The weather throughout Japan may be warming now that we have passed the middle of April, but there were some cold, wet days at the end of March and the beginning of this month that made it uncomfortable to play — and watch — baseball.
Japanese pro baseball lid-lifters took place on Friday night, March 27, and if the trend continues, opening day in 2016 would be on March 25 because of the two-day skip in the leap year calendar. At the other end, scheduled games in the Central League conclude on Sept. 27, just four days after summer ends and while the weather is still generally warm and sunny.
The first game in Major League Baseball was played this year on April 5, and, if the American and National Leagues can fit in 162 games between the first week of April and the end of September, surely Japanese baseball can work its 143-game slate in the same period of time.