Monday, November 11, 2013
Field of Broken Dreams-Corey Krupa
I am not surprised that back in the 90s superstar baseball players overseas received significantly lower signing bonuses than American players. Baseball is a business and many businesses make unethical decisions to maximize profit. But, thirteen years later I feel that many foreign players are compensated fairly for their talent. Young foreign players such as Aroldis Chapman, Yoenis Cesepdes, and Robinson Cano have become the future of Major League Baseball. It is great to see that diversity in baseball is more prevalent because it gives more opportunities to more talent players. However, I feel that some of the signing bonuses and salaries for international players are too high. For example, my favorite team the Chicago White Sox just recently signed a Cuban player named Jose Abreu for six years and 68 million dollars. This is a very large amount for a player that has never played in a Major League game. Also, back in 2007 the Boston Red Sox gave Daisuke Matsuzaka a contract worth more than 50 million dollars. This was before he ever threw a pitch on American soil and “Dice K” never lived up to all of the hype that surrounded him. I would like for Major League Baseball to implement a cap on how high international players can be paid. Top collegiate baseball players do not earn nearly as much when they enter the MLB draft. It is nice to see many foreign players bring more variety to baseball in America, however I feel that some of them have now become overpaid.
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Corey,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your stance on latino and foreign players making significantly less than American players in that I think it was very unfair, but I am not surprised that teams made the choices that they did because they had a business decision to make. I think that it is much more fair for foreign players today because there are so many that are dominating the game like Aroldis Chapman and Miguel Cabrera. These players are making a very good amount of money and they are receiving tremendous exposure in the league, which is different from foreign players in the past.
-Travis Kash
Corey,
ReplyDeleteI have a similar view on this topic about giving foreign players exceptionally lower signing bonuses. With the life style the players are living in, most will do anything for their families back home. If that means going to make any money at all, they are willing to do it. On the opposing side, I can understand that people are making the case about it is not fair for foreign players to be signed for cheap when American players are receiving millions dollars. But here is where I stand; Major league clubs are providing players in financially poor countries the opportunity to become a Major League Baseball player. Yes, they are being paid less; the clubs are taking a risk themselves. They want to help provide everyone a possible chance to become a major league player but do not want to harm the organization itself. This is my view on this topic.
Billy Nowak
I think there is a major disparity between the payments of international players. I believe this disparity comes from the ages of these players and the professional time that they have played, however. Japan players are usually given extreme signing bonuses when coming to MLB, but that is because they have proved their talent already at the professional level. Players from South America are usually untested players with very raw skills that were developed at a young age. While paying these players such low amounts may seem unethical, it is at least giving them the opportunity to get out of the poor conditions that they are currently living in and have a chance to play professional baseball. I believe the treatment of these players has also improved over the years, as more academies are being built to give this players new opportunities.
ReplyDeleteShaun Higgins
I have to disagree with the idea that the main intention of Major League Baseball clubs overseas is to help those in poverty. Maybe today it is not as apparent in salary differences between America athletes and none, but it seems to me that it's a way of manipulation a poverty stricken culture for profit. MLB players make a great deal of money generally speaking, but what about the people running the show behind the scenes? GMs CEOs head chairmens. They do not sacrifice their body's like the players do every year yet they make more money? I do not have a concrete theory on this topic but there is something wrong with the salary discrimination between American athletes and none.
ReplyDelete-JayClark