J.J. Cooper – Baseball America ($): We’ve known all along that The Houston Plan would become reality. It’s still sad to reach the point where reports are signaling that 42 Minor League Baseball teams are about to be contracted. It’s sad because baseball is part of the fabric of our lives. Not Major League Baseball or MiLB, but baseball. MLB doesn’t care about baseball, The Houston Plan shows us that much.
Marc Normandin – Baseball Prospectus ($): Turning to the Major League Baseball Players’ Association may not be a viable option. They have made decisions in their contract negotiations that reveal a weak union that is willing to cannibalize their young to enrich their veterans. There are many reasons why the MLBPA is regularly pantsed by MLB owners during negotiations. Perhaps one day they will realize they are only as strong as their most vulnerable members.
Jim Allen – jballallen.com ($): One thing that I will never understand is the unwillingness of Japan’s Central League to modernize. It’s the year 2020 and a part of the biggest baseball organization in Japan has no streaming service in place. That makes it hard for me to ever see the JPCL, and the greater Nippon Professional Baseball, ever taking the necessary steps of viewing their brand of baseball as something that should be offered worldwide. That’s unfortunate because I have no doubt that fans worldwide would embrace NPB far more than NPB cares to admit.
Lead photo courtesy of Unknown – Kyodo News
