Japanese baseball players elected to stage the first strike in the history of the sport in Japan on Friday after extended negotiations with team officials failed to reach an agreement.
The digital screen at Yahoo BB Stadium during Friday's game between
the Orix BlueWave and the Chiba Lotte Marines announces that this weekend's games have
been canceled following the players' association decision to go on strike.
Japan's professional players had threatened to strike this weekend unless a one-year freeze was placed on the merger of the Pacific League's Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave.