The biggest catch of baseball's off season is the Japanese pitching star Tatsuya Imi with teams lining up to pay him between 150 and $200 million. But it's the team that I apparently doesn't want to play for that's generated the biggest surprise. Jared Diamond is sports reporter with the Wall Street Journal.He joins us now. It's good to see you. Um I loved your story.He doesn't want to play for the Dodgers. >> Can you imagine. Who wouldn't want to play for the Dodgers these days.Yeah. Look, it's sort of bec ...

Competitive Balance Concerns - The league acknowledges fan concerns regarding competitive balance in a significant number of markets [1] - Competitive balance is crucial for the sport's appeal and marketability [1] Collective Bargaining Strategy - Owners have not yet reached a consensus on their proposal for the next round of collective bargaining [1] - The league needs to address competitive balance issues in the upcoming negotiations [1]

MLB All-Star Game & Competitive Balance - MLB owners haven't reached a consensus on salary cap proposals, but competitive balance is a concern for fans in many markets [1] - The All-Star game's appeal may be declining, with interest shifting towards events like the home run derby [1] - Other sports leagues, like the NBA and NHL, are experimenting with different All-Star game formats [1] Player Star Power & Marketing - MLB struggles to promote its new talent and turn them into household names, unlike other leagues [1] - Cal Raleigh's 38 home runs at the All-Star break is not widely known, highlighting MLB's marketing challenges [1] - MLB lags behind the NBA in social media engagement [1] - MLB needs to utilize streaming services like Netflix to build player images [1] - MLB should use social media in a new way to promote players [2] Historical Context & Controversies - Pete Rose's competitive play in an All-Star game is remembered [2][3] - MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's decision regarding Pete Rose and the Hall of Fame is controversial [3][4] - The possibility of breaking the record for the most hits is unlikely in the current era [5][6]