ESPN Online Does Ichiro

[tetsuwan at comcast.net]

In baseball at least, the marketing aspect of getting Japanese players is somewhat exaggerated. It might make a difference for a football club like Feyenoord (legendary they may be), however if you aren't producing MLB clubs would be quick to drop you whether you're moving jerseys or not. Take for instance the Mets getting rid of Shinjyo as quickly as they could (and Mets fans are dying for the front office to get rid of Matsui Kaz). The "jersey selling" plus points of Japanese players are mentioned on occasion in baseball as well. It just isn't all that important to clubs.

Ono's a great player, perhaps that's why he's sticking around. (and why Nakata goes from serie A club to seria A club, Nakayama to Celtic, etc)


> >I can even get suspicious that having Japanese players in MLB is a huge 
> >plus in what it can bring
> 
> No need for suspicion, you're quite right. I don't follow baseball, but in 
> the world of soccer the financial and merchandising benefits of attracting 
> Japanese and South Korean players are quite openly discussed.  I'm sure 
> Feyenoord Rotterdam made a lot more money off Ono Shinji's marketing 
> potential and off the sales of broadcast rights to Japan than from his 
> goals. He has been injured for ages, but nobody has even uttered the 
> possibility of selling him on to another club.
> 
> Tom
> 
>