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The Toronto Blue Jays logo was on display during a major boxing match in Japan on Monday, leaving some sharp-eyed viewers intrigued and Major League Baseball (MLB) possibly miffed.
Sports fans tuning in to watch the WBC bantamweight title fight — as Takuma Inoue fought Tenshin Nasukawa at Tokyo’s Toyota Arena — could see glimpses of the Blue Jays logo on the corner posts of the ring, as well as on the canvas floor.
The Athletic, which first reported the development, described the arrangement as a “sponsorship” for the Blue Jays that MLB would normally be expected to sign off on — but that’s not what occurred in this instance, according to the outlet.
“The Blue Jays said they were aware of the sponsorship in advance of the logo being used and that it was not a paid sponsorship,” The Athletic said in a report published on Monday, also noting that the league office was not involved in this effort.
Hey, the Blue Jays are sponsoring boxing events in Japan. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BlueJays</a> <a href=”https://t.co/ESP0VluLNv”>pic.twitter.com/ESP0VluLNv</a>
—CubbyMike76
A Blue Jays spokesperson did not deny the report on Monday evening.
“The Athletic article is up to date, and our input is included. We have nothing further to add,” Andrea Goldstein, the Blue Jays vice-president of communications, told CBC News via email.
The Athletic said it was not clear if MLB would follow up on the matter.
The league did not immediately respond to a phone message asking for comment on Monday night.
The Blue Jays are coming off their best season in years, having been the runner-up in the World Series.
The team’s seven-game battle against the Los Angeles Dodgers drew millions of Canadian viewers, including an epic Game 7.
That game also drew millions of viewers in Japan, who tuned it to see Yoshinobu Yamamoto close out the game for the Dodgers, a day after he’d started Game 6 against Toronto — which L.A. also won.
Yamamoto, who also pitched a complete-game victory for the Dodgers in Game 2, was named MVP of the World Series.
Just weeks after its World Series loss, Toronto is focused on getting back to baseball’s biggest stage next season, as the Blue Jays try to retain — and also attract — top talent for a renewed attempt at a championship run.
Japan has long been a source of top free-agent talent for MLB teams, and the Blue Jays have been among the ballclubs that have vied for star players that have left their home country to play baseball in North America.