Japan baseball delayed again, no date set for resumption

Nippon Professional Baseball's season openers will not take place in May due to the new coronavirus pandemic, with no firm date set for the start.

Representatives of the 12 teams decided Friday to also scrap interleague play. The removal of 18 interleague games from each team's calendar would make for a 125-game regular season.

Although no specific date had been set to start the season, the representatives agreed in an online meeting to not start before the end of May. The interleague games between the Central and Pacific leagues have started in May since the format was established in 2005.

"It was clear that we were going to have to reduce the number of games," said Shosaku Yokota of the Orix Buffaloes.

"We decided that in such a case, it was best to protect league games."