The difference is that NPB teams want Tazawa. Both Mac and Tadano were either unknown or unwanted when they were up for the draft. That’s why NPB is making a big deal about it now.

I agree that the situation is overblown — it’s died down considerably in the last few weeks, but this is the first time a consensus first-round talent is taking this route to MLB.

John — Lots of points of discussion. On the ethics of signing younger players: Kento Tsujimoto is an unusual case; he dropped out of high school and made himself eligible for the draft. Mac Suzuki also dropped out of high school to play in an American independent league. In both cases, I have to assume it was a personal choice to go pro. The Yomiuri Giants have signed 2 or 3 kids around 15 years old from Taiwan in the last year or two, but based on the information I have on the subject, I don’t know that that’s any worse ethically than MLB teams signing 16 year-olds. Certainly the MLB teams are much more focused on development.

Obviously the Crow/Alvarez example is a ‘what if’ scenario, but why couldn’t an international talent accept a better offer from an NPB team? Masayoshi Son has talked about making Softbank a world-class team, and I’d love see him back up his words up a little bit more. Signing and developing young international talent would make a difference.

Ultimately there is a delicate balance here, between what is good for an individual team/league versus what is better for the growth and sustainability of the game internationally. The Tazawa events will certainly be a catalyst for change; my hope is that it’s positive change.

And thank you all for your comments, it’s been my pleasure reading your remarks.

I understand the precedent this can send, but why should the league(NPB) be allowed to blackmail future amateurs who don’t want to go the NPB route? This is what this whole situation has me believeing will happen. I mean Tazawa and other players are individuals who should have the final say in where they want to play, whether that is NPB or MLB. Not the owners or some league executives.

Also, I think this whole thing is being blown out of proportion. I mean the majority of top Japanese amateur talent has elected to stay and go the NPB route. Like a quote from a whole back regarding Sho Nakata and going to MLB:

“They’re like teenagers anywhere else. Girls see Nakata here, they go crazy. He can play in the top leagues in Japan when he’s 20. He’ll be famous. If he goes to the U.S. he’ll be in places like Midland, Texas. The food will be a big problem. He won’t have friends, especially girls. It’s not the physical and technical talent that will hold him back.”

More times than not players will stay in the NPB system for the reasons mentioned above.

As I wrote in the article, MLB teams sign numerous amateurs out of Taiwan and Korea each year, and the effects on the national leagues in those countries goes completely unnoticed on this side of the Pacific. Does that activity not affect the leagues in Taiwan and Korea? For me it comes down to what is better for the game — to have stronger national leagues in Asia, or to have the awareness created by star players (ie, Chien-Ming Wang) in America?

As for Taiwan, its the CPBL that got itself into this mess with underhanded tactics and its gambling problems. Why would any amateur player in Taiwan want to be subjected to that mess?

As for Korea, MLB to my knowledge hasn’t sign as many top amateur players from Korea as from Taiwan.

In either case, I don’t know much about these types of signings — are the players allowed to continue their educations?

Well, this brings me back to when Hanshin drafted pitcher, Kento Tsujimoto, at age 15. I mean to my best knowledge this guy has forgone his education. What kind of message does this send? As for MLB players signed out out of the Dominican, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Taiwan I’ve heard conflicting reports on whether they continue their education. Though to this date, I have heard no such thing that in NPB regarding amateur players signed as young as 15-16 there’s no such thing as giving them an education. As the old United Negro Fund commerical goes: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”.

At this point it would be an obvious retaliation move but under the right circumstances it would make sense for both sides. The player would get a viable alternative to MLB — playing in Japan in front of tens of thousands of fans every night, for millions of dollars.

Yeah, of course they could do that, but how much patience do you think a NPB team have dealing with Scott Boras? Also, are we sure that a NPB team would be able to overbid a MLB team for either Alvarez or Crow? I find it very unlikely that a NPB team would throw over $6 million to Alvarez which is what the Pirates offered him. And anyway while Alvarez remains property of the Pirates until the end of hearing, this point is moot until only if the arbitrator rules the Alvarez contract moot. And even then I think he elect to go back to Vanderbilt.

Also, would Crow or Alvarez want to subject themselves to the Japanese culture at the moment? It’s not exactly a easy transistion. I’m afraid that a retatilation move by NPB to sign Alvarez or Crow is basically an empty threat.