TB4000
09-16-2004, 07:35 PM
Baseball Strike Looms in Japan
Thu Sep 16, 3:42 PM ET
TOKYO - The first strike in the history of Japanese baseball looked increasingly likely Thursday after representatives of the country's pro baseball teams ruled out a key player demand.
Japan's players threatened to strike this weekend unless a one-year freeze was placed on the merger of the Pacific League's Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave.
But team officials told the Japanese baseball players' association Thursday that a freeze on the merger was impossible.
"Now it's just a question of whether the players can accept that," said Atsuya Furuta, the head of the players' association.
Talks are expected to continue Friday, the deadline set by the players to avoid a strike.
In Thursday's meeting, the team representatives also briefed players on plans for interleague games that would be introduced next season.
With the merger of the Buffaloes and the BlueWave, the Pacific League was reduced from six teams to five, which could result in at least 100 players and team personnel losing their jobs.
There are six teams in the Central League.
Also Thursday, the president of Tokyo-based Internet services company Livedoor announced he applied to Nippon Professional Baseball to set up a new team in Sendai in northeastern Japan.
The Buffaloes reportedly have taken losses of $36 million a year due to a drop in attendance and rising player salaries. The team's owners have said previously they can't put the merger off for another year.
Thu Sep 16, 3:42 PM ET
TOKYO - The first strike in the history of Japanese baseball looked increasingly likely Thursday after representatives of the country's pro baseball teams ruled out a key player demand.
Japan's players threatened to strike this weekend unless a one-year freeze was placed on the merger of the Pacific League's Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave.
But team officials told the Japanese baseball players' association Thursday that a freeze on the merger was impossible.
"Now it's just a question of whether the players can accept that," said Atsuya Furuta, the head of the players' association.
Talks are expected to continue Friday, the deadline set by the players to avoid a strike.
In Thursday's meeting, the team representatives also briefed players on plans for interleague games that would be introduced next season.
With the merger of the Buffaloes and the BlueWave, the Pacific League was reduced from six teams to five, which could result in at least 100 players and team personnel losing their jobs.
There are six teams in the Central League.
Also Thursday, the president of Tokyo-based Internet services company Livedoor announced he applied to Nippon Professional Baseball to set up a new team in Sendai in northeastern Japan.
The Buffaloes reportedly have taken losses of $36 million a year due to a drop in attendance and rising player salaries. The team's owners have said previously they can't put the merger off for another year.