Reviving Japanese Baseball
IKEI Masaru / Emeritus Professor of Keio University
March 8, 2004
Kazuo Matui, formerly of the Seibu Lions, will start playing in US Major League Baseball this spring following the debut of Hikeki Matui with the New York Yankees last year. MLB officials now see the advantages of recruiting Japanese baseball players in light of the outstanding performances from athletes such as pitcher Hideo Nomo and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. First-rate Japanese players beef up MLB teams, attract large crowds of spectators and increase revenues from TV broadcasting rights.
In addition, by recruiting Japanese players, MLB clubs do not have to transfer to other clubs their right to select players in first-year drafts as they do when they sign other MLB players as free agents.
MLB, which has expanded to 30 teams, has a serious shortage of competent players, as first-rate college and high school athletes choose other sports careers. To deal with this problem, MLB turned to Latin America and now is turning to Asia for good players.
Nomo broke the myth that there was a gap in ability between MLB and Japanese Professional Baseball. In his first year in MLB, he won 13 games and was named rookie of the year. He was followed by middle-inning reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa and closer Kazuhiro Sasaki. Ichiro (Suzuki), in his first MLB year, became the American League batting champion, was named the most valuable player and won the Golden Glove award, boosting the reputation of Japanese players.
It is not easy to join an MLB teams' regular roster. Frequent travels between the West and East Coast, with a three hour time difference, are required. Exhausting schedules, including a series of 12 or 13 games, are common. Besides keeping up their baseball skills, Japanese players must deal with language, diet and family problems.
Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who was not up to par in MLB, and Sasaki, who wished to stay with his family, have returned to Japan. MLB is a source of dreams for many Japanese players, but they must be ready to face the consequences of failure.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the Kintetsu Buffaloes recently offered for sale the naming rights to the team, but the team was forced to give up the plan in the face of objections from other teams, the baseball commissioner and the public. The plan was devised to eliminate Kintetsu's deficits of about 3 billion yen a year.
Except for the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers, JPB teams suffer from serious financial problems. First of all, pay for players is exorbitant.
Norihiro Nakamura of Kintetsu commands annual pay of 500 million yen; Kazuhiro Kiyohara of the Giants, 450 million yen; and Kenji Jojima of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and Michihiro Ogasawara of the Nippon Ham Fighters, 400 million yen each. Seventy-two JPB players are earning more than 100 million yen a year.
JPB clubs must also pay huge bills for ballpark use, training camps, farm club operations, travel and accommodations. Revenues come from ticket sales, radio-TV broadcasting rights, advertising and concession sales. All Pacific League teams, whose games are rarely broadcast, suffer from deficits.
To revive interest, the PL this season is introducing a playoff system in which the first three teams will have a chance to play in the Japan Series. But this does not solve the basic financial problem that JPB has allowed to fester. Whenever a club suffers from a deficit, its parent company makes up for the shortfall by reimbursing money as a sort of advertising expense. Players use the free-agent system to move to more popular, better paying clubs, or use the posting system to move to MLB.
JPB has adopted the US-style player draft and free-agent systems. The draft system, however, has effectively died with the widespread practice of players naming clubs they wish to play for and with the introduction of quotas for the free selection of players. The free-agent system has also broken down because it does not provide enough compensation to teams losing players. As a result, there is a concentration of top players on rich teams instead of the intended equalization(more or less) of team strength.
JPB now faces aggressive recruiting by MLB clubs and suffers from widening gap among teams in popularity and strength. If present conditions continue, the JPB is likely to decline. Let me propose a few remedies for reviving JPB:
First, let's introduce interleague play. For example, games between the Giants and the Lions and between the Hawks and the Tigers will surely stir interest, although the Giants and the Central League teams no doubt will object to the proposal. The question is how to convince them to accept it.
Second, reform the draft system to give preference to lower-ranked teams in player drafts, and reduce the minimum period for becoming eligible as a free agent to six years to enable players to switch teams in their prime.
Third, abolish the existing quota for foreign players. It is anachronistic to impose a quota in this age of internationalization, when many players from around the world join JPB. Japanese players should be ready to compete with their foreign rivals to join the regular roster.
