Comments on: Padres sell minor leaguer Matt Clark to Japanese team

By: gloccamorra

gloccamorra — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:46:56 +0000

While he has the stats (in the stat-bloated PCL), he’s never got a call to the show, and when he was left unprotected in the rule 5 draft, nobody took him. How do the scouts KNOW when a player isn’t major league material?

By: jwbiii

jwbiii — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:59:35 +0000

Maybe this one?
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-diary/2008/267206.html

By: flosox

flosox — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:16:06 +0000

I saw something like this on TWIB (does that even exist anymore??) but it was a prank…hilarious as hell! The guy bought it and almost cried.

By: kander013

kander013 — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:18:11 +0000

Good thing we know how this turns out as Tom Selleck already told us this story in 1992. Soon Matt Clark will lay down a bunt rather than hit to break his manager’s home run record, marry the manager’s daughter, and then return to the States to become a manager, only to be called chief.

By: unlost1

unlost1 — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:22:59 +0000

pretty bad since their current 1st baseman only hit 9 home runs last year

By: jwbiii

jwbiii — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 04:58:52 +0000

While I see your point, it’s kind a murky area. It is very unlikely that the Padres have Clark under contract. Most minor leaguers do not sign contracts until spring training. The Padres do own the right to put him under contract for as long as the next ten years, if they so choose. So you could say that the Padres are selling the rights to put Clark under contract, but that’s not really true either. If and when Clark returns to MLB/MiLB, the team that signs him could have the same ten years over the right to sign him to a contract.

By: shaggylocks

shaggylocks — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 02:50:06 +0000

Maybe I'm a little more sensitive to the language of the headline right now because I just saw both Lincoln and Django Unchained, but shouldn't the headline be worded "Padres sell minor leaguer Matt Clark's contract to Japanese team?" I mean, Curt Flood already fought this fight.

By: stex52

stex52 — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 01:55:21 +0000

Thanks for the info.

By: jl9830

jl9830 — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:29:54 +0000

I’ve always wondered about this: I know these players should have to play anywhere in MLB if they’re traded, but can an MLB team just make a guy play half the year halfway across the world?

By: jwbiii

jwbiii — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:24:29 +0000

Yes, it’s legal and yes, players have to give their consent to be assigned outside of the U.S. or Canada. In the case of sales to Japan, it usually works the other way around. The player (his agent) arranges a deal with the Japanese team and then the teams negotiate the sale price. In this case, Padres coach and former Chunichi Dragon Alonzo Powell helped facilitate the deal. He’ll make $450,000 in Japan versus $10,750 AAA scale in Tucson.
http://yakyubaka.com/2013/01/10/chunichi-dragons-announce-matt-clark-signing/

By: stex52

stex52 — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:38:51 +0000

Is that legal? You suppose they asked him? I guess it’s a good thing for these guys that Iran doesn’t have MLB.