Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

 
I'd like to welcome Bryan's Baseball Banter, run by Bryan Stroh, to the link list at the left. His blog is Cub-centered, but he does a very nice job of covering other areas as well. Check him out if you haven't already done so (and if you have, pay him another visit). Some old/still-in-progress news here.

The Kevin Millar saga drones on
We haven't done any commenting at all on the Kevin Millar situation yet, and I think it's time.

It was stunning to many of us in the United States (this writer included) that an American player of Millar's caliber, who could have fetched several millions of dollars a season to play in this country, would choose to play in Japan of his own accord. But that's exactly what happened initially. Kevin Millar stated on numerous occasions that even if a major league team claimed him on waivers, he would go to Japan and honor the two year contract he signed with Chunichi upon being sold there by the Marlins (at his request). Of course, when the Red Sox did decide to claim him, he changed his tune completely, saying that it was his dream to play in Boston and other things to that effect. At this point, he's saying that he won't go play in Japan under any circumstances, and is trying to weasel out of his just-signed contract with Chunichi. This is despicable behavior, and Millar needs to either pay a very substantial price or go to Japan and do what he's promised to do.

If I were a part of the Chunichi Dragons organization, I'd be fighting tooth and nail to see that this guy has to live up to his contract or is treated like any other holdout, which is exactly what he is at this point. The Japanese Leagues and the MLB should be working together on this, as this lack of accountability is detrimental no matter which side it's on. When a contract is signed, it's signed...there's no way you can go back on that, and professional sports leagues rely on this understanding.

The notion that Millar wants to be in the United States during a potential wartime is absolutely ludicrous. The beginning of this process took place when Millar signed a contract with the Dragons in mid-January, when it was also pretty clear what path we were heading down in terms of taking military action in Iraq. So if his wife had some (very understandable) concerns about living overseas, she should have voiced them before her husband signed the contract with Chunichi. As it stands, Millar's reasoning for wanting to back out of the deal is wholly irrelevant. At this point, it's out of his hands (at least it should be) and in those of the Dragons organization. When you sign a contract, that's got to mean something. What's the point of contracts if you can sign one agreeing to do something and then back out whenever you no longer want to do it? Professional sports requires contracts to have some force behind them...a team can't stop paying a guy with a guaranteed contract because he starts playing poorly or gets hurt...and exactly the same way, a player can't renege on his end of the bargain by refusing to play (or even report, in this case) without dire consequences.

I don't expect anything positive from Commissioner Selig ("Seligula", if we must), who consistently takes the wrong stance on every single issue, but Millar should not be able to play in the major leagues without first being penalized severely. I don't know the specifics of what's going on over in Japan, but what if the Dragons had sold a whole bunch of season tickets to fans who were excited about seeing a real good major league player come to their team? What about the people who purchased Dragons merchandise and the manufacturers who had to put in orders for Kevin Millar jerseys to meet the demand they were likely to face when the season begins? This is an issue which affects far more than Millar himself, and the MLB has to be cognizant of that. If there aren't serious consequences to Millar's actions, it's setting a very dangerous precedent for the future of contracts in the increasingly international game of professional baseball.

I have no idea what would be fair in this case (right now, anyway)...and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.
posted by VZW Watcher at 1:16 AM -