Mariners, A's to open 2012 season in Tokyo

Ichiro Suzuki will lead the Seattle Mariners against the Oakland A's next March in Tokyo in the opening games of the 2012 North American Major League Baseball season, officials said Wednesday. On the final day of this year's six-month regular season, Major League Baseball revealed a two-game Japan Opening Series will be staged March 28-29 at Tokyo Dome, one week before St. Louis visits Miami on April 4 in the US opener. "Major League Baseball is very pleased to give Japanese fans a chance to see the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics, two franchises with great popularity in Japan," Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said. Suzuki has sparked Japan to victory in the first two World Baseball Classic tournaments, where major league stars play for their homelands. Japanese star Hideki Matsui played for Oakland this year but is set to become a free agent. The games will be dedicated to helping disaster relief efforts across Japan, which was struck by a devastating earthquake and tsunami last March that killed more than 15,000 people. "I believe that we can use this event to further assist the ongoing relief efforts throughout Japan," Selig said. The Japan Opening Series will mark the fourth major league season start in Japan, the first since the A's and Boston Red Sox played in 2008 at Tokyo Dome. "The Opening Series provides major league players with an opportunity to use baseball, a sport cherished and revered by both our nations, to help our Japanese friends continue their recovery from the devastating tsunami," said players union executive director Michael Weiner. Japan-based Nintendo is the majority owner of the Mariners, who have a devoted following in Japan. "More Mariners games have been televised in Japan over the past 10 years than any other MLB team, so the fans there will be familiar with us," Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said. Past international openers for Major League Baseball include Monterrey, Mexico in 1999; San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2001 and Tokyo in 2000, 2004 and 2008. After the Japan games, the A's and Mariners will return to the United States and finish their pre-season exhibition schedule before their first regular-season games on US soil on April 6.