Rakuten Proposing Merger with TBS?

- [...] but doesn't TBS and the BayStars have some connections?

TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) owns the BayStars. Though I believe that TBS has been trying to sell the BayStars. There have been rumors that Livedoor owner Takafumi Horie (who tried buy the Kintestu Buffaloes last year, and failed in winning the new exapansion team bid last November) is talking with TBS about acquiring the team. [See also this thread.]

But hang on, that rumor about Horie buying the Carp came from an unnamed "friend" quoted by the Shukan Post, a gossip magazine that routinely runs stories with no basis in fact. So we really need to take anything they say with a bucketload of salt.

But it is a fact that Rakuten has taken a 15.46% stake in TBS, making it the biggest shareholder. Interestingly, the Murakami Fund owns 7% of TBS.

So you've got Rakuten, the owner of the Rakuten Eagles and Murakami, the largest shareholder of the owner of the Hanshin Tigers between them controlling over 22% of the company that owns the Yokohama BayStars. I wonder, what is NPB's view on all this corporate manoevering?

NPB commissioner Yasuchika Negoro said he sees a need to create set rules regarding ownership following this current situation.

Right now, Rakuten has became the biggest shareholder of the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), the company that owns the BayStars. Also, the Murakami Investment Fund (which is the largest shareholder in the Hanshin Railway, which owns 100% of the Hanshin Tigers), which has been in a lot of fire lately, also owns TBS shares. Not to mention on top of this there are rumors that Horie has been talking with TBS on buying the BayStars from them. It's making for a mess to say the least. [Full Story - Japan Ball]

NPB rules only allow an owner to own one team. The talk is if Rakuten does gain control of TBS it is going to sell off the BayStars. Consistent rumours indicate Horie as the likely purchaser.

It would be very ironic if it ends up being Horie buying the BayStars off Mikitani!

NPB is so silly though, it and various owners raise a fuss over various ownership issues, while many of them are publicly traded companies. As usual, the old fogies at NPB need to be replaced.

- It would be very ironic if it ends up being Horie buying the BayStars off Mikitani!

Imagine the irony Nabestune would face if that happened after he threw a fuss over Horie last year. I wonder what the old crook Nabestune is doing right now with this whole situation, probably sitting in the background like usual?

- As usual, the old fogies at NPB need to be replaced.

Nabestune being replaced, now there's a pipe dream that we all wish could happen, while we're at this, his puppet Negoro can go with him, and the NPB can nominate a real commissioner. I, on the otherhand, don't count on a real commissioner with real power anytime quicker than Nabestune going anywhere.

Now according to Nikkan Sports [Link], the broadband Internet company Usen, who was interested in the Seibu Lions, is interested in the BayStars. Though TBS has said they're not interested in selling.

- ...and the NPB can nominate a real commissioner

Senichi Hoshino for commissioner - that would certainly stir things up. Whether he'd accept is another matter.

Usen is saying they are proposing equity ties with the BayStars. Usen earlier has reported they're interested in acquiring the BayStars, but TBS has announced that they are not interested in selling. Usen operates an online video distributor in cooperation with Rakuten. Therefore it's likely Rakuten would agree to a Usen bid should it take place. Though any such sale would have to be approved by the baseball owner's assocation. [Full Story - Asahi Herald]

Eleven of the 12 NPB teams ruled that Rakuten's acquistion of TBS shares (the biggest shareholder of the Yokohama BayStars) was illegial. The claim came at the committee meeting of pro baseball executives, who then went on to say that a final decision will be made at a meeting of club owners on November 4th after Rakuten owner Hiroshi Mikitani makes explanations about the stock purchases.

NPB rules prohibit anyone from simultaneously holding shares or being involved in the management of more than one team to secure fairness. Though they have no clauses governing the ownership of parent companies in the bylaws.

Rakuten insisted there is no conflict of interest between the Eagles and BayStars. NPB commissioner Yasuchika Negoro said "This issue is about what a club owner did, so we decided to listen to Mr. Mikitani before making a decision."

[Full Story - Japan Ball]

Tsuneo Watanabe has said that Livedoor President Takafumi Horie has indeed tried to acquire the Hiroshima Carp. Watanabe added that the owner of the Carp have no intention of selling the club. [Full Story - Mainichi Daily News]

Now Watanabe is going full force on this issue. He criticized Rakuten owner Hiroshi Mikitani for buying TBS stocks, saying "It's rude to try to sell the baseball club as Rakuten doesn't totally control TBS." I think I'm missing something there, Nabestune. Isn't Rakuten now the biggest shareholder in TBS?

Second, Nabestune went on to blast LDP Secretary-General Tsutomu Takebe by suggesting that he was involved in Horie's attempt to buy the Carp. He went on to say "The LDP's secretary general should not be involved in such a thing." It seems Watanabe is back to suffering from foot in mouth disease.

[Full Story - Mainichi Daily News]

Now that everyone is starting to see that Mikitani is only in the NPB for advertisement and business purposes and to get his company further "out there," the ones that suffer the most are true baseball people. Speaking with the gaijin who were affiliated with Rakuten this year (and two of those pitchers had over a decade of combined experience in Asia), they said that it was absolutely the worst, most hostile, negative working environment ever to be affiliated with. Funny how they all considered it to be "career suicide" when they signed with that organization.

- Now that everyone is starting to see that Mikitani is only in the NPB for advertisement and business purposes and to get his company further "out there," the ones that suffer the most are true baseball people.

The fact is the NPB has no law stating ownership of parent companies, it's not Mikitani's fault at all. To place any blame on Mikitani is downright pathetic. How do we as baseball fans suffer because of this, baseball fans would benefit if Rakuten could find a suitable buyer for the BayStars instead of TBS which has shown little interest in the BayStars since owning them. And if I'm not mistaken, was not very interested in acquiring the BayStars in the first place.

