Yusei Kikuchi, LA Angels finalize $63 million, 3-year contract

The 33-year-old Kikuchi gets $21 million annually, which raises his Major League Baseball earnings to $142 million over nine seasons.

Odds are high that if he stayed in Japan he wouldnt have made 1/10 of what he is and will be making in MLB.

Hard to blame any professional athlete for going to where they can capitalize on their skills.

Japanese pro baseball will always be at best, 4A level, as long as they can only pay a fraction of what MLB can.

Going from the first place Astros to the last place Angels, he’ll be lucky to win 5 or 6 games.

Kikuchi is 41-47 with a 4.57 ERA in six major league seasons 

Man, 21$ million a year doesn't buy much these days, does it?

It's nice that players are making millions but it's really the fans that are paying for this in the end. Have you seen how much baseball tickets cost these days? Not to mention concession stand food/drinks and parking?

If I were a kid today, I wouldn't even come close to having enough money to buy the cheapest seats to MLB games like I did when I was small in the 70s and 80s. I'd definitely have to ask my parents for the money.

Also take a look at the demographics of the baseball fans. They're increasingly made up of richer clientele since middle-class and poorer folks can no longer consistently afford to go to games.