Tuesday, Major League Baseball announced that the 2019 season would begin on March 20 in Japan. The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will play a two-game series March 20-21 in the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. This marks the eighth time MLB has opened the season internationally, the first time since 2014 in Australia. 

"The Oakland Athletics are proud to once again take part in the Japan Opening Series," said A's President Dave Kaval. "We are honored to represent Major League Baseball during this special event. Japan has incredible baseball fans and we look forward to returning to Tokyo to help promote our sport."

"The Mariners have been closely tied to Japan since Nintendo purchased a majority of the team in 1992 and have had Japanese players on our roster every season since 1996," said Mariners Chairman and Managing Partner John Stanton. "It is an honor for our team to return for the Opening Series in 2019, and we look forward to this opportunity."

MLB has been big on growing the game globally the past decade-plus, so this isn't all too surprising. Still, there are some things I don't like here. 

First off, these two stray games never really feel like they are part of the season. The two teams actually return to spring training. Think about how backwards that is. They play two "real" games and then go back to exhibition mode. Obviously, the travel logistics means it has to be this way, but it just feels wrong. 

Secondly, why not send the Angels? Arguably the most exciting Japanese star in MLB right now is Shohei Ohtani and surely the great fans of Japan would love to see superstars present and past in Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. 

Regardless, our first two games of the 2019 season will be March 20-21 between the A's and Mariners.