Japanese baseball targets June return

Professional baseball might resume next month in Japan. No date, however, has been set during the country's coronavirus-related state of emergency, which remains in effect until May 31.

Commissioner Atsushi Saito said Monday none of the league's 12 teams "can make preparations by setting a specific opening day." The idea for a return is to play games without fans, at least initially. But the start of the season has been delayed twice since the scheduled start date of March 20.

Saito said the July All-Star Game would be canceled for the first time in the history of the league. Major League Baseball is considering the possibility of resuming spring training in June, but St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said next month is not a certainty and that only one positive COVID-19 test could implode such plans.

"You have to prioritize everybody's health in that type of discussion," Mozeliak told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "That's always going to be the quick balance of getting going too soon, versus waiting for that appropriate time."