“Roki Sasaki & the revolution” sounds like the name of the pitcher’s post-baseball garage band, but I digress. The Sasaki story, such has it is, has stirred up emotions.

There has been anger toward the hard-throwing right-hander for the temerity of thinking he might leave the Japan and the Lotte Marines before custom says he should.

There has been talk that the whole story must be concocted since the idea that a team might let an extremely valuable player leave for a transfer fee that barely registers is impossible for some to comprehend.

I apologize for being fascinated with the story. This is not because I am advocating for Sasaki to leave the Marines in the lurch, but because I advocate for labor rights everywhere, and it is every player’s right to use whatever leverage he can.

After all, turning pro requires players enter a system in which most have virtually zero options and no say in their working conditions for nine-plus years, an unequal and inequitable system that management is perfectly content to exploit at every turn.

This time around I will address the story’s latest iteration, as well as a larger meaning for Japanese pro baseball, a revolution as it were.

Continue reading Roki Sasaki & the revolution →