Baseball's mad new world

[rsmith6621]

NAPLES, Fla. – To neatly summarize baseball's new era: The Boston Red Sox are willing to pay $51.1 million merely for the right to negotiate with Scott Boras.

Such talks have, in the past, made fools of rich men, turned dark hair gray and sent systolic and diastolic pressures to unhealthy levels. And yet here are the Red Sox, coveting Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka enough that they might just be breaking a commandment, and steeling for discussions that, if successful, will end with them shelling out another $12.5 million or so a year to actually get the right-hander in uniform.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-matsuzaka111406&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


This is the reason I don't listen,watch or buy merchandise from pro sports teams......This is getting out of hand......50 million is equal to 3334 people making $15.000 a year for on year....

[hughee99]

1. Do you avoid movies, television, music, and books as well? n/t

[rsmith6621]

5. There Is A lot More.....

Cost that goes into producing a movie.....Negotiating a contract????.....small change....If this was a US college student he likely got into college on a scholarship even with a low C average........

[hughee99]

6. So it doesn't bother you at all

when an ACTOR gets 20-30 million for doing a movie.

I missed your whole point where you speculate on what the pitchers grades MIGHT be, and how it has ANY relevance here.

[rsmith6621]

7. the point

I missed your whole point where you speculate on what the pitchers grades MIGHT be, and how it has ANY relevance here.

There are a fair share of Pro players that would have been booted off of any other scholarships for low grade but because sports brings in $$$ for colleges they just let them slide...pretty much Pro players get a free ride at the expense of the taxpayers( Jr High,High School and College Sports) unlike an actor who has to in most cases live a substandard life until they make it if they do.....the College boy at least graduates with a degree.

[hughee99]

10. Still don't see it...

The Red Sox payed big $$$ for the right to negotiate with a pitcher. I don't know if he has a degree, and I don't think the Red Sox care if he does either. It sounds to me like what your saying, and I may have this wrong, is that actors "work" their way up (and deserve the money they get?), while American baseball players (which this guy isn't), get a free ride at the expense of the taxpayer (presumably at a state school only, which this guy didn't) and end up with a degree (which many top level college athletes do not). Speaking of pro baseball specifically, there is a large number already, and an increasing larger percentage of players who have NEVER been to an American College.

As far as I can see, this argument is about a situation COMPLETELY unrelated to this deal.

[Old and In the Way]

11. Guy must have a doctorate in the Sciences

of pitching....

I'm a die hard Sox fan...it saddens me to see this new era of pay-to-play with agents, though. Who's really getting rich here?

[rsmith6621]

13. One word....

NEVERMIND

I don't have enough time to spoon feed you...

[hughee99]

17. Good call,

Clearly if don't understand by how the state of US collegiate athletics relates since this guy ISN'T from the US, DIDN'T go to a us college here at all (let alone on a full scholarship) regardless of what sort of grades he would have gotten into college with, and whether or not he has a degree has ANYTHING AT ALL to do with the amount of money one franchise (Red Sox) paid to another franchise (Seibu Lions) to negotiate with a player, I'm never going to.

In the end, Daisuke Matsuzaka is expected to make somewhere around 12-13 million for 5 years, which isn't exactly outrageous in the current market.

It sounds very much like to me like someone is resentful about the way US colleges treat their athletes, and very upset that these "C Average" students can get a degree easier than non-athletes. That would be an argument I could certainly agree with, but the subject has absolutely NOTHING to do with it. Then of course, what do I know, I need everything spoon fed to me.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

15. unlike an actor...substandard life???

Have you ever been through the minor league baseball system? I thought not...don't talk about substandard life of anyone until you play baseball 255 days a year for little to no money and have to live with sponsor families because you cannot afford a place for yourself.

sP

[ComerPerro]

2. The Red Sox, especially lately, have been spending a ton of money

[Red Zelda]

3. Nuke the Red Sox

Then do it again

[ramapo]

4. I'm a former fan

I've completely lost interest in the game. I think it has been ruined by the absurd contracts.

This is beyond insane, it is sick. The concept of a team is long gone. Players are no more than hired mercenaries. Some retire with lavish gifts, only to change their mind a month later and sign with another team.

