A 13-year, $325 million contract. No matter how you slice it, break down the numbers,
or try to justify it, the deal the Miami Marlins gave Giancarlo Stanton is insane.
Oh, it'll probably get the Marlins a lot of headlines, some national media interest, and
the franchise splashed across the Twitter-sphere, but they'll be rinsed out of the world's
fast and furious news cycle by tomorrow and go back to being an irrelevant
professional team even in the city they play in.
After the high from the attention the Marlins receive wears off, owner Jeffrey
Loria will probably have a "What the hell was I thinking moment?" The man who
hoodwinked Miami in building him a brand-spanking new stadium only to ignite
a fire sale (again) of his big-name players to shed his payroll down to a measly
$53 million, is going to regret this deal for the life of the deal, or until he can
find a sucker who will take the contract off his hands in a few years.
Loria will probably have a "What the hell was I thinking moment?" The man who
hoodwinked Miami in building him a brand-spanking new stadium only to ignite
a fire sale (again) of his big-name players to shed his payroll down to a measly
$53 million, is going to regret this deal for the life of the deal, or until he can
find a sucker who will take the contract off his hands in a few years.
Maybe Loria believes the contract he's lavished upon Stanton will rinse away
the bitterness and pure hate a lot of people in Miami have for him and his
business "ethics." Perhaps, he feels all the lousy baseball the fans have had to
endure and high-ticket prices they've had to pay will be buried in the past with
this "landmark deal" as Loria has called it. Maybe he thinks the "cheapest man
in baseball" tag will be ripped off his back because of it.
the bitterness and pure hate a lot of people in Miami have for him and his
business "ethics." Perhaps, he feels all the lousy baseball the fans have had to
endure and high-ticket prices they've had to pay will be buried in the past with
this "landmark deal" as Loria has called it. Maybe he thinks the "cheapest man
in baseball" tag will be ripped off his back because of it.
Loria can make Stanton the face of the franchise, but with all that money tied up in
one player, the Marlins are going to have a lot of red-headed step brothers around him.
Remember when the Texas Rangers signed A-Rod to that absurd 10-year, $250 million
contract? They couldn't afford to build a team around him and subsequently finished
in last place every season the Steroid King played in Arlington. So, they dumped him
even though he was an MVP and the face of baseball.
Besides hamstringing the organization when it came to personnel moves, the Rangers
didn't see a dramatic increase in attendance or television ratings. It wasn't a fiscally
responsible deal, and that's being nice. It was just plain stupid.
The same can be said about the one the Marlins gave Stanton which is the
richest contract in U.S. sports history. Stanton who has 153 home runs in his
brief career, gets a nice bump in pay from the $587,000 salary he made in 2013
to $25 million until 2026. But why the heck were the Marlins in such a rush? Stanton
can't be a free-agent until after the 2016 season.
His season ended in 2013 after getting drilled in the face by a 90-mile-an-hour
fastball. Whose to say Stanton is over the beanball and the mental battles that
may come with it? He hasn't step in the batters box since that day in September.
Shouldn't the Marlins have waited to at least spring training to find out if he's
mentally ready to face 95-miler-an-hour heaters again?
And this isn't an NFL-type mega-deal contract that never approaches the pumped
up number that appears in headlines and SportsCenter. All those $100 million deals
in the NFL are not guaranteed. Do you really think the Cincinnati Bengals are
going to be paying anywhere near the $105 million Andy Dalton is supposed to get
in his contract? As soon as all the guaranteed money (about $40 million) is paid
out and his production tails off, the Bengals will say buh-bye and won't be paying
Dalton a nickel more than what he was guaranteed.
In baseball, every penny of contracts are fully guaranteed even if Stanton or any
other player suffers a career-ending injury. Man, it must be good to be 25-years old
and know that you have all that coin coming to you.
Loria said he hopes the contract gives the fans something to "rally around".
Seriously? When has any fan, even the celebrity-obsessed, get-a-life ones, ever
rallied around a team because they gave one player such an absurd contract?
It's never happened.
And in Miami, a city that's seen too many fire sales to count along with the
shadiness of Loria, this deal isn't exactly going to make them jump through hoops
and dish out big money for season tickets. Not happening. Not for one player.
Stanton is a powerful hitter and a class act on and off the field. But he is not
a mega-star like A-Rod was back then or Mike Trout is today. He's never mentioned
as the best player in the game and is well-back of Trout, Clayton Kershaw, and
even Bryce Harper when it comes to popularity and being "the face" of baseball.