All 12 JPB teams are in the same boat. It is unacceptable that only one should thrive while the JPB as a whole declines.
The author is Emeritus Professor of Keio University. This article originally appeared in the Japan Times.
In addition, by recruiting Japanese players, MLB clubs do not have to transfer to other clubs their right to select players in first-year drafts as they do when they sign other MLB players as free agents.
MLB, which has expanded to 30 teams, has a serious shortage of competent players, as first-rate college and high school athletes choose other sports careers. To deal with this problem, MLB turned to Latin America and now is turning to Asia for good players.
Nomo broke the myth that there was a gap in ability between MLB and Japanese Professional Baseball. In his first year in MLB, he won 13 games and was named rookie of the year. He was followed by middle-inning reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa and closer Kazuhiro Sasaki. Ichiro (Suzuki), in his first MLB year, became the American League batting champion, was named the most valuable player and won the Golden Glove award, boosting the reputation of Japanese players.
It is not easy to join an MLB teams' regular roster. Frequent travels between the West and East Coast, with a three hour time difference, are required. Exhausting schedules, including a series of 12 or 13 games, are common. Besides keeping up their baseball skills, Japanese players must deal with language, diet and family problems.
Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who was not up to par in MLB, and Sasaki, who wished to stay with his family, have returned to Japan. MLB is a source of dreams for many Japanese players, but they must be ready to face the consequences of failure.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the Kintetsu Buffaloes recently offered for sale the naming rights to the team, but the team was forced to give up the plan in the face of objections from other teams, the baseball commissioner and the public. The plan was devised to eliminate Kintetsu's deficits of about 3 billion yen a year.
Except for the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers, JPB teams suffer from serious financial problems. First of all, pay for players is exorbitant.
Norihiro Nakamura of Kintetsu commands annual pay of 500 million yen; Kazuhiro Kiyohara of the Giants, 450 million yen; and Kenji Jojima of the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks and Michihiro Ogasawara of the Nippon Ham Fighters, 400 million yen each. Seventy-two JPB players are earning more than 100 million yen a year.
JPB clubs must also pay huge bills for ballpark use, training camps, farm club operations, travel and accommodations. Revenues come from ticket sales, radio-TV broadcasting rights, advertising and concession sales. All Pacific League teams, whose games are rarely broadcast, suffer from deficits.
To revive interest, the PL this season is introducing a playoff system in which the first three teams will have a chance to play in the Japan Series. But this does not solve the basic financial problem that JPB has allowed to fester. Whenever a club suffers from a deficit, its parent company makes up for the shortfall by reimbursing money as a sort of advertising expense. Players use the free-agent system to move to more popular, better paying clubs, or use the posting system to move to MLB.
JPB has adopted the US-style player draft and free-agent systems. The draft system, however, has effectively died with the widespread practice of players naming clubs they wish to play for and with the introduction of quotas for the free selection of players. The free-agent system has also broken down because it does not provide enough compensation to teams losing players. As a result, there is a concentration of top players on rich teams instead of the intended equalization(more or less) of team strength.
JPB now faces aggressive recruiting by MLB clubs and suffers from widening gap among teams in popularity and strength. If present conditions continue, the JPB is likely to decline. Let me propose a few remedies for reviving JPB:
First, let's introduce interleague play. For example, games between the Giants and the Lions and between the Hawks and the Tigers will surely stir interest, although the Giants and the Central League teams no doubt will object to the proposal. The question is how to convince them to accept it.
Second, reform the draft system to give preference to lower-ranked teams in player drafts, and reduce the minimum period for becoming eligible as a free agent to six years to enable players to switch teams in their prime.
Third, abolish the existing quota for foreign players. It is anachronistic to impose a quota in this age of internationalization, when many players from around the world join JPB. Japanese players should be ready to compete with their foreign rivals to join the regular roster.
All 12 JPB teams are in the same boat. It is unacceptable that only one should thrive while the JPB as a whole declines.