[Minnesota_Lib]

9. Same here. Today, many poorer teams are nothing more than...

...farm teams for the wealthy clubs. Gone are the days where you could follow players' careers through the minors and to the big club to form a nucleus to which you could grow attached, live and die with, and feel you know. Now they just stick long enough to prove their worth, and if they are good they sell themselves off to the highest bidder. Team line-ups change drastically each year. One year you are cheering for a young home-grown stud on your team and booing a foe on the hated rival team and then the next year, the roles are reversed.

I long ago lost reason to fanatically follow the game and the players as I once did. I don't totally fault the players. After all, it is they the fans turn out to see and not the owners and they deserve fair market value...but, jeeze, salaries have gone beyond market value and reflect the mercenary qualities of today's players, a win-at-all-costs philosophy of some owners and the opposing cut costs to maximize profits, fans be damned, philosophy of others, and the out-and-out greed of agents.

It is a mess and I don't know if it can be fixed (revenue sharing would be a good start but don't hold your breath).

Sad...it was such a great game.

[Ellis Wyatt]

14. don't you realize

That the only reason why you could follow a player throughout his entire career is because the team controlled the players and free agency did not exist? Even after it came in the 70s, there were still significant limitations of players' freedoms.

It was servitude. And the only people who made significant money were the big, evil, mean, greedy owners. I don't understand how you people are deriding this.

The sport where the athletes, those who actually create the value and make people want to watch, have the most power is baseball. Football is a sport where players stick around, dynasties can be created, and you can have Manning to Harrison for 15 years. But that's because the players have a lot less control over where they play, their contracts aren't guaranteed, can be cut on a whim, players who hate a team, can be forced to stay even after their contract runs out, by the team designating them a "franchise player".

The sport where the "working man" is most empowered is in Baseball. The "corporation" is empowered in all other of the four major sports.

Please explain the disconnect in your logic.

[Minnesota_Lib]

18. No you are right...I love sports again thanks to you.

I am sorry. Please forgive me in losing interest.

As I said, players deserve fair market value in return for their drawing power but the system has become permeated with pure greed from all parties involved and is losing life-long fans despite your best efforts to convince us that we should ignore it.

Maybe it is because the game is so different today (the constant roster changes with your favorite players moving to the Yankees or whoever after a few years with the home team) than when I was a major fan, but if that is the way it is then so be it.

I just don't have to watch it or care about it. Sorry if that is too "disconnected" for you.

[never cry wolf]

19. You are all over it

You have it nailed down. During the lockout everyone bemoaned the rich players for being greedy when it was the owners who locked them out and wanted more.

It does damage the game, IMHO, with the small market teams not being able to be consistently competitive but don't cry for the owners. They claim to be losing out but believe me, they are doing ok. I got a private tour of the United center in Chicago before it opened and learned a bit. The two teams, Bulls and Blackhawks, pay rent to the group that owns the building, said group also owns the teams. The concessions are run by a different group as is the parking, coincidently having the same group of owners (BTW: the liquor is provided by the Wirtz family's (Blackhawk owners) liquor distribution business where they made their fortune.) The security is handled by a different company who also does security at Sox Park, they put Andy Frain out of business. Yes, they too are owned by the same group of investors. Same thing with maintenance, janitorial, etc. All of these ancillary businesses make huge profits at the expense of the teams. So when the team opens their books and show red the owners claim the salaries are out of control is it not exactly the truth.

This all does not even take into account the equity, or value of the team itself, which constantly increases. The equity especially increases when the owners get municipalities to build them new stadiums and if they don't the teams bid themselves out to cities that want a team. The Bears value leapt by $3-400m when Soldier Field got renovated, even tho they don't own it.

If the owners truly wanted to fix the inequity between the large/small market competitiveness they could through a more reasonable revenue sharing. Split the gate evenly between home and visitor and throw in a factor for local TV and Radio coverage too. Minnesota visits the Yankees and gets 20% of the gate, none of the concessions or luxury suites and none of the $53m local radio/tv contract yet it takes both teams to stage the event. NL visiting teams get 46 CENTS per ticket. Splitting everything 50 home/50 visitors would still leave some teams richer than others but it would go a long way to making the industry healthier.

[ComerPerro]

23. consider Mark Grace

career Cub. But wasn't happy where he was in the late nineties. The management wasn't treating him well, he wasn't getting respect, yet he was consistantly turning out good numbers, both at bat and at first base.

