First, there was a news bulletin that the Boston Red Sox were considering a boycott of the MLB season opener in Japan. The boycott-threat was real and was the result of special appearance money, upwards of $40,000 per person, was being held back from the coaching staff, according to numerous media reports that all cited the Boston Herald as the original source.
Then, a short announcement by a Red Sox spokesman who stated, "We're going to Japan."
My take?
It seems this issue became a HUGE source of unification for the team as a whole, players, coaches and STAFF. It is rare to see, in this day-and-age, a group of players so willing to sacrifice for the greater good of a team. And, in doing so, identify that team effort to include the coaches and front-office workers.
The ESPN.com/AP news report on the situation follows:
Red Sox, MLB resolve dispute over coaches' pay after team takes stand
ESPN.com news services
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Boston Red Sox ended a threatened boycott Wednesday of their final spring training game in Florida, resolving a dispute over paying coaches for the season-opening trip to Japan.
The game against the Toronto Blue Jays started an hour late when the team voted unanimously not to play or go to Tokyo after learning coaches and staff would not get a $40,000 appearance fee for the Japan trip. Players said they believed that fee was part of the deal.
Team spokesman John Blake would not say how the dispute was resolved.
"We're going to Japan," he said.
Earlier, catcher Jason Varitek said the team would not take the field or go to Japan until Major League Baseball agreed to pay the coaches and staff.
Varitek said players thought it was necessary to take a stand on behalf of the coaches and staff.
"They're the basis of what takes care of us," he said.
Manager Terry Francona and his players were upset after learning staff members are not going to get a $40,000 stipend. The Boston Herald reported players insisted part of their agreement to make the trip included the fee -- for them and the coaches.
"I did not have an off-day yesterday. I had the phone glued to my ear because I was promised some answers and I haven't even received a phone call," Francona said Wednesday. "So I'm a little bit stuck. What I want to do this morning is get excited to play a baseball game and what I ended up doing is apologizing to the coaches and being humiliated."
The World Series champions are scheduled to begin their season against the Oakland Athletics on March 25 and 26 in Tokyo. The trip also includes preseason games against Japanese teams and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Boston's final spring training game in Florida, against the Blue Jays, began Wednesday about an hour after it was scheduled to start.
Unsure if the game would get in, the Red Sox sent scheduled starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, to pitch against Minnesota's Triple A affiliate and started David Aardsma in his place. Matsuzaka is scheduled to be the Opening Day starter in Tokyo on March 25 against Oakland.
Before the game, the Red Sox clubhouse was closed to reporters because of the bonus dispute.
"We had an agreement," Curt Schilling, one of a handful of Red Sox players who talked with Major League Baseball on ground rules for the trip, told ESPN's Claire Smith.
"Some of the promises have already been taken away, now this," Schilling said. "As far as the players are concerned, [withholding the coaches' bonuses] can't happen."
''When we voted to go to Japan, that was not a unanimous vote,'' third baseman Mike Lowell told The Boston Globe, "but we did what our team wanted us to do for Major League Baseball. They promised us the moon and the stars, and then when we committed, they started pulling back. It's not just the coaches, it's the staff, the trainers, a lot of people are affected by this.
"I'm so super proud of this team," Lowell said, according to The Globe. "When we put it to a vote it was unanimous. We're all in agreement that we're not going to put up with this.''
That the players would consider such action "is really appreciated, to say the least," Red Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan told Smith. "It means as much as the money itself.
"While we're very fortunate, a lot of people don't realize what we do. It's nice to get recognition from the players."
Oakland pitcher Alan Embree, a former member of the Red Sox, said he supported Boston's stance.
"I think we'll get together and talk about it. I was under the impression that everybody was taken care of," Embree said. "I don't care how they split it up, who's at fault, they just need to fix it."
He said a Boston player contacted him Wednesday morning. Oakland players planned to meet to discuss the situation before their exhibition game against a Chicago Cubs' split squad.
"For those guys to take that stance -- they're veterans. They feel strongly about it, and they brought it to the attention of higher-ups," Embree said. "We have to fix it one way or the other. ... Coaches deserved compensation. They're going over there, too, and every little bit counts."
Shortly before the scheduled game, Coco Crisp and Dustin Pedroia stretched for a few minutes on the outfield grass before returning to the clubhouse. Blue Jay players took batting practice as usual, but the Red Sox did not.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Major League Baseball agreed to pay the managers, coaches and trainers on the trip $20,000 each from management’s proceeds, a person familiar with the agreement said, speaking on condition of anonymity because details weren’t announced. The Red Sox agreed to make up the difference to make the amount equal, and to pay some of the other team personnel making the trip, the person said.
“It was a misunderstanding of what agreement was reached between MLB and the MLBPA,” Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said. “We said we would step up and make sure a second pool was created and would seek contributions from all parties.”
It was unclear whether Oakland would make additional payments to its staff.
“We are going to handle the situation internally at this point,” A’s president Michael Crowley said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “We will ensure that our coaches are treated fairly.”
Cancellation of the March 25-26 series at the Tokyo Dome would have been a publicity nightmare for Major League Baseball, which already has had enough bad news during an offseason dominated by performance-enhancing drugs.
“Everyone connected with the trip will be fairly compensated,” baseball spokesman Rich Levin said.
Managers and coaches were included in the players’ pool payments for baseball’s two previous season-opening trips to Japan, when the New York Mets played the Chicago Cubs in 2000 and the Yankees played Tampa Bay in 2004. But this time, the agreement between MLB and the players’ association called only for payments to 30 players on each club, and left out the coaches.
“They’re just as much a part of this team as anybody,” said Oakland closer Huston Street, the team’s player representative. “Playoff shares, coaches get an equal share. You look at previo
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