"In 2003, the Mariners were a mere 17 hours from boarding a plane to Tokyo for a two-game, season-opening series with the Oakland A's at the Tokyo Dome.

But with tension building over safety issues related to the impending U.S. invasion of Iraq, commissioner Bud Selig abruptly canceled the trip on March 18.

Now the Mariners again appear be in the plans for a season-opening series in Japan against the A's next spring, one which could pit that country's two biggest baseball stars — Ichiro and Hideki Matsui — against each other.

The San Francisco Chronicle first reported that the Major League Baseball Players Association has had conversations with the two teams about opening the season with a pair of games at the Tokyo Dome."