Atlanta, Georgia | July 12–15, 2025
Baseball’s Bridge Across the Pacific returned for another year at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, drawing thousands of fans to Truist Park in Atlanta from July 12–15. Presented by the Nisei Baseball Research Project in partnership with Major League Baseball, the Japanese American Citizens League, and MLB’s Diverse Business Partners program, the exhibit continued its mission to honor and share the legacy of Japanese American baseball and its impact on the international game.
The internationally recognized exhibit built upon its previous showings in Los Angeles (2022), Seattle (2023), Arlington (2024), and Tokyo (2025), expanding the story with new artifacts, local Georgia connections, and powerful storytelling. Visitors explored the roots of Nikkei baseball dating back to the 1870s, the early Issei teams, the early goodwill tours to Japan that helped spark the start of Japanese professional baseball in 1936, and the perseverance of Japanese Americans who played behind barbed wire during World War II incarceration.
The Atlanta edition introduced new tributes and spotlighted local ties, like Georgia native John Britton, one of the first postwar Black players in Japan’s Pacific League; a tribute to scout and coach George Omachi and his mentorship of future Hall of Famer Bobby Cox; and memorabilia celebrating the historic friendship between home run legends Hank Aaron and Sadaharu Oh.
Fans were also drawn to six compelling pieces by artist Ben Sakaguchi, whose Unauthorized History of Baseball series explored themes of exclusion, race, and resistance—some tied directly to Georgia and Braves history. The exhibit further honored MLB Ambassador Billy Bean (1960-2024), whose personal journey in MLB and Japan, and advocacy work reflect the power of baseball to unite across cultures and identities. Through his leadership and vision, the exhibit Baseball's Bridge Across the Pacific is now an annual part of the All-Star Village fan experience.
With rare artifacts, art, and deeply human stories, the exhibit offered a moving experience for fans and reaffirmed its call for a permanent museum exhiibit to honor the overlooked contributions of Asian American baseball pioneers.
Plans are already underway for the 2026 All-Star Game exhibit in Philadelphia, PA, to coincide with the Semiquincentennial, 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. See you in Philly. #America250.
2025 PHOTO GALLERY
