Add new comment

I think I was the one that raised the topic here. I agree with all you say, but there was an additional issue besides the MLB telling private companies and individuals what to do with their money. The stated need that Tanaka was going to contribute to was improving the stadium, particularly the clubhouses. Although someone brought up that Rakuten has been interested in adding a dome to the stadium, the actual need Tanaka was to address was the condition of the clubhouses and training rooms, which were apparently totally destroyed in the tsunami, and only partially restored.
The thing is... the stadium is owned by Miyagi prefecture - basically something between a county and a state - and they have had their tax base totally destroyed by the tsunami, while their needs have grown astronomically. To expect the prefecture to spend any significant amount of money on the player's comforts right now is ridiculous. Apparently Rakuten hoped for a windfall to do it themselves. For me, for MLB to stand in the way of deals which allow the stadium to be renovated without the use of public funds from a government that is desperate for resources, is reprehensible.
Besides my (classical) liberal objections to interferences with free trade/disposal of property, this situation is ludicrous because all MLB has to do is say " O.K., in honor of our relationship with NPB and Japan, we'll take $5M from MLB funds and give it to Miyagi Prefecture for stadium renovations, to help Sendai and say thanks for the NPB players who enrich our game". Then it's not a team trying to get leverage, but a recognition of the needs there.
But to NOT be magnanimous, and then to turn around and essentially expect the public to pay for these things by interfering with Tanaka's, the M's, Nintendo's, the Yankee's, Guggenheim's, or anyone else's willingness to do so, is just plain stupid and callous. Let the teams interested in Tanaka compete to help people who need help! By the grace of God, maybe next year the NPB team posting a player won't represent an internationally recognized disaster zone.
The other thing I fear is that, if the Ms sign Tanaka, some New York reporter will decide to monitor Nintendo charity spending to try to make the point that it is a payoff. Nintendo has already spent $4M+ in Tohoku relief spending (including giving every affected family a Wii), so spending more is to be expected until all the little software firms are healthy and the infrastructure up there supports their business and ethical purposes. That's only reasonable. MLB seems to be making it unreasonable.