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Free agents play Japanese amateurs

BRADENTON, Fla. — Tyler Clippard wore a black jersey with a white players’ union logo and pitched hitless ball for two innings against amateurs in the green shirts of the East Japan Railway Company.

He had the poorest personal results of his nine major league seasons, yet ended the year with a celebration in the clubhouse of the World Series champion Houston Astros. This is not how the 33-year-old right-hander envisioned spring training.

“We know that my year last year was a bad year, but at the end of the day how bad was it? And it wasn’t as bad as some that got significant contracts,” he said Tuesday after appearing in the first of two exhibition games for free agents scheduled for this week at the IMG Academy.

Thirty-eight players have attended the camp since workouts started Feb. 14. They wonder why they are on the outside while several teams have jettisoned veterans to fill a higher percentage of their roster spots with lower-salaried youth.

The players’ association filed a grievance Friday against the Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays, accusing the teams of failing to appropriately spend revenue-sharing money.

“Isn’t the goal to win the World Series every year? I think every team should want to win the World Series every year,” 35-year-old left-hander Tom Gorzelanny said.

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