BayStars fans would definetly benefit if Rakuten could find an owner that would do something in the best interest of the BayStars, unlike what TBS has done so far. If that is Horie or whoever, then so be it in my opinion. Horie can defiently help the BayStars a lot more than TBS can and is doing now.

- Speaking with the gaijin who were affiliated with Rakuten this year (and two of those pitchers had over a decade of combined experience in Asia), they said that it was absolutely the worst, most hostile, negative working environment ever to be affiliated with.

Some foreign players succeed and some fail, the team very rarely has any effect at all on what a player will do. Minor, Myette, Hodges, Tracy, Rath, and Lopez didn't meet expectations, plain and simple. It's not rocket science, they all were terrible last year. They didn't succeed because it was a negative and hostile envrionment to be in, it's just that some succeed and some fail, and this group failed terribly.

Failing terribly has a lot of help. As any player, or team player, might tell you - one is only as good as the people he is surrounded with. When a team is combined of leftover players who couldn't compete in the SEC or PAC 10 then the foreigners will do nothing but fail. Then in classic, stoic Japanese style blame it on the gaijin.

You're talking about an organization that told the foreigners to get on a public bus for 2 hours one way to practice if in the minor leagues. The former gaijin GM constantly calling every inning to protect his rear-end when the gaijin couldn't hit 4 home runs and throw no-hitters.

Some say Mikitani didn't know what he was getting into. BS, he knew; a well run advertising machine. As of today, practically the entire front office has left and it's getting worse with the hiring of Nomura. This team (a 5th place team in the KBO) could possibly get worse.

The recent scouting venture in the U.S. was a fiasco and the word out is do not come to this team unless it's a million dollar guaranteed contract so that when you're contemplating "why you ever picked up a baseball in the first place and get released" you can go home and not have to work.

But I'm sure Mikitani and his Harvard thinking would totally understand that financial style of approach!

- Failing terribly has a lot of help.

It was an expansion year for Rakuten. Many expansion teams never win in their first year regardless of who's playing for them.

- When a team is combined of leftover players who couldn't compete in the SEC or PAC 10 then the foreigners will do nothing but fail.

Do you understand the concept of an expansion draft? This was all the Rakuten Eagles had to select from. The Orix Buffaloes protected their good players, it wasn't all Rakuten's fault as you mention.

- Then in classic, stoic Japanese style blame it on the gaijin.

Remember, expected ace pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma went 9-15 with a 4.99 ERA in 27 starts, Ichiba went 2-9 and had a SV in 23 games. The blame this year goes around for everyone. It seems seriously that you feel spiteful that Rakuten released this group of foreign players. [2005 Eagles Stats - Borisov's Pro Yakyu]

- The recent scouting venture in the U.S. was a fiasco and the word out is do not come to this team unless it's a million dollar guaranteed contract so that when you're contemplating "why you ever picked up a baseball in the first place and get released" you can go home and not have to work.

I'm sorry, I don't agree with you still, but this group was downright terrible. You can try and look around for excuses for these players, but the truth is they were just downright abysmal. It was noone's fault but there's, not Mikitani's, not Tao's, not the coaches', it was their fault.

In the Know and Mr. Brooks both make good arguments. I have to agree with In the Know about the foreigners' lack of production with Rakuten though. I think sometimes players (batters especially) need time and some good quality at-bats to work themselves out of a slump. For example, Greg LaRocca was slumping badly in the first half of 2004, but the Carp stuck with him and he rebounded to post big numbers that year. The same thing might've happened with Lopez, Minor, etc. if the team would've had a little more patience with them. Same with Nori Nakamura - he didn't get a chance to prove himself with the Dodgers this season.

At the same time, Mr. Brooks is right when he says that most expansion teams are terrible to begin with, no matter who plays for them. It didn't matter who was the owner, manager, etc. - that team was bound to fail from the start. I don't know why some people in the media expected them to be competitive from the get-go.

In the Know: you obviously work for the Eagles or you are close to someone who works or worked for them. I respect that and I respect your insight into the team, but you can't be serious when you say that Kuehnert was calling the foreginers up constantly wondering why they weren't producing or that the foreigners considered it "career suicide" when they signed with Rakuten. If they did consider it "career suicide," why the heck did they sign with them in the first place?

- It's not rocket science, they all were terrible last year. They didn't succeed because it was a negative and hostile envrionment to be in, it's just that some succeed and some fail, and this group failed terribly.

What makes you so sure this had no effect on the poor showings by the foreign players as well as Japanese players? Look at Iwakuma's stats prior to joining this industrial league team, oh sorry, NPB team.

Orix Buffaloes owner Yoshihiko Miyauchi said Friday that the NPB failed to come to a conclusion on whether Rakuten Inc. has infringed on Japanese baseball bylaws by becoming the biggest shareholder in TBS.

Miyauchi said "There have been many opinions that appear to suggest that the move is an infringement upon the baseball bylaws, but until the next owners' meeting, we will examine the development of the proposal for the management intergration of Rakuten and TBS and based on that take further action."

Rakuten owner Hiroshi Mikitani said "It's only 19 percent that we own. There is nothing unfair about this. I've said that we are thinking of making a pledge (not to have any type of strange games or trades) with Yokohama, Rakuten and Rakuten Inc. are seperate entities. We have no intention of influencing the Yokohama BayStars."

Mikitani also added "In real terms, we are not controlling Yokohama. I see no obstacles to carrying out fair games."

[Full Story - Japan Ball]