It’s an out‑of‑this‑world collaboration as MLB Players, Inc., OneTeam Partners, BW NYC Studios, Inc., and VIZ Media team up for a new science‑fiction manga, GalaXic Baseball League, premiering digitally this July.
Written and illustrated by Acky Bright, GalaXic Baseball League features current MLB players in a high‑stakes interplanetary ball game. Bright is best known for McDonald’s 2024 “WcDonald’s” anime‑style campaign, along with his work for DC Comics and Marvel.
“As I watched the 2023 World Baseball Classic final, I kept seeing people saying, ‘Reality just outdid manga!’ That became the seed for this entire story,” Bright said in a press release from VIZ Media. “I hope readers can escape into an epic that brings the heart and soul of baseball to life in another galaxy.”
Baseball is hugely popular in Japan, where Los Angeles Dodgers all‑star designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani appears in advertisements for everything from beverages to personal care products. The Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers are two of Japan’s most recognizable baseball teams, alongside Hiroshima’s Toyo Carp and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
Players confirmed making an appearance in the manga include Aaron Judge, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr., Juan Soto, Jung Hoo Lee, Kyle Schwarber, Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
VIZ Media describes the manga as:
In the distant future, baseball has rocketed into the cosmos. What was once America’s pastime is now a high‑stakes interplanetary competition in which teams from every corner of the universe battle for glory. Amid a sinister plot to wreak havoc on the galaxy, legendary baseball players team up with two unlikely heroes in their quest to save Earth — and the heart and soul of baseball.
GalaXic Baseball League launches Thursday, July 2nd, 2026, exclusively on the VIZ Manga app, followed by a print release of Volume 1 in October 2026.
Source: VIZ Media press release
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