Take me out to the corporate-sponsored ball game ...
By JEFF HARRINGTON
Published March 29, 2004
Look closely as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays take to the field in the season opener in Japan. You might notice a Ricoh patch on the sleeves of Rocco Baldelli, Tino Martinez and other players.
Ricoh, a Japanese maker of electronics equipment, is the title sponsor of Major League Baseball's season-opening game between the Rays and the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
The opportunity to put a sponsorship patch on players' uniforms is something Major League Baseball sells only for games outside the United States.
Paul Archey, MLB senior vice president of international business, said player patches are very common in Japan as part of a basic sponsorship. "It's something they look for and expect for (with) sponsorships," he said. "It's not a player endorsement" of a company.
Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn said he thinks this is the first time - at least for his club - that players will don corporate patches. But if any players have a problem with being the brand-emblazoned baseball equivalent of a race car, it isn't apparent.
"This is a joint thing with MLB and the Players Association, so the Players Association has signed off on this," Vaughn said.
