Takahashi to Whore Himself

[Ceetar]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Normally first-year players don't have the pull to get that kind of language in their contracts but now several Japanese players have gone that route. The Japanese imports are hybrids -- veterans really, but denominated as rookies because MLB defines a rookie by the amount of MLB experience only. On a side note, I'm against incoming veteran imports like Ichiro and Hideo Nomo qualifying for the ROY award. It goes against the spirit of the award and the common-sense definition of "rookie". If it was up to me, I'd define "rookie", at least for purposes of the ROY award, based on professional rather than MLB experience.

That one's a little simpler, but it's be nice if they defined MVP and Cy Young too.

But it's definitely needed, some believe and some don't, so all voters are actually voting on a different set of players. That's just stupid.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Frayed Knot wrote: Normally first-year players don't have the pull to get that kind of language in their contracts but now several Japanese players have gone that route.

But the Japanese imports have considerably more leverage than your MLB rookie/first year player. The imports are typically, still in high demand in their home country and also, free agents here, thus inviting competing teams both here and abroad to bid against each other for their services.

As you know, an MLB rookie has virtually no near-term leverage to command more than the MLB first year minimum salary and cannot invoke a bidding war among other teams. In this respect, the typical MLB rookie has about as many options as an MLB'er who played under the old and infinitely restrictive reserve clause.

[Guest Edgy DC]

The problem is that the very first Rookie of the Year recipient and the one for whom the award has subsequently been named had played in an alternative professional league.

I think we have to get used to the choice MLB made to recognize these players as rookie eligible, even if it's not the rookie pool we grew up with. The Japanese leagues have had all sorts of rules limiting the opportunity and recognition availalble to Western players and it just comes out as insulated and protectionist and that's not a model we should follow.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I don't think I'm motivated by protectionist concerns. If it was up to me, I'd consider any Japanese import for ROY, so long as his professional experience was used to determine his MLB rookie status.

You make a good point about some of the early ROY's playing in the Negro Leagues. But unlike today's Japanese imports, Robinson and Newcombe, et. al. were, for a while, barred from playing in the Majors.

I'm not suggesting that Jackie Robinson posthumously forfeit his ROY award.* But should the fact that Robinson and Newcombe were pros prior to playing in the Majors be the sole reason for allowing today's experienced veteran Japanese imports to qualify for ROY?


* The Rotunda. That's another story.

[Guest Edgy DC]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I don't think I'm motivated by protectionist concerns.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply you were. I meant to suggest that that's the way it would perhaps be interpreted to Japanese baseball parities.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Now I know why you abstained from voting in the Dwight Gooden Award thread.

[metirish]

To the Angels apparently in a multiyear deal.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

metirish wrote: To the Angels apparently in a multiyear deal.

That whore.

[Frayed Knot]

The contract Takahashi signed for is apparently around $8mil over 2 years -- which is above where most if not all peeps here answered as their limit for what they'd offer in response to Duan's 'What would YOU pay him?' question from page 1 of this thread.

[duan]

yeah I was thinking that myself - I reckon I was closest to paying it (as my deal was essentially a 2 year deal for 6 or 8) but at least it shows us all that alderson probably wasn't being a bit mad and only offering 1.5 million