One surprising little note to come out of the off season was the
suggestion that Japanese teams adopt a system of loaning players to each
other, the way soccer teams do. This is such an alien concept to baseball
fans that it stimulates a knee-jerk rejection.
Yet, there is no reason why pro baseball could not adopt such a system. Baseball has developed a custom of binding each player irrefutably to one team or another, but there was a time when player loans were commonly used as a way of stockpiling surplus talent against the rules and to the detriment of the game.
Warehousing players in farm systems is now the established and expected practice, but that doesn't make it right. It is a detriment to the development of both players and the game itself. If an organization keeps players it cannot use and under employs them on the bench or in a less competitive league, those players are unable to seek work elsewhere, where they can rise as high as their ability--as opposed to their organization's depth chart--will take them.
The current proposal for a player loan system would allow players trapped in one organization a shot to catch on with another team.
Each pro club in the Central and Pacific league is allowed to keep 70 players out of circulation by paying them a salary and listing them on its roster. But as each organization tries to amass as much talent as possible a number of players are left limbo. Every team has players on its roster that it has no plans for and is only keeping because of their potential value in a sale or a trade.
These players are imprisoned until traded, sold or released to make roster space for a more valuable new player. Some players who are released will catch on with other clubs and some won't. The problem is that some of these players could have been productive had they been released earlier. We know this because many castoffs are able to be big contributors with other clubs. Pitcher Satoshi Iriki, who went from being cut to one of the best pitchers in the league, was the best example last year but there are numerous others.
It stands to follow that more players could be productive with other teams had they not spent an extra season or two getting older in the minors.
Every player's career is a battle against age. Players need time and competition to physically mature, develop and learn, but age erodes the flexibility that is at the center of athleticism.
Now suppose there is a marginal 30-year-old player who has had a run-in with his manager or the front office. Other teams might shy away from trading for him, but if they could acquire him on loan with an option to purchase his contract, that might make the difference.
A source within the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association says that player loans would open the door for such players, who want fairer and more flexible treatment.
The flexibility foreign players have in packing up and leaving and getting their releases is a little hard to swallow for Japanese players stuck in minor league limbo.
"There are a lot of players who can play but are stuck on the minor league team," said a union executive, "like current pitcher Shinichi Kato. He was released by Hiroshima only after they thought he was worthless. But he had great success with the BlueWave last season, so he had ability. On the other hand, foreigners can move more freely--the way pitcher Darrell May did.
"May was released by the Tigers after a confrontation with his manager and went to the Giants. He then left the Giants and went to the majors, no posting or anything.
"A Japanese team would never release a player like that who still had value. It would keep him and try to trade him and get something for him. Teams only release Japanese players with no (perceived) value.
"We want something that's fair to everyone. It's a bad system. It needs
to be reformed."
An owner, general manager or manager might say, "What do I care if that guy plays or not?" But burying players costs the game by making it less competitive--and thus less attractive to the fans.
And in the current environment, where Japanese baseball needs every competitive edge it can get, this one is worth a look.
The Hot Corner appears each Thursday in The
Daily Yomiuri .