BASEBALL

Japan ends WBC strike threat

Sports Sep. 05, 2012 - 07:03AM JST ( 11 )

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11 Comments

0

spudmanreincarnatedSep. 05, 2012 - 07:49AM JST

massive failure by the players union.
2

paulinusaSep. 05, 2012 - 08:38AM JST

Yea, if they're getting screwed, they should have ditched the pride issue and held out. The average Japanese baseball player deserves a bigger piece of the pie.
1

fdsSep. 05, 2012 - 09:18AM JST

the problem is the made the deal without consulting the players and then expected the player to get on board. i hope they don't make the same mistake again.
0

smithinjapanSep. 05, 2012 - 09:21AM JST

Doesn't sound like they accomplished much. Regardless, as much as I think the WBC is a waste of time and a crock, it's good that the lead team will be joining.
1

mrkobayashiSep. 05, 2012 - 10:39AM JST

spudman, the players union negotiated a sponsorship deal that will bring in 50 million dollars in licensing revenue. How is that a failure?
-1

nigelboySep. 05, 2012 - 10:43AM JST

Doesn't sound like they accomplished much. Regardless, as much as I think the WBC is a waste of time and a crock, it's good that the lead team will be joining.

Gee smith. When did you have a change of heart? 147 posts during the last WBC.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/sports/view/samurai-japan-return-to-heroes-welcome-after-wbc-triumph
0

hoserfellaSep. 05, 2012 - 11:39AM JST

Nigelboy - there is no change of heart from smith that I can see. He simply said he enjoyed watching the competition but in the end it's a crock. The best players from North America avoid it like the nuisance it is, and if they do go are more worried about not injuring themselves. Only the sad nationalistic hatred Japan and Korea share allows them to field the best possible teams and play hard. Fact is, if you took Japan's national team and put them in the majors for a full season, they'd b a .500 club at best.
-2

spudmanreincarnatedSep. 05, 2012 - 02:23PM JST

the players union negotiated a sponsorship deal that will bring in 50 million dollars in licensing revenue. Got a source for that number? Latest reports I read said some adjustments, where do you get 50 million dollars from?
1

mrkobayashiSep. 05, 2012 - 03:06PM JST

I watch the news in Japanese almost everday. Last night on Houdou Station this was one of the first stories they picked up. On the show one guy said they estimated 40 oku yen (50 million USD) over the next 4 years from licensing revenue from the "Samurai Japan" name.
0

spudmanSep. 05, 2012 - 05:23PM JST

On the show one guy said they estimated 40 oku yen (50 million USD) over the next 4 years from licensing revenue from the "Samurai Japan" name.

An estimate is far from a fact. No way are the players going to see that much.
-1

nigelboySep. 05, 2012 - 10:47PM JST

Nigelboy - there is no change of heart from smith that I can see. He simply said he enjoyed watching the competition but in the end it's a crock. The best players from North America avoid it like the nuisance it is, and if they do go are more worried about not injuring themselves. Only the sad nationalistic hatred Japan and Korea share allows them to field the best possible teams and play hard. Fact is, if you took Japan's national team and put them in the majors for a full season, they'd b a .500 club at best.

Seems like the your first sentence is contradicting. Personally, I wouldn't even watch if it's a "crock". There is no doubt that MLB is consists of the most talented baseball players all around the world but unless you could find an MLB team which consists exclusively of American players, then it's a moot comparison. Secondly, we're not talking about comparing the strength of a team based on a 162 game season (marathon). This is a tournament format which is similar to the ones used by World Cup soccer so the way to approach is completely different than that of a long regular season and a playoff format (best of 7, etc.)