NEW YORK, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Major League Baseball announced Thursday that the 2008 regular season would open in Japan with a game between Boston and Oakland.
The defending World Series champion Red Sox will meet the Athletics in Tokyo on Tuesday, March 25. They will play a two-game series in the Tokyo Dome.
This will mark the earliest regular-season game ever played and it will be the third time the baseball season has opened in Japan.
The first game in North America will be played on Sunday, March 30 with Atlanta visiting Washington.
Among the features of this year's schedule will be a celebration of "Jackie Robinson Day" on April 15. It will mark the 61st anniversary of Robinson's entry into the majors. He will be honored prior to the start of every game played that day.
The schedule calls for inter-league play from May 16 through May 18 and from June 13 through June 29. The 79th All-Star Game will be played July 15 at Yankee Stadium.
