It's common knowledge that Alex Rodriguez and his agent Scott Boras will be looking for a ten year contract worth $300 million or more. I decided to look at both sides of the argument to see if paying A-Rod that much money is Serious or Delirious. Let the debate begin!
Serious
- Over his career A-Rod's stats are arguably among the best of all time, and he doesn't appear to be slowing down. This past season he had his highest home run total (54) since 2002 and his highest RBI total ever(156). He also finished the season with an impressive .422 on base percentage which is .33 points higher than his career average. Those stats combined with higher than average speed and an ability to wear out pitchers easily make him baseball's best offensive player. Plug him into any line-up and it will improve drastically.
- Whoever the big spender is, they won't have to worry about A-Rod's durability. In the past seven season's he's only missed an average of five games a season. Since most of his salary would be guaranteed money, as long as he played to his highest capabilities, the team will get what they paid for.
- From a marketing stand point signing him could be huge. A-Rod would guarantee more ticket sales and higher television ratings for any team he plays for. If Major League Baseball was smart they would market him as 'The Face of Baseball'. Baseball hasn't had a 'Face of Baseball' since Ken Griffey Jr. left the Mariners. Having A-Rod as it's main man would generate lots of revenue for whatever team he signs with.
- There's a very good chance that A-Rod could break the all-time home run record. As one of my readers pointed out last week A-Rod has 517 career home runs at the age of 32, while Barry Bonds didn't hit his 500th until he was 36. If A-Rod breaks the record he won't do so under a shadow of steroid conspiracy, and his legacy and the team he did it for would forever be remembered.
Delirious
- As good as he is during the regular season, A-Rod has been just as bad during the playoffs. He's proved to be extremely inconsistent during the playoffs, and his numbers have been horrendous. So basically he's proved that he has what it takes to help a team reach the playoffs, but once their there, he's a write off. He still had plenty of time to make up for his lack of post season success, but for $300 million you'd think you'd be getting a proven, clutch playoff performer.
- When A-Rod signed with the Rangers seven seasons ago to become the richest baseball player ever, the Rangers became one of the worst teams in the league for several seasons. Having one superstar player on your roster won't make a huge difference in the win/loss column. Unless he signed with a team like the Red Sox and Mets, that team won't have a whole lot of left over money to maintain or go after other proven talent. Baseball isn't like basketball where one player can control the course of a game. A roster needs more than one good player, because he'll only have four at bats a game, then the rest is up to the other players on the team.
- A-Rod isn't necessarily the best liked player in baseball. Whether it's yelling at a third basemen try to catch a pop fly, his reputation for dividing a clubhouse, or for the many other reasons, there's no guarantee that fans in any city will like him. His arrogance and narcissist personality don't make him easy or fun to cheer for.
- If A-Rod's numbers start to go south, and they will with age then you're stuck paying him all that money. The last time A-Rod signed a huge 10 year contract like he's supposed to this winter, it blew up in the Texas Rangers face. They ended up trading him after only three seasons, and still needed to pay a huge chunk of his contract. Is the risk worth the reward?
Final Verdict: Delirious! There's no way you can justify paying this guy $300 million. Is A-Rod a great player? Yes, he's one of the best of all-time, but halfway through a ten year deal he'll be 37 and his best year will be behind him. Baseball's most clutch player David Ortiz made a little more than $13 million in 2007. Is A-Rod worth more than double than Big Papi? I don't think so. The team that signs A-Rod could very easily find themselves closer to the basement that to a Pennant Race. Add all this to the fact that he's known around the league as a playoff choker, and the dollars don't add up.
