Paternity leave common in MLB, but nonexistent in NPB

TOKYO — The month of April in MLB was remarkable for the fact that two of the game’s biggest stars, Mookie Betts and Max Muncy, both playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, took paternity leave, each for the allotted three days. That’s a loss of half a million dollars given Betts’ salary. But there has not been a whiff of criticism about it. It’s considered only natural.

Something like this rarely happens in Japan, unless a foreign player is involved. Gaijin players requesting a few days off to attend the birth of a child was historically  considered an act of selfishness in Japanese baseball circles. Players were supposed to set their personal concerns aside and focus entirely on the needs of the team.

When Sadaharu Oh was manager of the Yomiuri Giants, and his father died, he did not miss a game. The team was on the road in Hiroshima. Oh flew back for the wake and returned the next morning. There are countless stories like this, which contrast with the behavior of American players in Japan, like Randy Bass, who left the team for weeks to be with his son who was undergoing brain surgery in the U.S.