Thoughts on the Red Sox boycott?

[Tom Servo]

I was just wondering what baseball fans here thought about the Red Sox boycotting their Japan trip today, due to a miscommunication over the bonus that the coaching and support staff, not the players, would be getting.

Personally, I think it really showed the unity of that team and its players. The fact that they got together and voted on their own to boycott the trip, in order to help those who help them, I think, spoke to the character of many of the guys in that clubhouse.

Your thoughts?

 

[tomalak301]

I was kind of mixed with this. I liked the unity between the team and coaches, but on the other hand these coaches and players get paid so much money anyway, why are they getting a stipend. Having a boycott because of money issues, not taking the team to Japan even though they volunteered, and just having this be an issue had me wondering what was going on. Still, I'm glad they got things straightened out and the A's will be opening in Japan. I guess the A's are also getting the stipend as well?

 

[mrcoaster]

I don't know. I agree with you that it showed unity and the players really wanted to stick up for their coaches and such. On the other hand...gimme a break! Oh, no!! They had to go to Japan for a week. Pay them! How can they survive such a hardship!?!

They're basically getting a free trip to Japan, expenses paid, and they would be on payroll. It wasn't like they weren't going to be paid at all. They just weren't going to get extra $$ like the players were. I used to fly to Japan quite a bit, fly all night, etc., and I survived. I think the coaches could have suffered through. I mean, Japan has restaurants, electricity...even indoor plumbing!

So on that front, I think it's silly. I haven't heard everything, so I don't know that the coaches were clamoring for compensation, just that the players heard about it and wanted to stick up for the coaches. I don't blame 'em for doing that (I think it's great), but the idea that everybody deserves a huge paycheck just to go over there seems silly.

 

[Mallory]

Well, it's over according to CNN. The coaches didn't make out too badly either.

 

[Tom Servo]

I was kind of mixed with this. I liked the unity between the team and coaches, but on the other hand these coaches and players get paid so much money anyway, why are they getting a stipend. Having a boycott because of money issues, not taking the team to Japan even though they volunteered, and just having this be an issue had me wondering what was going on. Still, I'm glad they got things straightened out and the A's will be opening in Japan. I guess the A's are also getting the stipend as well?

Well no, they did not volunteer, Major League Baseball is making them. I figure that most dont want to go. It seems that out of all the major sports, baseball is the one where routine is the most important, and this trip really screws that up. But, since the Japanese are well represented on the Sox, with players such as Hideki Okajima, and Dice-K, MLB chose them to go.

I know some people feel that because they are in Major League Baseball, the coaches and support staff get paid a lot. While they make good money, for some of these guys, a $40,000 bonus is two fifths of their salary. I think that the people are complaining about the amount of money are missing the point of the boycott. Everyone on that team thought that the coaches would be getting the bonus, along with the players, because that is what happened in every other instance that teams went to Japan, and I believe it was part of the original agreement. But, this morning when they were informed that infact, the coaching staff and the trainers were not getting the same bonus, they decided they would not go until they got the same treatment that the players were getting. They know that they're not going over to Japan to suffer, thats ridiculous, but the players did take it upon themselves to make sure their support staff got the same treatment they did.

And just to be clear, in no way did the players who boycotted benefit from this, only the coaches did, and I don't think the coaches knew of the boycott until it happened. If no one, including the players did not get a bonus, then there would be no issue.

 

[bigdaddy]

I think any reason for them not to go to Japan is a good one.

It was always a stupid idea for them to play in Japan anyways. I hated it from day one. Playing games, of any American sport league, is just dumb.

So go RED SOX!