Red Sox to MLB - Game Over!

Red Sox boycotting final Spring Training Game with Toronto Blue Jays!

Back in October the Red Sox committed to a verbal contract with MLB that included a $40,000 stipend to all players, coaches, and other members of the support staff to compensate them for making the trip to Japan to play their first regular season game.

According to Jackie MacMullan of the Boston Globe, chatting with the broadcasters on NESN, MLB promised the Moon, Stars, and any other amenity possible to convince everyone concerned that the trip to Japan would be of benefit to those involved with the trip, and a great benefit to MLB itself.

Members of the Red Sox team were contacted yesterday by members of the Oakland A's - the team they were/are to play in the season opener - that coaches and staff of both teams would not be compensated for the trip. Players on both teams felt this was a breach of the contract they had agreed to with MLB.

Sox Manager, Terry Francona, stated that he spent many hours yesterday with a telephone glued to his ear, but had not received any answers.

The Red Sox players had a "players only" meeting this morning, and voted unanimously to boycott the last spring training game and not board the plane for Japan later this afternoon until everyone is compensated as promised.

After the meeting, Curt Shilling was quoted as saying, "The coaches never have leverage, in all the years I've been in baseball, they're the guys usually taken advantage of in situation like this. In this locker room, they're as much a part of the team as the guys on the field."

It seems unbelievable to players, reporters, and fans alike, that MLB would take a step that would jeopardize the final game against the Blue Jays or especially, the trip to Japan for Opening Day!

At 12:15 PM, the Red Sox left the dugout at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers

At approximately 12:45 an announcement was made that the game would commence at 1:10 PM.

At 1:10 PM, they took the field at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Florida. One would think, with stipends in hand - or ear.

Update: Game On!!

Sources:

Broadcast on NESN (New England Sports Network)

http://mlb.mlb.com:80/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080319&content_id=2443964&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Jackie MacMullan , Boston Globe Sports Columnist

http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/macmullan/