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8 Comments

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  Sapporo77 at 04:59 PM JST - 29th October

  Should have gone with his heart and hit MLB. He is going to be a powerhouse in Japanese baseball but by the time he could leave he won't, much like Darvish. Would any of us leave if we were the biggest thing in the sport in our home league? I wouldn't.

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  combinibento at 09:10 PM JST - 29th October

  Can someone explain to me how this "9 year obligation" to the Japanese leagues works? I don't get it. If he just said after a couple years, "I hereby breach my contract" and the MLB was still interested, what would have to happen for him to go to the US? I read that Matsuzaka was "granted permission" by Seibu to negotiate with the MLB after just 6 years. Why don't these folks just say, "Screw it," and cross the Pacific?? The salaries over there must be enough to cover any breach of contract damages...

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  larguero at 09:22 PM JST - 29th October

  Generally players do it if the money is worth it. I would do it.

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  pathat at 09:28 PM JST - 29th October

  After Hideo Nomo "retired" from NPB and went to the majors, this loophole was closed by NPB. The posting system was created by NPB to make sure that players who wanted to leave before they reached FA eligibility would have to get their team's permission and the team could get some financial compensation for the loss of the player. (This makes good business sense on the part of NPB, even if we think the FA rules in Japan are unfair to the player.)

  I'm sure MLB teams would like to make greater inroads into the area of signing Japanese amateur talent, instead of sometimes paying out big money in posting fees and then a large contract to sign the best veteran Japanese talent. The signing of Junichi Tazawa was a good start, but then again, I think it was easier to convince a guy going on 23 of the dangers of pitching forever and a day in NPB before becoming eligible for FA, as opposed to a fresh-faced 18-year-old. (And undue pressure was put on everyone around Kikuchi to make sure he stayed in Japan, too.)

  If Kikuchi performs as advertised, the Seibu Lions could recoup their investment and more in about 6 years with a big posting fee from an MLB team, as they did with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Time will tell.

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  BurakuminDes at 10:41 PM JST - 29th October

  Seeing as the kid gave up vast sums of cash from the endlessly wealthy MLB teams, here's hoping a Japanese team does the right thing and throw, say, $5 - $10 Million per year at him - and not just $1 - $2 Million "pocket money". I suspect the latter will happen.

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  pawatan at 11:47 PM JST - 29th October

  Seeing as the kid gave up vast sums of cash from the endlessly wealthy MLB teams

  He wouldn't have gotten that much to sign. Decent, but not world beating money. Now if he makes it big, sure. NPB can't come close to offering what MLB does.

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  hoserfella at 10:40 AM JST - 30th October

  Now Seibu has 9 years or so to wreck his arm like Nipponham is doing to Darvish.

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  Altria at 10:54 AM JST - 30th October

  Seibu should be a good fit. They've got a young, laidback team, and a nice stadium just outside Tokyo.

  Way better than getting thrown in front of the Koshien fans...just hope they don't overpitch him.

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