April 25, 2008
Family First
Paul Hagen notes many young players are signing long term deals to secure their fortunes:
As Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman put it: "Some guys prefer to secure at least their first fortune and put themselves in a position to go out and get even deeper in [owner Stuart Sternberg's] wallet."
That, apparently, is the way the Rangers players look at it. Kinsler said that he talked to Young at length before deciding to commit for $22 million over five seasons with just 2 years of big league service.
"A lot of people think Mike took a club-friendly deal [$10 million for 4 years, which he then parlayed into a 5-year, $80 million extension]," he noted this spring. "But the important thing was to make sure he had taken care of his family first and that he could concentrate on just playing baseball. Hopefully this illustrates ... that it's not about dollars."
Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has been a notable exception to this way of thinking, of course. That doesn't make him wrong. Just that his approach is a little different than a lot of younger players these days.
I'd also argue that Howard isn't really that young. He's well into his peak years at seasonal age 28, because the Phillies kept him in the minors a long time. So unlike a lot of these youngsters signing long term deals, Ryan would be beyond peak at the end of a contract. If you sign a long term deal and hit the free agent market at 28, you're going to get a huge payday. If you hit it at 33, there's a good chance you won't do as well. Ryan's best bet for big money right now is arbitration, and that's the route he's taking.
Posted by David Pinto at
08:48 AM
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