The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), an Associate of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), today announced the league will officially start its regular season on 11 April with 'closed-door' games, becoming the first professional baseball league in the world to begin its 2020 season.

CPBL Commissioner John Wu stated: “We’ll limit the crowd, including team and league personnel, venue staff and media, to be between 150 and 200 people to comply with government regulations."

Government regulations state that no more than 500 people can attend outdoor activities.

Also the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) are planning to open their seasons during the month of April.

The tentative KBO Opening Day is set for Tuesday 21 April, while NPB tentative Opening Day on Friday, 24 April, has already been postponed indefinitely.

NPB Commissioner Saito Atsushi told the Japan Times that playing without fans would be "the last option" for the league.