The author is Emeritus Professor of Keio University. This article originally appeared in the Japan Times.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
セ・パ両リーグの交流試合実施を
池井 優 / 慶應義塾大学名誉教授
2004年 3月 8日
昨年の松井秀喜に続いて松井稼頭央(西武)も大リーグのユニホームを着ることになった。投手の野茂にはじまり、野手のイチローの活躍で大リーグは日本人選手を採ることのメリツトを知った。第一に戦力になる、第二に観客動員がプラスになる、第三にテレビの放映権収入などの経済効果がある、第四にFA（フリーエージェント）で大リーグ選手を獲得すると、ドラフトの指名権の移籍などの犠牲を払わなければならないが、日本人選手の場合はそうした必要がない--である。
大リーグは３０球団に増えたうえ、高校、大学の優秀なスポーツマンが他のプロスポーツに流れることもあって、選手不足に悩んでいる。解消の手段としてまず、ラテンアメリカの選手獲得に動き、次がアジアだった。
日米野球の格差はまだまだ大きいとの認識をぶち壊したのは、大リーグ挑戦一年目でいきなり１３勝をあげて新人王に輝いた野茂の働きだった。中継ぎの長谷川、控えの佐々木が続き、首位打者、MVP、ゴールドグラブなどの各賞を総なめにしたイチローの存在で日本人選手の評価は決定的になつた。
だが、大リーグでレギュラーとして活躍するのは容易なことではない。時差が３時間もある西海岸から東海岸への移動、１２連戦、１３連戦もある過酷なスケジュール、言葉の壁、食事の問題、家族の問題など野球の実力以外に克服しなければないことが山積している。
新圧は力不足で、佐々木は家族のことを考え日本球界に復帰した。大リーグは夢を与えてくれるところだが、夢破れる状況を考えての挑戦でなければならない。
プロ野球をめぐる最近の衝撃的なニュースは、近鉄が球団名の売却を発表したことであった。野球協約との関係、他球団とコミッショナーの反対、世間の反発によって白紙撤回となったが、ここには年問３０億円といわれる赤字解消のための苦肉の策が見えてくる。巨人、阪神など特定の球団を除き、日本のプロ野球チームの経営は苦しい。第一の理由は選手の年俸が高すぎることだ。いずれも推定だが、中村(近鉄)の５億円を筆頭に、清原(巨人)４億５干万円、城島(ダイエー)、小笠原(日本ハム)の４億円など、いまや１億円を超える選手は７２人もいる。
年俸以外の球団運営費は球場使用料、キャンプの費用、ファームの維持費のほか、移動の旅費と宿泊費も大変な出費である。収入は入場料、ラジオ・テレビの放送権料、広告、売店の売り上げなどだが、全国的にはほとんど放送されないパ・リーグの各球団は軒並み赤字とならざるを得ない。
人気回復と話題づくりのため、パ・リーグは今シーズンから３位まで日本シリーズ出場の可能性があるプレーオフ制度を採用するが、小手先の手段でしかない。問題は日本のプロ野球が経営を考えないで存続してきたことである。赤字が出れば親会社が宣伝費のつもりで補填する、選手はFAを使って人気があり、高い給料を出すチームヘ移っていく。あるいはポスティング・システムを利用して大リ一グに活躍の場を求める。これまで大リーグにならって、ドラフト、FAなどを次々と取り入れた日本球界だったが、ドラフトは逆指名、自由獲得枠で形骸化し、FAも取られる球団への保障制度が十分ではないため、戦力の平均化が頓挫し、金持ち球団にいい選手が集まる結果を招いた。
一方では大リーグの攻勢にさらされ、他方では入気、戦力ともに球団に大きな格差が生まれる。このままでは日本のプロ野球は崩壊する。再生の方法はあるのか。実行可能ないくつかの提案をしてみよう。
第一はインターリーグプレー(両リーグ交流試合)の実施だ。巨人対西武、ダイエー対阪神が対戦すれば、ファンの関心を呼ぶことは問違いない。間題は反対する巨人とセ・リーグ球団をどう説得するかだ。
第ニはドラフト制を下位球団指名優先とし、FA獲得年限を６年にして最盛期に希望球団に移れるよう手直ししてはどうか。
