Sure, Carl Pavano has only pitched 100 innings in the last two years, making $1.175 million dollars per start. But while George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees may be perturbed, Pavano has revolutionized the game of baseball, financially. In 2005, the Yankees responsibly dealt with a four year championship drought by signing the “one-year wonder” Pavano, who along with a 4.21 ERA and 57-58 record, offered the opportunity for the Yankees to be the first franchise in any sport to have an annual payroll of over $200 million dollars (Or to some, 4/5 of Alex Rodriguez’s contract).
The signing fittingly followed the Yankees’ signing of Jaret Wright by only 3 days. Unlike Pavano, however, Wright managed to make 40 starts, raising his already high career ERA to 5.07 while only costing the Yankees $8 million a year.
Both pitchers were signed in lieu of Carlos Beltran, Roger Clemens, and Pedro Martinez. And subsequently, Pavano has been taken to arbitration and Wright has earned a trade to the division rival Baltimore Orioles, indicating just how little New York fears a Wright renaissance.
It appears that this off-season, the Yankees have become two-years wiser, as they have abstained thus far from dipping into an average free agent pool. The same, however, cannot be said for the rest of Major League Baseball. The class of 2006, while headlined by Alfonso Soriano and Jason Schmidt, is also filled with such commodities as Juan Pierre, Ted Lilly, Gary Matthews, Jr., and Gil Meche. While there will always be appropriate superstar signings, such as Soriano’s 8-year, $136 million dollar contract, the same cannot be said for the contracts of his peers.
Juan Pierre, who will make just under $9 million dollars next year for the Dodgers, has failed to score 100 runs in two years, averages less than 45 RBI’s a year, and his career .377 slugging percentage is almost lower than Batting Champion Joe Mauer’s batting average. While Pierre’s batting average is almost 25 points higher than the White Sox’ Scott Podsednik, virtually every other statistic is identical, except that Podsednik was only signed for $2.9 million this off-season.
Gary Matthews’ signing invokes a similar response, as this 32-year-old journeyman was signed for 5 years and $50 million for one good season capped by a great catch. In his eight years, he has amassed 78 home runs, 315 RBI’s, one All-Star team, and has played for seven everyday teams.
Then there are Ted Lilly and Gil Meche. A Chicago Cubs team desperate for a pitching arm signed Lilly. Unfortunately, the Tribune Company paid $10 million a year for a worn down arm with a career 4.60 ERA and whose best days are far behind him. Gil Meche, on the other hand, has been regarded as the potential sleeper in this year’s free-agent class. However, coming off an 11-8 year with a 4.48 ERA, it can only get better. Hence, the Kansas City Royals signed him for 5 years and $55 million, making him this year’s Carl Pavano, or even worse, Jaret Wright.
Now, there remains Barry Zito. Throughout his career, the lefty has been a legitimate star in Oakland, wining over 100 games, having a 3.55 ERA, owning a devastating curveball, and one Cy Young. However, to say Zito has been sporadic at times would be an understatement, as he has a 4.05 ERA over the last three years. Regardless, it seems as if desperate teams will take a chance and make him the next Alex Rodriguez, paying too much money and placing unrealistic goals upon one young, talented player.
Upon reflection, Major League Baseball, like all professional sports leagues, is producing its own runaway wage inflation. In addition to the above-mentioned players, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, while once great, are far from deserving of the more than $9 and $10 million per year, respectively. Teams are also gambling more than ever, as seen with the Red Sox’ payment of $51.1 million to Japan just to negotiate with star pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Finally, the loyalty of players has never been lower, as seen with superstars like Roger Clemens, who somehow manage to hold out on their teams for half the season and still make $22 million that same year. Considering the Astros only missed last year’s playoffs by 2 games, Clemens’ 15 missed starts would have been tremendously important. At the end of the day, baseball is a business where money dictates decisions. Unfortunately, this generation of baseball business is establishing itself as the most foolish generation to date. To be a professional athlete is still a phenomenal feat, but what price are we willing to pay for mediocrity?