Tex. Rangers buy shortstop Rodriguez for $252 million...

December 12, 2000 5:34 AM

Tex. Rangers buy shortstop Rodriguez for $252 million... yikes!! That's way too much money for baseball franchises to be spending, or is it? [via usr/bin/girl]
posted by Cavatica (10 comments total)

The last player signed to a ten year contract: pitcher Wayne Garland, in 1976. He had rotator cuff surgery in 1978 and was released at the end of the 1981 season, compiling a record of 28-48 after his free agent signing.
posted by Aaaugh! at 7:32 AM on December 12, 2000

That's crazy! No one player is worth that much. People complain about how much ticket prices are to professional games....this is the reason. I think we should boycott going to professional sports for a year. That would make owners think twice and bring ticket prices down.
posted by 120degrees at 9:18 AM on December 12, 2000

Well, it is far too much too spend on Alex Rodriguez. For the same amount of money, the Rangers could have signed other, cheaper, players with similar offensive statistics, and a
good shortstop to boot. Instead, they have one player for the cost of several.
The worst thing is that the Rangers haven't done anything to address their real problem--pitching. Their pitching staff ranked last in ERA last year. Last in the entire league, not just
the American League. I don't care how good your sluggers are, they can't make up for that.
Still, they will have a good line-up, even if half of them spend significant time on the DL.
posted by rorschach at 9:40 AM on December 12, 2000

As a life-long Orioles fan, it's been painful to watch how the team's chronically inept ownership has squandered millions of dollars. My heart goes out to Rangers fan. (On the other hand, as a much more recent A's fan, it's been a hoot watching them rethink how small-market teams should be run. I'll take ten Jason Giambis over one Alex Rodriguez, as good as A-Rod is. And as a fan, I hope A-Rod stays healthy -- it'll be fun watching him and seeing if he lives up to the Mays-like expectations Scott Boros was tossing around.)

Boy, I remember when Kevin Brown seemed like he was getting overpaid... When will the first billion-dollar contract be signed?
posted by snarkout at 10:00 AM on December 12, 2000

Here in Seattle, we've affectionately waved good-bye (some of us using only one finger) to Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., and now Alex. What sort of players have we gotten in return for these platinum-minted fellows? Genial, overrated mope Freddy Garcia; genial, geriatric Sasaki, who can pitch like the dickens for at least one inning; genial inert mass Mike Cameron; and several dozen other cover-your-eyes whozits currently languishing either in AAA or the unemployment line.

I love this city. Really.
posted by Skot at 10:13 AM on December 12, 2000

I think we should boycott going to professional sports for a year.

I've been boycotting major league sports for twenty-four years. Well... I've been to a few MLB games, but I've never paid for a ticket, so there!
posted by daveadams at 11:19 AM on December 12, 2000

I don't know anything about this guy (or baseball for that matter) but look at it this way: apparently, the franchise does think he's worth that much, and they must have some kind of reasons for wanting to pay that much. So why not be happy for the guy? If he didn't get the 250M deal, the money would just go to the franchise. I say, more power to the guy and congrats on getting such a sweet deal.
posted by Witold at 12:28 PM on December 12, 2000

I don't have a problem with Rodriguez accepting the offer, his agent most likely got the largest deal that he could talk his way into. The real idiocy occurred in the offices of the Texas Rangers. Supposedly, the job of the front office is to assemble a team that is capable of winning a championship, or at least competing for one. Looking at baseball as just a business--which some owners probably do--most teams can't fill the ballpark while fielding a losing team, unless you are the Cubs, that is.
Sure, the owners of the Rangers will still make money, which may be enough to satisfy them, but winning would probably make them even more. It is this kind of out of control spending that has the league hurtling towards its favorite pastime--a work stoppage. Including strikes and lock-outs, MLB has had nine work stoppages since 1972.
posted by rorschach at 1:13 PM on December 12, 2000

I posted a little rant on Kuro5hin.org about this exact same thing because I remember doing an English paper in the 6th grade (1990) on the escalating salaries, free agency players on where there demands would take the game and cost to each team in terms of performance and attendance. Back then Kirby Puckett and Mark Langston were the highest paid players making about $3 million a year. Along comes Bobby Bonillia, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Dave Cone, etc. etc. to Kevin Brown who would hold the "largest contract ever" title for a year or so. Now on Up-Close (ESPN with Gary Miller) they interview Jerry Calengelo, the owner of the AZ Diamondbacks, who says something is wrong with baseball, but yet put out MILLIONS to re-sign Curt Schilling, and to pay Randy Johnson. I for one WILL NOT be going to a baseball game for some time until some sort of sanity returns. I have pretty much given up watching on television since the strike, except for watching McGwire and Sosa break the home run record of Mantle. This comes from a fan growing up trying to collect every single baseball card since 1985 until 1991 and watching games at every chance it was on TV. Now I wouldn't even care who is where anymore. The days of George Brett, Mike Schimdt or any player staying in one organization for their long and productive career are long gone. What happened to rooting for the dynasty/franchise team or player without having to be a billionaire?
Who's next to get more than A-Rod?
posted by brent at 2:50 PM on December 12, 2000

oh, so *that's* what an "a-rod" is - I've been seeing that on Seattle newspaper headlines for a while and thought it was related to the light rail system.
posted by Mars Saxman at 3:27 PM on December 12, 2000