Upset over non-existent contract negotiations with the White Sox, free agent outfielder Darrin Jackson appears ready to bolt to Japan like former Sox teammate Julio Franco.
Allan Meersand, Jackson’s agent, said he is negotiating with two Japanese teams, one of them the Seibu Lions, and could come to an agreement by the end of the month.
“It’s a good alternative for him,” Meersand said. “There’s a very likely chance that it will work out with a Japanese team.”
Meersand termed the White Sox’s qualifying offer of $975,000 to Jackson as “a slap in the face.” Jackson, 31, batted .312 with 51 RBIs in 104 games during the strike-shortened season, and made only one error. He was originally seeking a three-year deal worth $7.5 million.
Seibu, which is owned by billionaire Yoskiaki Tsutsumi, reportedly one of the richest men in the world, is the likeliest destination for Jackson if he opts for Japan.
On Wednesday Jackson and his wife, Darlene, adopted a newborn son, Alexander. Like Franco, Jackson may decide to take the money and run rather than take a chance and wait out the current labor dispute between the striking players and owners.
“Spring training starts over there the first week of February,” Meersand said. “We could have (negotiations) wrapped up in the next two weeks. Then he’s gone, like Julio Franco is gone. Then there will be no more of this nonsense. . . . It’s always one excuse after another from the White Sox, and Darrin’s fed up. He’s a real premier player in the prime of his career. He deserves more attention from the White Sox and he wants to get something settled quickly.”
Meersand said the recent earthquake in Kobe, Japan, would have no influence on Jackson’s final decision.
Looking ahead: Strike or no strike, Opening Day is 72 days away, and the Sox say that season ticket renewals are at 80 percent, despite the fact that no one knows who will actually be on the field this year. Last year, an all-time high of 96 percent of the season-ticket holders renewed for the ’94 season.
The Sox have not released the prices they will charge in case of replacement players.
“We don’t have exact prices yet, but trust us, trust us,” marketing chief Rob Gallas said. “This is important to us and we feel that we’re going to be as fair as possible.”
Gallas said most teams have said they will cut prices 30 to 50 percent, but the Sox are waiting because “there’s such a long way to go ’til mid-March and there are so many variables.”
The Sox are offering a money-back guarantee in which season-ticket holders can cancel before June 1 and receive a full refund on unused tickets, plus 5 percent interest, if they don’t like the product on the field.
Downward spiral? During a speech on Wednesday at the International Sports Summit in New York, White Sox vice chairman Eddie Einhorn said baseball has fallen to third place in popularity among sports fans.
“I hate to say, right now we’re third to football and basketball,” Einhorn said. “Even basketball has passed us. It will not last forever. We have to get our act going.”
