It’s supposed to be a measure to prevent the killing of young people, but there are voices of doubt about the implementation method What will happen? Professional baseball “active draft” first held on December 9: Tokyo Shimbun TOKYO Web

Professional baseball’s transfer activation policy “active draft” will be held for the first time on December 9th. A system in which 12 teams list the players to be delivered and acquire at least one player from another team. After 4 years of discussion, the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB) and the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association agreed to save players who are not blessed with the opportunity to participate. However, questions have been raised about the implementation method, and similar systems have come to a standstill in the past. Will it work? (Naoaki Nishida, Special News Department)

◆Different from the request, but implemented after 4 years of discussion

In the active draft, each team submits a list of two or more players to the NPB. Tell the chairman who you want to acquire from the list of other teams, and Team A, which has the most acquisition requests, will be nominated first. The next nomination right moves to team B with a player nominated by A. There will be at least 12 traded players after the end of the season, as every team gets at least one.

“It’s good to be at the starting point, but it’s a different form than the original request of the players’ association. We will pay attention to the contents of the player list and continue to appeal for improvement in the future.”

Tadahito Mori, secretary-general of the players’ association, told an interview with “This is the special news department.” The impetus for introduction was the 2018 special tournament of the players’ association. In order to prevent young players from being domesticated, we requested the NPB as a relief system for players who have fewer days registered in the 1st army. After discussing the target scope and timing, it was decided to implement it in October.

◆Similar systems in the past will disappear in a few years…Is it effective?

Hideaki Ujihara, a baseball journalist, explains, “The demands of the players’ union were ideal, such as setting limits on the number of days a player can be registered with the 1st Army and the length of service. According to the NPB, before the start of 2020, each team had agreed to “play during the season and list eight players.” However, there are frequent situations where players cannot participate in games due to infection with the new coronavirus or close contact. In order to run the match smoothly, we shifted the time off and narrowed down the target players to at least two players.

“Professional baseball is based on performance. He was traded in his second year of active duty when he was undefeated, and has the experience of making a leap to the ace of the Nankai. “It’s enough if each team creates a place to discuss trades publicly. If you think about young players, it’s important to unify the differences in the training system, which has three and four teams depending on the team.” As of the 19th of this month, 6 trades have already been completed, and the position is that the number of trades should be further increased.

However, although there were similar systems in the past, the current system and what Mr. Emoto calls a “joint trading platform” did not last long. From 1970 to 1972, the “selection meeting”, in which 20% of the players were traded by each team for money, was ridiculed by sports papers as “junk market” and “a quick reference table of junk players”. The 1990-97 “Selection Conference”, in which each team privately discussed the trade of other players while protecting the 1st army frame and the young frame, also disappeared naturally.

◆ I need to change my mindset that I would be in trouble if I was active elsewhere

In fact, there is not a single player who has recorded 100 wins as a pitcher and 1000 hits as a fielder after transferring under both systems. NPB employee Nobuhisa Ito, 59, explained, “There were no athletes who made great strides in the wake of the two systems, and the significance of their existence was ambiguous.” However, he emphasized the significance, saying, “This time, it will be implemented at the stage where each team’s contract for next season is over. Players who are judged to be strong will be listed.”

Mr. Ujihara, mentioned above, said, “Honestly, you won’t know until you open the lid. However, the bad thing about the Japanese baseball world is that there is a deep-rooted idea that ‘it will be a problem if you are active elsewhere.’ It’s important whether the team and the fans can endure it regardless of the situation.”