Still no respect

Update:

Mark, aka The Tainan Man, sent me this update about the upcoming Dodgers visit:

The Taiwanese airline that the Dodgers have booked to fly them out here decided to offer the team their flights at a 50% discount, after the team had already committed to coming.

I guess the McCourt divorce has the team strapped for cash, and they couldn't afford the fares. Hey, guys, how about coach like us mere mortals? Shouldn't the Taiwanese airline being working a monetary deal to actually prop up their own league? Just wondering?


Original story:
In the world of international baseball, there is most definitely a pecking order. At the top are Bud and his boys in major league baseball, followed by the Japanese leagues, and so on down the list of countries. And of course respect comes with the pecking order. As I was taught in the Army, respect rolls downhill.

So of course, the Dodger will get maximum amount of respect in their upcoming series in Taiwan:

On the MLB side, the Dodgers agreed when their appearance fee of $1 million U.S. per game was met. The MLBPA signed off on the deal when the team agreed to pay the players for their performances

Not bad for a few days out in Asia, specifically considering all of their expenses will be paid, and they make a few million each a year.

That's a lot of respect for the major league players. What there isn't is a lot of respect for the Chinese players in Taiwan:

On the CPBL side, the four teams agreed to send their players once their appearance fee was raised to NT$ 7 million for the series. The teams then decided to keep this money for themselves, declining to offer their players appearance fees for their performances.

Needless to say, the players aren't quite as happy in terms of respect as far as their counterparts.

But why complain. They'll get to socialize with Manny:

Manny Ramirez seems to have managed to finagle a personal appearance fee.

Yup, good for the game. Good for the league. Good for the country. Not so good for the players.


H/T to Mark from Pro Baseball Taiwan