Giants Propose Abolishing MLB Posting System

- Yomiuri Giants representative Hidetoshi Kiyotake has put forth a proposal to get rid of the MLB posting system

This isn't that unexpected coming from Kiyotake, who, according to an earlier Kyodo News article via Japan Ball in January regarding Uehara, said, "We don't recognize the posting system."

- Including our club (Giants) there are many clubs that say things would be better without the current posting system.

Well I guess Nabestune is back after his long 1 year slumber (not that he was ever gone in my opinion). Though only Nabestune would ever think of something like this.

- If things continue the way they are, this will lead to the collapse of NPB, and also the breakdown of free agency itself. Every year it's (posting request) brought up at salary negotiations, leading to turmoil

Kiyotake is starting to overexaggerate here, or he's letting Nabestune do the talking for him. It's more like a combination of the two in my opinion.

Free agency will not be broken down by the posting system, in fact it's more of the same old rhetoric we hear from Yomiuri. While players indeed do want to go on to the majors, it's not as rapid as Kiyotake is insisting either. It's just more of the same old power control Yomiuri wants to play. Neither will the NPB itself be broken down by the posting system, as again Kiyotake is overexaggerating again.

The NPB is fine, attendences are great. The player level is excellent and on equal with the majors throughout the starting 9 and the pitching.

- According to the article, MLB is against abolishing the posting system.

Of course MLB will never agree to abolishing the posting system. Also, I'm not sure if it's in the NPB's best interest to abolish the posting system either. As we'll probably see pitchers sitting out the year then.

- ...leading to turmoil.

And there's nothing a bureaucrat loathes more than turmoil.

MLB is against abolishing the posting system. It's academic anyway since the individual ball clubs hold all the cards in deciding to let a player go or not.

For the players, they have a fine line to walk here given Japanese sensibilities about relations with superiors and being averse to direct confrontations. If a player gets too flamboyant (and I think you see some of that happening with Igawa), he risks being seen as a crybaby.

Nevertheless, I would rather NPB spend its time resolving the Murakami Fund and TBS-Rakuten issues ASAP before tackling the posting system. It really is just an unnecessary red herring at this point, but could be something bigger if the Players Association strenuously objects and it becomes another controverssial eyesore that NPB doesn't need right now.