第三は外国人選手枠を撤廃することである。国際化が進み、世界各国から選手が日本にやってくる時代に制限を課すことは時代錯誤といえる。外国人との競争に勝ってレギュラーの座を奪うくらいの意気込みが必要だからだ。
１２球団は運命共同体である。一チームだけが栄えて、日本プロ野球がさびれてしまっては何の意味もない。
（筆者は慶應義塾大学名誉教授、本稿は産経新聞に掲載された。）
大リーグは３０球団に増えたうえ、高校、大学の優秀なスポーツマンが他のプロスポーツに流れることもあって、選手不足に悩んでいる。解消の手段としてまず、ラテンアメリカの選手獲得に動き、次がアジアだった。
日米野球の格差はまだまだ大きいとの認識をぶち壊したのは、大リーグ挑戦一年目でいきなり１３勝をあげて新人王に輝いた野茂の働きだった。中継ぎの長谷川、控えの佐々木が続き、首位打者、MVP、ゴールドグラブなどの各賞を総なめにしたイチローの存在で日本人選手の評価は決定的になつた。
だが、大リーグでレギュラーとして活躍するのは容易なことではない。時差が３時間もある西海岸から東海岸への移動、１２連戦、１３連戦もある過酷なスケジュール、言葉の壁、食事の問題、家族の問題など野球の実力以外に克服しなければないことが山積している。
新圧は力不足で、佐々木は家族のことを考え日本球界に復帰した。大リーグは夢を与えてくれるところだが、夢破れる状況を考えての挑戦でなければならない。
プロ野球をめぐる最近の衝撃的なニュースは、近鉄が球団名の売却を発表したことであった。野球協約との関係、他球団とコミッショナーの反対、世間の反発によって白紙撤回となったが、ここには年問３０億円といわれる赤字解消のための苦肉の策が見えてくる。巨人、阪神など特定の球団を除き、日本のプロ野球チームの経営は苦しい。第一の理由は選手の年俸が高すぎることだ。いずれも推定だが、中村(近鉄)の５億円を筆頭に、清原(巨人)４億５干万円、城島(ダイエー)、小笠原(日本ハム)の４億円など、いまや１億円を超える選手は７２人もいる。
年俸以外の球団運営費は球場使用料、キャンプの費用、ファームの維持費のほか、移動の旅費と宿泊費も大変な出費である。収入は入場料、ラジオ・テレビの放送権料、広告、売店の売り上げなどだが、全国的にはほとんど放送されないパ・リーグの各球団は軒並み赤字とならざるを得ない。
人気回復と話題づくりのため、パ・リーグは今シーズンから３位まで日本シリーズ出場の可能性があるプレーオフ制度を採用するが、小手先の手段でしかない。問題は日本のプロ野球が経営を考えないで存続してきたことである。赤字が出れば親会社が宣伝費のつもりで補填する、選手はFAを使って人気があり、高い給料を出すチームヘ移っていく。あるいはポスティング・システムを利用して大リ一グに活躍の場を求める。これまで大リーグにならって、ドラフト、FAなどを次々と取り入れた日本球界だったが、ドラフトは逆指名、自由獲得枠で形骸化し、FAも取られる球団への保障制度が十分ではないため、戦力の平均化が頓挫し、金持ち球団にいい選手が集まる結果を招いた。
一方では大リーグの攻勢にさらされ、他方では入気、戦力ともに球団に大きな格差が生まれる。このままでは日本のプロ野球は崩壊する。再生の方法はあるのか。実行可能ないくつかの提案をしてみよう。
第一はインターリーグプレー(両リーグ交流試合)の実施だ。巨人対西武、ダイエー対阪神が対戦すれば、ファンの関心を呼ぶことは問違いない。間題は反対する巨人とセ・リーグ球団をどう説得するかだ。
第ニはドラフト制を下位球団指名優先とし、FA獲得年限を６年にして最盛期に希望球団に移れるよう手直ししてはどうか。
第三は外国人選手枠を撤廃することである。国際化が進み、世界各国から選手が日本にやってくる時代に制限を課すことは時代錯誤といえる。外国人との競争に勝ってレギュラーの座を奪うくらいの意気込みが必要だからだ。
１２球団は運命共同体である。一チームだけが栄えて、日本プロ野球がさびれてしまっては何の意味もない。
（筆者は慶應義塾大学名誉教授、本稿は産経新聞に掲載された。）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