While reading about the outrageous contracts being handed out during the Winter Meetings, I’ve come to the conclusion that my parents committed a terrible wrong by not placing a ball or a bat in my hands at an early age.
Have you seen some of the contracts being handed out? Oh, how wonderful to be a free agent during a down market. Let’s look at a few of my favorite new deals:
• J.D. Drew, a career underachiever received a five-year, $70 million contract from the Boston Red Sox. Which is quite remarkable, considering that the injury-prone outfielder has driven in 100 runs just once in his eight-year career.
• Ted Lilly, who is probably best remembered for getting into a fight with his manager, received a four-year, $40 million contract from the Chicago Cubs. I have a hard time understanding this one because Lilly has never been a dominant pitcher, yet he is being paid like one. He has never won more than 15 games, pitched 200 innings or had an ERA under 3.40.
• Alfonso Soriano is an exciting player with power and speed, but he will be 31 when the season starts and it is tough to imagine how productive he will be at the tail end of his eight-year, $136 million contract. The Cubs are getting a player who was fifth in the league with 160 strikeouts and has a career .325 on-base percentage. I like Soriano, he is a heck of an offensive player, but make no mistake; he is not at the level of Albert Pujols.
• Gil Meche swindled the Kansas City Royals and was awarded a five-year, $55 million contract after posting an 11-8 record with the Seattle Mariners. The Royals are a clueless franchise and I suppose it’s only fitting that they would overpay for a 28-year-old is 55-44 with a 4.65 ERA in six seasons, winning more than 11 games or posting an ERA below 4.40 only once.
There is something fundamentally wrong when slightly above average players make an obscene amount of money. It is dangerous to give players sky-rocking contracts because in the end the fans are the ones who suffer. As a kid, going to Yankee Stadium used to be an easy and relatively cheap experience. My brother and I would get two box seats, two souvenir sodas and two hotdogs for under $50 dollars. Today, the same would cost around $200. Throw in a few beers apiece and a box of peanuts and you’re looking at $250.
As a result of this, I no longer enjoy going to games because of the price-gouging. The shameful costs have taken away all the fun. Sadly, the downfall of all professional sports will be its greed.
