The Giants and the Diamondbacks to Open the Series in Taiwan?
Major League Baseball (MLB) is considering a proposal for the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks to play their opening series of 2011 in Taiwan.
One official from the Commissioner’s office has stated that it is merely an idea now and it is far from a sure bet. It won’t even be confirmed even if both teams agree to the idea.
Head of the players union, Gene Orza, has already briefed Giants players on the idea when he met with the team in Washington earlier this month. They are set to vote next month on whether they wish to go. A few ideas still need to be pitched out though, including what the players’ compensation would be for going.
Pat Courtney, baseball's vice president for public relations, has said the plan is still very much in its early stages as the league has not even found a Taiwanese promoter and the implication that players’ approval is the last step in deciding is incorrect. There are still many other things to consider.
MLB's Commissioner Bud Selig has been trying for a while to schedule games in Asia, and even Europe, to expand the marketing reach of the game. Both the Giants and Diamondbacks could benefit by showcasing their brand in that part of the world, too.
The Dodgers played two exhibitions in Taiwan in March, but the Giants and Diamondbacks would play two regular-season games next March before returning to Arizona to complete spring training, as the Oakland A's and Boston Red Sox did after they opened 2008 in Japan.
It’s no guarantee that players would even approve as it will be a strain to travel such a far distance in the midst of spring training.
"I don't think people mentioned they're overjoyed by the idea, but it's not a bad idea," reliever Jeremy Affeldt said. "It's kind of a tough thing to go over and come back and deal with all that stuff, and whether guys feel it would affect how we played the rest of the year. Sometimes a fast start is important. Would it affect that? It's possible. It's something we have to talk about."
The idea to begin showcasing North American sports in other countries seems to be a common theme now for all North American sports leagues. After all, the NFL now holds an annual game in London, England with talks of a Super Bowl or even a franchise in London being a possibility in the next 10-15 years.
The NHL also began holding season-openers is Europe in the middle of their pre-season games, and now the MLB is starting it, too.
It certainly is not a bad idea to expand the horizons of all these sports. As popular as the sports are in America, it may turn out to be very popular in other continents as well. All sports have some of the best marketers in the world and have done a very good job in all international games so far.
It is very hard for players though as they are trying to prepare for a 162 game season and travelling across the world during spring training is hard to digest and would be the main issue regarding the decision the players make.
The league obviously would benefit the most from this as sports may be getting too big for North America to handle alone and the idea of spreading them across the world may be a positive next step. Popularity for teams may spread as well, which would be good news for them and would surely benefit them in a variety of ways.
There’s no telling what these international games can mean for these sports. Let's first just wait and see if the Giants and the Diamondbacks make it to Taiwan for their season opener.
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