So he decided not to take his options, and actually went to Arizona for less money than he made in Chicago.

Sometimes when players leave, its about respect. They don't want to stay in an organization that doesn't value them.

And don't forget that in your "good ole days", players couldn't up and leave, but teams could still trade them at will. And it happened alot.

One of the greatest players of all time, Babe Ruth, played for several teams during his long career.

[ermoore]

25. Mostly right.

For all people's fussing, you're right. Baseball is the one sport where the players have the most power and are the least helpless. The MLB Player's Association is what all labor unions wish they could be.

One small issue: Ruth really only played for the Red Sox for 4-5 seasons at the beginning of his career (when he was a pitcher) and then spent the rest of his career with the Yankees. He finished his career with one short (28 games) and mostly lousy (.181 Avg, .790 OPS) season with the Braves.

[ComerPerro]

26. forgot Baltimore was minor leage at the time

[Ellis Wyatt]

8. would you rather?

have the big old meany team owners just keep the money?

They are paying it out to players (or in this case international teams) rather than sitting on it themselves, like they did in the 50s-70s

And unless more people do what you do, and are no longer willing to spend $200 a game for seats, parking food, etc, then salaries like this will continue. Ballpark prices will continue to rise until they are out of touch with demand, which will result in continued exhorbitant salaries.

And this $51.1 million payment to the Lions will only occur if they sign Matsusaka to a contract, so this "$51.1 million just for the right TALK TO HIM is not accurate. And the Red Sox are the only ones who can sign him to a contract, so if they want, they can offer a 10 years at $5 million a year and if Matsusaka doesn't take it, he has to go back to Japan and make $3 million a year. Therefore, this $50M is a way for the Sox to guarantee that they can get Matsusaka to sign a below market contract (since he can only negotiate with them, and his BATNA is $3 million in Japan)

Secondly, about the payment, it doesn't count toward their luxury tax, and it's treated by them as an investment more than a payment, since their revenues, merchandising, and broadcast revenues will increase in Asia due to the fact they have Japan's best player.

[Old and In the Way]

12. Glad I read your post....

First I've seen about this pitch for Matsusaka.....this makes more sense. Still, I'm saddened by the changes I've seen over the years. I know it's Big Business, but the whole idea of hired seasonal pro's has changed the game forever. Gone are the days where a player will come up through the farms and play a career with one team. I'm happy that the players can command huge salaries, but there's a lot less fun in it for the fans. Look at the Red Sox's 04 team....it's almost completely broken up. I really couldn't name any player from last years team. I wasn't much interested as a result.

[Jcrowley]

16. shoe the children

with no shoes on their feet
feed the people
who don't have enough to eat
house the people
livin' on the street

It's just another obscenity in pathological and abusive culture. "Stars", Icons of all breeds and sizes get the goods that are if looked into actually part of the common wealth. Time for massive redistribution.

Now back to the coliseum.

Time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin'
into the future...

[ermoore]

24. Sure.

Yeah "massive redistribution" is the answer to everyone's problems and it'll do real wonders for all professional sports (well, maybe it would help the NHL)!!

[ermoore]

20. Not that ridiculous.

For 51 million dollars they get Matsuzaka (most likely, it's them or he stays in Japan another year) a top of the rotation starter and keep the Yankees (who could really use him) from landing him.
More importantly in justifying the cost they've now got an opening to the Japanese media market. Matsuzaka is incredibly popular in Japan and now all those Japanese are gonna want to watch Red Sox games and buy Red Sox merchandise.
It was a sensible investment.

[rinsd]

21. That $50M could turn into 100's of millions of dollars

You are talking about Japan's best player and Seattle made a mint with Ichiro Susuki.

"
This is the reason I don't listen,watch or buy merchandise from pro sports teams......This is getting out of hand......50 million is equal to 3334 people making $15.000 a year for on year...."

That's great for you. But there are millions of us who do.

[AngryAmish]

22. What if the bid was just a sham?

They have 30 days to negociate with Matsuzaka. If they cannot agree to a contract in the 30 days Matsusaka pitches in Japan next year and the Red Sox get their money back.

Maybe they are just trying to keep him from the Yankees.

Boycott baseball? No way. baseball makes me happy.