The Sports Beat
By Andrew Seymour
Money, money, money. It’s free agent time in baseball, where players aren’t competing for the highest batting average or the most home runs, but for the highest salary in the league.
The spending spree started early this fall, when New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza scribbled his name on a contract giving him $91 million over seven years, making him the new highest paid player.
Put Piazza’s contract in perspective: imagine being paid $35,714 every day for the next seven years.
The stupidity will only continue with a list of free agents including batting champ Bernie Williams of the New York Yankees, San Diego ace pitcher Kevin Brown, fireball pitcher Randy Johnson of Houston and Boston first baseman Mo Vaughn.
Gone are the days of loyalty to a team or city, of playing for the sheer love of the game.
Players like George Brett and Kirby Puckett retired long ago, and others, like Cal Ripken, Jr., are dinosaurs inching closer to retirement with every passing game. Baseball was about the game for these players, not the money.
This free agent season marks another sad chapter in a sports era where the only thing that matters is money.
Today’s player is like Albert Belle of the Chicago White Sox. Despite already earning $11 million a season, he opted for free agency after his team balked at the idea of paying him another $4.25 million for the remainder of his contract. Belle wants a salary that ranks within the top three in the league. Of course, Belle says he likes Chicago and wants to stay, but apparently only if they’re willing to pay.
It’s not just the players who are guilty in this free agent lunacy. They wouldn’t ask if owners weren’t willing to give. When will baseball realize sky-rocketing salaries can’t go on any longer?
The insane salary system is crushing small market teams into oblivion. In 1994, the Montreal Expos were a World Series contender. Four years later, they have the lowest payroll and the youngest team in baseball. They had the talent, but lacked the money. Now their $9.2 million annual team payroll is nearly $4 million less than the average amount the Mets will pay Piazza each season.
It’s true baseball players are elite athletes. But that doesn’t justify the outrageous amounts of money they ask for and receive.
Baseball’s not just a game anymore, it’s big business.