NPB and KBO Commisioner Incompetence

Marty Kuehnert and Thomas St. John have columns with similar reactions to the incompetence and inaction of the baseball commissioners of both Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korean Baseball Organization respectively.

Kuenert asserts in the September 22, 2004 Japan Times [Link] that it is a cop out for Yasuchika Negoro, the Commissioner of Japanese Baseball, to resign over the current NPB players' strike. The column traces the problem to the Yomiuri Giants' historical control over the selection of the commissioner. Marty roasts Negoro over his hands-off policy since the Orix BlueWave/Kintetsu Buffaloes merger situation became public. The NPB commissioner is a caretaker/puppet to team ownership rather than a leader who has the "final decision making authority in matters concerning the greater good of the game of professional baseball in Japan," according to Kuehnert.

Thomas St. John voices similar concerns in the September 22, 2004 Korea Times [Link with the KBO commisioner's impotency and double-standard in dealing with the draft-dodging scandal. St. John derides KBO Commissioner Park Yong-oh of having double-standards when Park condemned the accused players of shirking responsibility while the commissioner avoided any action about the situation. 51 players have been banned for rest of 2004 while 110 current and former players are under investgation for altering urine tests to avoid mandatory military service. At least 10 players have been arrested including Jung Sung-ki, a minor leaguer in the Atlanta Braves' farm system.

What really gets Kuehnert and St. John is that both commissioners took overseas vacations when each of their respective situations first broke out.