MLB: Baseball’s Giving Season

By Noah Davis UsFANS.com Managing Editor

UsFANS President Frank Stadulis and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig went to Washington and both told a Congressional committee that baseball's economic system needs to be changed and will be changed.

Perhaps these were just signals of another acrimonious, industry-crushing work stoppage after the 2001 season.

In the meantime, however, player contracts have been skyrocketing, emphatically underscored by Alex Rodriguez’ mind-numbing new contract.

Many of Selig's constituents might continue to wink at ongoing disparities while providing the usual display of holiday generosity during the annual spending spree known as the winter meetings, beginning here today.

Of course, what some view as another apocalyptic pattern has already been set.

The New York Yankees established a scale for the younger and still available Mike Hampton by signing Mike Mussina for $88.5 million. Then Hampton turns around and is able to sign an eight-year, $123 million contract with the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies had already signed Denny Neagle for five years at a $10.3-million average, inflating the second-tier starter market for Andy Ashby, who got $22.5 million from the Dodgers; Rick Reed, who received $21.75 million from the New York Mets; and Darren Dreifort, who is now likely to receive the $50 million-plus he wants from either the Dodgers or Rockies.

The Dodgers, in turn, helped raise the relief bar by signing nomadic and injury-prone Mike Fetters for two years at $4.25 million, leading to the 1) Philadelphia Phillies giving journeymen Jose Mesa and Rheal Cormier $15.55 million, 2) the Mets retaining John Franco and Turk Wendell for $19.9 million, and 3) the Seattle Mariners signing Jeff Nelson for $10.5 million.

The Mariners also invested about $28 million in Japanese batting champion Ichiro Suzuki, and Ellis Burks took his troubled knees to Cleveland for $21 million.

Notice how I have barely mentioned the biggest contract ever in sports history – Alex Rodriguez’ reported 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers.

Rodriguez, arguably baseball's best player and a legitimate leader and marketing tool, wasn't about to settle for less - and received considerably more - than the record $17-million average that one-dimensional Carlos Delgado recently received in his $68-million extension with the Toronto Blue Jays, who started this recent spate of salary escalation.

The industry will now focus will begin to shift to a quality lineup of free-agent position players, including Charles Johnson, Juan Gonzalez, Alex Gonzalez, Jeffrey Hammonds, David Segui, Todd Hundley, Mike Bordick, Bret Boone, Mark Grace, Rico Brogna, and, of course, Manny Ramirez.

Ramirez, of course, is a one-dimensional hitting machine (like Delgado) who rejected a $17-million average in a $119-million offer to return to the Indians. He has since encountered an even smaller market than Rodriguez did and may have to reconsider Cleveland at less than originally offered, although he is being vigorously pursued by the Boston Red Sox, who have come up empty in their pitching pursuits. Ramirez could also be a fallback possibility for either the Mariners, having lost A-Rod.

People with no understanding of the market have raised the specter of collusion in response to the comparative lack of action on the position players, but that simply wasn’t the case. It looks like two things contributed to the stall: 1. Everyone needs pitching, which is at a premium, and; 2. Everyone wanted to see where A-Rod would go.

"More clubs need pitching and are willing to spend for pitching, and that's why it's the priority," Met General Manager Steve Phillips said.

"In our case, we ended the season with five free agents on a pennant winning staff. We've re-signed three [Reed, Franco and Wendell], but are still in that market."

A-Rod’s signing could end the free-agent logjam, which should end the lack of trades, especially now that the winter meetings have begun. "It's just when you sit down face to face with another general manager, things can happen more easily than when you're dealing by phone. We may see some trades, but my sense is that most clubs are thinking of trades as a fallback position if they can't fill their needs in free agency. I mean, clubs that can afford it would rather sign a player than trade for one because you only lose draft choices rather than possibly losing a core player in trade."

Some clubs, of course, won't bring a checkbook here. It goes back to what UsFANS President Frank Stadulis considers the loss of hope and faith for too many franchises. By the time the accounting is done at the winter meetings, there will probably be additional evidence to our desire to change the system and establish a more meaningful deterrent to the ongoing salary growth.

On the other hand, many fans, or at least Rangers fans, will be happy with what presents the holiday season brings.

Article courtesy of UsFANS.com