Baseball is set to return in Japan. As Kaz Nagatsuka of the Japan Times reports, Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner Atsushi Saito announced Monday that the league plans to kick off its regular season on June 19 — nearly three months after the originally scheduled March 20 date. As has been the case in Taiwan and South Korea, where their top leagues are already underway, games will begin without fans in attendance. NPB teams will aim to play 120 games in their condensed season, which represents a reduction from the 143-game norm.
NPB has yet to formally release its schedule or its health/safety guidelines, although Saito made clear that the Japan Series — NPB’s championship series — will still be held. Other changes to the postseason format in Japan’s 12-team league are still possible, although commissioner Saito indicated the matter is still being discussed. Eliminating extra-inning play in 2020 is also under discussion, per Saito. (Ties are already possible in NPB in games that remain a stalemate through 12 innings.)
NPB has terminated interleague play between the Pacific League and the Central League in 2020, per Nagatsuka, and the schedule is expected to have other alterations aimed at lowering the risk of potential COVID-19 infections among players, staff and other gameday personnel. And while NPB will formally begin a new training camp that runs June 2-14, Nagatsuka adds that teams are already beginning intrasquad games at their home parks in an effort to build back up. The SoftBank Hawks and Orix Buffaloes are among the teams that have already begun to do so.
After announcing back on March 9 that the season opener would be delayed, NPB had targeted April 24 as a potential start date. However, by the end of March, league officials were already casting doubt on the feasibility of that plan. By April 8, NPB had announced that Opening Day was further delayed — this time indefinitely. No dates or plans were made public until today’s announcement from the league.
On the one hand, its encouraging for MLB fans to see another top-level professional league preparing to resume play, as it gives hope that Major League Baseball won’t be far behind. On the other hand, the fact that defined dates for a new training camp and season opener have been put forth to fans even as NPB continues to discuss some of the finer details is a reminder that other leagues don’t face the type of tension between ownership and labor that exists in MLB. It’s been clear for weeks now that MLB’s hope is to relaunch training games in mid-June with an eye toward an early July start, but MLB owners and the MLB Players Association have yet to agree to terms on health/safety protocols or on player compensation in a truncated 2020 campaign.
The MLBPA responded to MLB’s initial health and safety proposal late last week. MLB has yet to make an economic proposal to the union after MLBPA executive director Tony Clark wholly rejected the idea of a 50-50 revenue share before MLB could even formally present the offer. A new economic plan will reportedly be proposed to the union tomorrow.
Nice. Hope they all stay safe
It would be smart of any MLB free agents to sign in Japan on a one year deal to build up their stock. Not looking good for baseball in America this year.
Its looking very good actually since states are allowing sports to resume early June. The money dispute is overblown and that will not prevent a season.
that’s a good sign
Is it fair to say regardless of when/if MLB returns, they blew their chance to maximize this opportunity?
At this point, by the time MLB returns it appears the NBA will also be ready to resume their season and playoffs. Not to mention, the NBA is much easier to view on television than MLB.
Instead of being the first American professional sports league to resume, we get constant updates of labor arguing.
You’re getting constant labor arguing because the baseball season hadn’t started. If this were August the NBA, NHL, and NFL players would be going through this with no fans coming to their games. The fact that NHL and NBA players have already received 7/8th of their season pay makes the MLB situation the spotlight. Don’t think there won’t be fights for adjustments once decisions are made about fall sports.
The other sports split it up evenly with a full understanding of what constitutes revenue. There won’t be any fights between the other leagues and their player unions. If those leagues don’t get off it’ll be because of the second or third wave of the virus that caused it. Not money.
I don’t think they really ever had an opportunity to be the first ones back. Maybe they could have come back slightly before the others, but their situation was probably harder than NBA and NHL had it (because those leagues don’t play every day and were already near the playoffs) so I’m not sure that would be a realistic expectation anyway. It would be terrible for the sport if $ prevents a season but I don’t think the NBA or NHL have anything to do with it
go asia, it’s your birthday, we gon party like its ur birfday
so we bomb this country during world war two. they are now a great ally and telling us, it’s go time. i love japan
If im right they still own, or at least did own the mariners
At one point the Nintendo family did.
England went from our biggest enemy to best friend. So what?
Wiffle ball.
Any chance the NPB will be televised?