Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) commissioner Sadayuki Sakakibara has stated that the opening fixtures of next year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season will be held in Japan.
Sakakibara said that the games would be played on March 19 and 20, although no official announcement has been made and the venue and teams are unconfirmed.
The 81-year-old met with MLB commissioner Robert Manfred in the South Korean capital city Seoul last month where the league’s first matches were played at the Gocheok Sky Dome.
Japanese star Shohei Ohtani helped his Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres on March 20 before the Padres triumphed 15-11 the next day.
“We spoke about the plan going forward on those dates,” Sakakibara said of his meeting with Manfred, as reported by Kyodo News.
“It would be great if it works out like that, but nothing is decided at this moment. I was told he wanted teams that would deliver high quality baseball.”
Japan first welcomed the MLB in 2000 when the Chicago Cubs played the New York Mets at the Tokyo Dome before further fixtures in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2019 in the capital.
The 45,600-capacity venue is thought to be the likely host for next year’s curtain-raiser.
There has been speculation that the Cubs and the Dodgers are the preferred teams to play in Japan next year as both have players from the country.
The Dodgers boast two-way star Ohtani as well as pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto while the Cubs have outfielder Seiya Suzuki and pitcher Shota Imanaga.
Ohtani used to play in the NPB with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters from 2013 to 2017 and is still immensely popular in his home country.
Japanese media report on him nearly every day, including his performances during practice sessions.
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