Stephen StrasburgPerhaps I should reword that question.
Could super agent Scott Boras choose Japan over Washington for phenom Stephen Strasburg?
It’s on the table, according to a report from Washington Post sports writer Dave Sheinin. Shenin offers up this tidy piece of reportage about how Boras is trying to blow up the whole damn Major League system. I mean, again:
Even before talks began with the Washington Nationals, who made Strasburg the first overall pick June 9, Boras was dropping hints privately that he is preparing to explore a new frontier in his ongoing draft-busting crusade: Japan.
Such a ploy, were Boras to go in that direction, could involve a variety of issues, from the complex relationship between Major League Baseball and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, the residency requirements of both countries and, of course, the Major League Rules.
If anything, the Nationals won’t be getting any help in this scenario from Major League Baseball, who really don’t seem to mind either way that the notorious agent for a pitcher who may be the next coming of Nolan Ryan is, for all intents and purposes, holding up the Nationals for ransom:
“Our view is simple: Until [Strasburg] signs a professional contract within our system, he is eligible for our draft and remains subject to our draft,” said Rob Manfred, MLB’s executive vice president for labor relations. “He can play wherever he wants. But if he doesn’t sign with Washington, he goes back into the draft, and if he doesn’t sign with that team [in 2010], he goes back in again.”
Gee, thanks guys.
Strasburg — who’s been hyped so much that I’m almost waiting for him to collapse in upon himself in some kind of baseball supernova which would drag every attendee and player in the stadium into a black hole, never to be seen again — would probably be foolish to sign in Japan, where contracts for rookie players are incredibly restrictive, often times requiring nine-year terms.
Additionally, as Sheinin notes, no one can be really sure whether the any team in Japan would want Strasburg. After all, most are still smarting over MLB teams’ newfound tendencies to pluck Japanese players by just throwing insane amounts of cash at them — of course, it doesn’t help that the transfer system between the two counties nearly requires an advanced degree in economics to understand. The whole “using the country’s baseball league as a tool to make some 20-year-old a few million dollars richer” thing isn’t settling very well with the Japanese either.
Because really, who would have thought that using a whole country for leverage would be such an issue?
Of course, this whole situation would be rendered moot if the Nationals decide to just pony up the cash to sign the ex-San Diego State phenom. But if you’re longing to see Strasburg in a Nats uniform this fall, it’s likely time to temper the expectations a bit. Until then, someone might want to get this kid a copy of Mr. Baseball.
