Although the new rules agreed upon by Major League Baseball and its players union "have thrown the future" of Japanese baseball's stars into question, the real impact "could be much more severe for Nippon Professional Baseball," according to KYODO. By treating all foreign professionals under the age of 25 as amateurs, MLB's new collective bargaining agreement "might lead to an exodus of Japan's best amateur talent," an MLB source said. Asked if the new CBA, which has yet to be ratified, would "encourage young Japanese amateurs to skip NPB and sign directly" with MLB clubs, the source said, "That is likely." This would be "a huge blow to NPB, which has tried to stop up the ears of young amateur stars vulnerable to the big league's siren song." In '08, when top amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa exercised his right to sign with the Boston Red Sox, "he was breaking no rules -- but NPB punished him retroactively" with the "Tazawa Rule." He is currently banned from playing in NPB or for Samurai Japan. And now that the Nippon Ham Fighters "have forged a path that allowed a promising youngster to be big-league ready by the age of 22," other teams might have followed suit -- "until now." MLB's new rule change "will make it nearly impossible for another Japanese team to replicate the Fighters' success" (KYODO, 12/8).
