Yakult Swallows catcher Atsuya Furuta, in my opinion, deserves a round of applause; in fact, a standing ovation, for the job he has done as head of the Nippon Professional Baseball Players Association. I believe he has tirelessly served the players here during the crisis that has gripped Japanese baseball since the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave announced on June 13 they were planning to merge.

Furuta, with the support of a vast majority of fans, has stood up well to the owners of the teams here who sought to merge two more clubs and re-structure the system from two leagues to a one-league format, costing up to seventy players and many other support people their jobs. He should be recognized for a super-human effort.

In Major League Baseball, no player has to worry about adding a schedule of meetings with team owners and representatives to his already hectic daily routine of rat-race travel and ball games almost everyday. The MLB Players Association has executive Don Fehr to take care of business.