Headlines

  • Royals Re-Sign Zack Greinke
  • Dodgers Sign Miguel Rojas To Contract Extension
  • Jake McGee Retires
  • Orioles To Decline Five-Year Lease Extension At Camden Yards, Seeking Longer-Term Agreement With Maryland Stadium Authority
  • Mariners, Dylan Moore Agree to Three-Year Extension
  • Blue Jays Sign Chad Green
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2023
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball Sets June 19 Opening Day

By Steve Adams | May 25, 2020 at 9:00am CDT

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.

Share 0 Retweet 23 Send via email0

Nippon Professional Baseball Coronavirus

The Indians Continue To Benefit From The Bartolo Colon Trade
Main
Denard Span On His Future
View Comments (15)

Comments

  1. Tom84

    3 years ago

    Nice. Hope they all stay safe

    Reply
    • Manfredsajoke

      3 years ago

      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.

      Reply
      • Afk711

        3 years ago

        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.

        Reply
  2. DarkSide830

    3 years ago

    that’s a good sign

    Reply
  3. Brandon Sans

    3 years ago

    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.

    Reply
    • mike127

      3 years ago

      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.

      Reply
      • brucenewton

        3 years ago

        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.

        Reply
    • jonnyzuck

      3 years ago

      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

      Reply
  4. astrosgotgreinkewtf

    3 years ago

    go asia, it’s your birthday, we gon party like its ur birfday

    Reply
  5. astrosgotgreinkewtf

    3 years ago

    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

    Reply
    • metsfan68

      3 years ago

      If im right they still own, or at least did own the mariners

      Reply
      • Hawktattoo

        3 years ago

        At one point the Nintendo family did.

        Reply
    • Afk711

      3 years ago

      England went from our biggest enemy to best friend. So what?

      Reply
  6. WiffleBall

    3 years ago

    Wiffle ball.

    Reply
    • nature boy

      3 years ago

      Any chance the NPB will be televised?

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Royals Re-Sign Zack Greinke

    Dodgers Sign Miguel Rojas To Contract Extension

    Jake McGee Retires

    Orioles To Decline Five-Year Lease Extension At Camden Yards, Seeking Longer-Term Agreement With Maryland Stadium Authority

    Mariners, Dylan Moore Agree to Three-Year Extension

    Blue Jays Sign Chad Green

    Rays Extend Yandy Diaz

    Dexter Fowler Announces Retirement

    Mets Sign Jeff McNeil To Four-Year Extension

    Red Sox, Marlins Swap Matt Barnes For Richard Bleier

    Darren O’Day Announces Retirement

    Braves Extend Manager Brian Snitker Through 2025

    Rays Sign Pete Fairbanks To Extension

    Royals Sign Aroldis Chapman To One-Year Deal

    Athletics Sign Jesús Aguilar

    Orioles Acquire Cole Irvin From A’s

    Astros Name Dana Brown General Manager

    Rays Extend Jeffrey Springs

    Royals, Red Sox Swap Adalberto Mondesi For Josh Taylor

    Red Sox Designate Matt Barnes For Assignment

    Recent

    Angelos Family Drops Lawsuits Against One Another

    Nationals, Victor Robles Avoid Arbitration

    Royals Re-Sign Zack Greinke

    Rangers Hire Ian Kinsler As Special Assistant

    Follow The NBA Trade Deadline At Hoops Rumors

    Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former MLB Pitcher And Current Scout Tim Fortugno

    The Opener: DFA, Extensions, Player Chat

    Giants, Stephen Piscotty Agree To Minor League Deal

    Mets To Hire Carlos Beltran As Special Assistant To The GM

    AL Notes: Ohtani, Angels, Vespi, Yoshida, Red Sox

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Offseason Outlook Series
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2023
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • MLB Player Chats
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version