Adam Jones signs 2-year deal with Orix Buffaloes

[Mr. Chewbacca Jr.]

1 hour ago, atomic said:

I wonder why salaries are so low in Japan. They have good attendance and rich country.  Maybe the TV desks aren’t lucrative.  It would be interesting if they started signing star players in their prime from mlb.

Despite pretty good revenue, Japanese baseball teams have struggled to make a profit. One big difference is that Japanese teams lease stadiums at market rate, while US baseball teams typically get big subsidies from taxpayers.

The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks pay about $49 million a year - 25% of their annual revenue - to play in their stadium. That's a pretty big expense.

[Frobby]

Look who’s in Japan now, and attracting not a small amount of attention:

https://mobile.twitter.com/sanspo_orix_bs/status/1221366186153086976

[Frobby]

 

[Frobby]

 

[scOtt]

Told you. Japan will love Adam.

On 12/17/2019 at 12:22 AM, scOtt said:

Adam will be a STAR in Japan! Even if he only plays mediocre. Those people will LOVE Adam! You know how he is.

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

1 minute ago, scOtt said:

Told you. Japan will love Adam.

 

 

 

[DrungoHazewood]

On 12/28/2019 at 9:07 PM, atomic said:

I wonder why salaries are so low in Japan. They have good attendance and rich country.  Maybe the TV desks aren’t lucrative.  It would be interesting if they started signing star players in their prime from mlb.

It is curious.  NPB has a higher average attendance than MLB, and the second highest total attendance of any sports league in the world.  I see Chewbacca's post about market-rate rent on stadiums, which isn't insignificant, but probably not the primary reason.

I think part of it is that traditionally the baseball teams have been run as promotional arms of their parent company.  Nippon Ham uses the Fighters to promote sales of their products, maybe to the detriment of maximizing revenues for the baseball team.  Perhaps Nippon Ham gets the most lucrative advertising spots at the stadium and during telecasts.

I also don't know how TV operates in Japan.  MLB is able to extract huge sums from cable and satellite TV through mandatory fees for RSNs.  It wouldn't be at all surprising if another country made that kind of thing illegal.  Little old ladies in Japan who only watch old movies and talk shows may not be subsidizing the Fukuoka Hawks.

[CompuCoach]

16 hours ago, Frobby said:

 

"New league, new team, always myself"

[Number5]

2 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

It is curious.  NPB has a higher average attendance than MLB, and the second highest total attendance of any sports league in the world.  I see Chewbacca's post about market-rate rent on stadiums, which isn't insignificant, but probably not the primary reason.

I think part of it is that traditionally the baseball teams have been run as promotional arms of their parent company.  Nippon Ham uses the Fighters to promote sales of their products, maybe to the detriment of maximizing revenues for the baseball team.  Perhaps Nippon Ham gets the most lucrative advertising spots at the stadium and during telecasts.

I also don't know how TV operates in Japan.  MLB is able to extract huge sums from cable and satellite TV through mandatory fees for RSNs.  It wouldn't be at all surprising if another country made that kind of thing illegal.  Little old ladies in Japan who only watch old movies and talk shows may not be subsidizing the Fukuoka Hawks.

How much do tickets cost?  Maybe, in Japan, you don't have to take out a second mortgage to take your family to a ballgame.

[NCRaven]

I can take my family to an Orioles game for less than a movie night.

[Moose Milligan]

Glad to see he's having fun.  Suppose I'll be taking more of an interest in the NPB than I ever would.

[DrungoHazewood]

38 minutes ago, Number5 said:

How much do tickets cost?  Maybe, in Japan, you don't have to take out a second mortgage to take your family to a ballgame.

On the Yomiuri Giants site it looks like reserved seats are between 3000 and 5500 yen, or roughly $30-50.  Which is pretty comparable to an Orioles game. The Orioles are still among the cheaper tickets in MLB.

[Redskins Rick]

I suspect they dont have the cable tv money that the US has, the US doesnt make money off ticket sales anymore.

 

[TommyPickles]

Go Buffalos!

[DrungoHazewood]

50 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

I can take my family to an Orioles game for less than a movie night.

At our local theaters you can get reserved seats for less than $10.  But soda and a popcorn are 3 million dollars.