Bigger than the game? Hardly
11/14/2000
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Shortstop Alex Rodriguez is a great baseball player. It's just too bad he and his agent, Scott Boras, are about to lay the foundation for baseball's next lockout. A-Rod, a free agent, is obviously attracting much of the attention at baseball's winter meetings as teams with genuine World Series hopes gear up for their possible championship runs in 2001. The 25-year-old Rodriguez has nearly every GM drooling, even though most teams can't even dream of meeting his agent's ridiculous contract demands.
Reportedly, the going rate for the shortstop's services could reach $25 million a year, and Boras has stated he and his client are looking for a 12-year-deal. That's $300 million, folks, and that's ludicrous. But it gets even better. Rodriguez also wants the option to opt out of his contract if his soon-to-be team doesn't make the playoffs in successive seasons. Yep. I wonder if the team would in turn be able to nullify A-Rod's contract if he fails to lead them to the playoffs in successive seasons. After all, if he's making $25 million a year, couldn't the successes and/or failures of his franchise justly be placed upon his shoulders? Besides, if A-Rod's eating up that much of his team's available monetary resources, what kind of talent could he realistically expect the front office to be able to afford? Sure, making $25 million is great, but if your double-play partner is Felix Fermin because he's the only middle infielder the owner could pay, you're not going to be happy for long.
But aside from the length and dollar amount of the contract, Rodriguez would also like his own office in the home park to sell merchandise and run his businesses from. Oh, and a private jet. Anything else, oh Great One? Of course, this is all speculation as nobody will know for sure what Boras and A-Rod are really expecting until he puts his multi-million dollar signature on a dotted line somewhere, but at the same time you have to believe these reports aren't too far off. If they were grossly inaccurate, Rodriguez would have publicly disputed the reports by now, but he hasn't and neither has Boras nor the general managers who are currently talking to the shortstop.
So assuming the above is fairly accurate, what are Rodriguez and his agent thinking? Boras claims his client is the greatest free agent ever (quite possibly) and that, if executed correctly, any team with A-Rod on the roster has a marketable figure with the drawing power of Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. That's a stretch for a couple of reasons. First, Woods and Jordan didn't become the icons they are today until they did something prominent... more specifically, until they won. A lot. As in, all the time. Rodriguez hasn't won anything except one divisional crown and one wild card berth, and those came five years apart. Second, Woods and Jordan are/were such icons because they play sports that are either based on individual achievement (golf) or allow a player's individual talents to be showcased more notably (basketball). Tiger's the only one who controls his fate on the golf course; he doesn't have a teammate hitting his drives, another one chipping onto the green and another one putting. He does it all. With only four other teammates on the floor with him at once, Jordan could take over nearly ever facet of the game with his amazing ability. Rodriguez, while unquestionably talented, doesn't have that kind of influence on baseball. He plays shortstop and takes his hacks at the plate. He can't pitch his team to the Series and he can't get the big hit every time his team needs it because he only gets four or five at-bats a game. Baseball's just not geared toward the mega-star. It's geared toward the specialists - the relief pitcher, the utility infielder, the pinch runner, the leadoff hitter. Tiger and Jordan fill all those rolls in their sports, which is why they garner so much individual attention. Rodriguez doesn't. He's a spectacular defensive shortstop and an incredible power hitter, but he's not a Cy Young-caliber pitcher, and he sure as hell doesn't deserve $25 million over 12 years with all the other perks Boras claims he's worth.
But someone will give it to him, someone like the Yankees or the White Sox who have the resources to please Rodriguez. And then what? Free agent Manny Ramirez wants $200 million over 10 years and once Rodriguez is off the market, the teams that lost out on the A-Rod sweepstakes will open their wallets to Ramirez even though, with his base running and defensive skills, he's about as one-dimensional as an outfielder can be these days. Then Mike Mussina finds his $15 million a year from a pitching-starved team while Mike Hampton finds similar dollars somewhere else. Then, because there will still be several owners and GMs with money to burn and fans to please, a guy like Darren Driefort, a career 39-45 pitcher with a history of arm problems, will sign for $10 million a year, as will Ellis Burks, a 36-year-old outfielder with 85-year-old knees. The market obviously becomes inflated while average players continue to see an increase in pay, all of which leads to the inevitable: another work stoppage. Remember 1994? No playoffs, no World Series. Guys like Alex Rodriguez claim they love the game of baseball, but if their greed causes it to shut down and turns fans away, fans that already had to be coaxed back after the shortened 1994 season, then is that private jet and an extra couple million really worth it?
In the Bullz-Eye
The New Orleans Saints. After so many years of being quite possibly the worst franchise in NFL history, the Saints looked poised to see postseason play for the first time in over a decade, standing at 6-3 heading into their game last Sunday against the Panthers. But second-year running back Ricky Williams, the Saints' one consistent offensive weapon, fractured his ankle in the fourth quarter as he gained his 1,000th rushing yard on the year. Williams, the former Heisman winner, will miss the rest of the season, and with backups who mainly are untested young players and other teams' castoffs, the Saints' playoff hopes now could be fading fast.