He's not going to draw big crowds on the road or bring monster ratings, after all,
he does play for the Marlins.
After seeing these mega, long-term deals given to the likes of A-Rod, C.C.
Sabathia, Troy Tulowitzki, Mark Texiera, Carl Crawford, Alfonso Soriano,
and a few others, don't these owners learn a thing? Injuries, steroids, apathy,
and just plain bad production come into play and most of the players never
live up to the contract. The owners are paying for what the player did, instead
of what they can do in the future and it's ridiculous.
I know, it's not my money, but it's still ridiculous. This signing will just
throw the entire salary structure out of whack once again. Barry Bonds didn't
earn anything close to Stanton and he belted 73 years home runs one season.
Reverse those numbers and you have the most home runs that Stanton's ever hit
during a season in his career.
Man, you don't think Mike Trout is sitting somewhere with a huge smile
on his face? He's only 23, has already won an MVP and is the real face of
baseball. His $144 million contract is up in five years and you can bet, he'll
shatter the contract given to Stanton. Insanity.
Besides hamstringing the organization when it came to personnel moves, the Rangers
didn't see a dramatic increase in attendance or television ratings. It wasn't a fiscally
responsible deal, and that's being nice. It was just plain stupid.
The same can be said about the one the Marlins gave Stanton which is the
richest contract in U.S. sports history. Stanton who has 153 home runs in his
brief career, gets a nice bump in pay from the $587,000 salary he made in 2013
to $25 million until 2026. But why the heck were the Marlins in such a rush? Stanton
can't be a free-agent until after the 2016 season.
His season ended in 2013 after getting drilled in the face by a 90-mile-an-hour
fastball. Whose to say Stanton is over the beanball and the mental battles that
may come with it? He hasn't step in the batters box since that day in September.
Shouldn't the Marlins have waited to at least spring training to find out if he's
mentally ready to face 95-miler-an-hour heaters again?
And this isn't an NFL-type mega-deal contract that never approaches the pumped
up number that appears in headlines and SportsCenter. All those $100 million deals
in the NFL are not guaranteed. Do you really think the Cincinnati Bengals are
going to be paying anywhere near the $105 million Andy Dalton is supposed to get
in his contract? As soon as all the guaranteed money (about $40 million) is paid
out and his production tails off, the Bengals will say buh-bye and won't be paying
Dalton a nickel more than what he was guaranteed.
In baseball, every penny of contracts are fully guaranteed even if Stanton or any
other player suffers a career-ending injury. Man, it must be good to be 25-years old
and know that you have all that coin coming to you.
Loria said he hopes the contract gives the fans something to "rally around".
Seriously? When has any fan, even the celebrity-obsessed, get-a-life ones, ever
rallied around a team because they gave one player such an absurd contract?
It's never happened.
And in Miami, a city that's seen too many fire sales to count along with the
shadiness of Loria, this deal isn't exactly going to make them jump through hoops
and dish out big money for season tickets. Not happening. Not for one player.
Stanton is a powerful hitter and a class act on and off the field. But he is not
a mega-star like A-Rod was back then or Mike Trout is today. He's never mentioned
as the best player in the game and is well-back of Trout, Clayton Kershaw, and
even Bryce Harper when it comes to popularity and being "the face" of baseball.
He's not going to draw big crowds on the road or bring monster ratings, after all,
he does play for the Marlins.
After seeing these mega, long-term deals given to the likes of A-Rod, C.C.
Sabathia, Troy Tulowitzki, Mark Texiera, Carl Crawford, Alfonso Soriano,
and a few others, don't these owners learn a thing? Injuries, steroids, apathy,
and just plain bad production come into play and most of the players never
live up to the contract. The owners are paying for what the player did, instead
of what they can do in the future and it's ridiculous.
I know, it's not my money, but it's still ridiculous. This signing will just
throw the entire salary structure out of whack once again. Barry Bonds didn't
earn anything close to Stanton and he belted 73 years home runs one season.
Reverse those numbers and you have the most home runs that Stanton's ever hit
during a season in his career.
Man, you don't think Mike Trout is sitting somewhere with a huge smile
on his face? He's only 23, has already won an MVP and is the real face of
baseball. His $144 million contract is up in five years and you can bet, he'll
shatter the contract given to Stanton. Insanity.
0 comments:
Post a Comment