Red Sox Boycott Japan Trip

The season opening games have become a classical baseball tradition, enjoyed by many fans. However, that is subject to change this year if a disagreement over pay is not resolved for the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were scheduled to play two games against the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo to kick off the season. The team wishes for their coaches and staff to be paid for their trip to Japan, and until that happens they say they will not play their final preseason game either.

Each player on the team voted and they reached a unanimous decision to not board their plane Wednesday March 19, 2008 leaving for Japan if this crisis wasn't resolved. The Boston Herald reported that the team made it clear that part of the agreement for their team going to Japan included compensation for their coaches and staff, and so far that hasn't occurred.

In addition to not playing in Japan, the Red Sox refused to take the field today in their game against the Toronto Blue Jays after learning the news that their coaches and staff would not be paid for the trip to Japan, leaving many fans disappointed and angry. Rich Levin, a baseball spokesman, said the teams' lawyers were trying to sort the situation out.

The Red Sox clubhouse has been closed to reporters due to the disagreement and very few comments have been made by any of the team members. Earlier, their Pitcher Curt Schilling made comments to The Associated Press stating that he was unsure about the game to be played in Toronto, but would not make any comments on the boycott. His uncertainty about Toronto must have vanished, seeing as how he did not take the field today along with the rest of his team. The team has also skipped their batting practice and it doesn't appear they plan on attending.