NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay will open the 2004 season with a two-game series in Tokyo March 30-31.
New York outfielder Hideki Matsui will thus open his second major league season in his homeland.
Matsui was a three-time Nippon Professional Baseball Central League MVP while a member of the Yomiuri Giants before signing with the Yankees prior to last season.
"Major League Baseball is excited about returning to Tokyo to open the 2004 season," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "We are pleased that the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays have accepted our invitation to participate in the 2004 Opening Series."
It will be the fourth time in the last six years that the MLB season has opened outside the continental United States or Canada.
