Red Sox threaten to Boycott Japan

Before today's final Grapefruit League game against Toronto, the Red Sox threatened to boycott the game and their subsequent trip to Japan that includes their first two regular season game. This issue arose because the Red Sox felt cheated by the MLB. They believed and had an agreement with the league that all the coaches would be compensated for the trip. But, they learned that that wasn't going to happen and unanimously voted to boycott the trip unless the league compensate the coaches. When I heard this, I was impressed. Usually the players only care about the money they get, but in this case, they are looking out for the people who they look at as family. They want what they thought they were promised. Some people argue that the Sox should stop whining and that the players are so rich, they could compensate the coaches. The issue here is that they were promised something in a contract and the league reneged on that promise. Also, some people say that these coaches make a lot of money. While they do make more than the average American, their salaries are anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000. The $40,000 dollars that the coaches expected to get paid is a significant percentage of their salary. What if your boss said that they were going to give you a bonus that amounted to 2/5 your salary and then pulled out of that deal. That is the main problem here. The league backed out of a promise and instead of letting the league get away with it, the Sox stood up for their extended family and forced the league to comply with the agreement.

I want to use this situation to also voice my displeasure for the games in Japan. Some people say it is an honor to play there. It may be, but why does any team have to start the season there and then have to do extra travelling that tires them out? If the league wants to be in Japan, have the all-star type exhibitions there. Both the Sox and the A's and any future teams that have to travel to Japan are pigeon-holed. They have to put in a lot more time to go to Japan and that tires them out. So when they come back to the states, they are in a funk that could last the entire month and potentially cost teams in September.