Chief Rum
01-09-2005, 08:30 PM
I thought this would be good for a fun discussion.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/pete_mcentegart/01/07/ten.spot/index.html
The 10 Spot
By Pete McEntegart
Center fielder Carlos Beltran is the jewel of this season's free-agent crop, and his agent Scott Boras is demanding a minimum offer of $112 million over seven years. So far the Mets seem to be the most ardent suitor. Beltran, 27, hit 38 homers and stole 42 bases a year ago before tearing up the postseason and seems like a sure thing. Of course, things don't always work out that way. Here are the 10 free-agent signings that went the most wrong:
1. Bobby Bonilla, Mets, 1992 -- When the Mets made the Bronx native the highest-paid player in the game with a five-year, $29 million contract, he told reporters that they'd never wipe the smile off his face. Before long, he was threatening to show the same scribes what "the Bronx" really meant, and he wasn't talking about swanky Riverdale. He hit .249 his first year while averaging a decent 26 homers and 79 RBIs in 3-½ seasons, but the Mets imploded and an increasingly chunky Bonilla was a target for the boo birds.
2. Mark Davis, Royals, 1990 -- Davis won the NL Cy Young for the Padres in 1989 with 44 saves and a 1.85 ERA. The Royals tossed him $9.4 million over three years, but Davis couldn't handle the pressure of a big contract. He saved just seven games over the course of the contract while Jeff Montgomery took over the closer role. The scuttlebutt was that Davis had a fragile ego that needed constant reassurance, which is not a trait one wants in a big-money signee.
3. Wayne Garland, Indians, 1977 -- Back in the heady early days of free agency, the Tribe waved a 10-year, $2.3 million deal in front of Garland, who was coming off a 20-7 season for the Orioles. In five years in Cleveland, Garland proved as valuable as tinsel on Dec. 26. He never had a winning season and compiled a 28-48 record.
4. Bruce Sutter, Braves, 1985 -- Ted Turner angered his fellow owners by signing the man who was then the game's top closer to a six-year, $10 million deal to pitch on TBS. In fact, Turner received an official censure from the other owners and helped inspire the owners' harebrained collusion scheme to limit free-agent signings, a decision that later cost them hundreds of millions in court. The Braves were taken to the cleaners as well, as an injury-plagued Sutter saved an average of 13.3 games in three seasons with ERAs of 4.48, 4.34 and 4.76.
5. Mo Vaughn, Angels, 1999 -- Anaheim made the Red Sox slugger the game's top-paid player with a six-year, $80 million deal. Vaughn sprained his ankle in the season opener and missed most of April, an unfortunate harbinger of his Angels stint. He hit a combined 69 homers his first two years but missed all of 2001 with a ruptured left biceps tendon before being shipped off to the luckless Mets. His career ended in 2003, but not his stream of mammoth paychecks. To add insult to injury, Disney CEO Michael Eisner testified in open court last month that his two worst personnel decisions were hiring Mike Ovitz and Vaughn.
6. Andy Messersmith, Braves, 1976 -- In the dawn of free agency, Turner offered Messersmith a then princely $1 million over three seasons. That seemed plausible considering that the pitcher had won 39 games during the previous two seasons and had never compiled an ERA above 3.01. It seemed less plausible when Messersmith won 16 games over the course of the contract.
7. Oscar Gamble, Padres, 1978 -- The man with the giant 'fro clubbed 31 homers for the White Sox in 1977 and cashed in with a six-year deal worth $2.85 million, not far from what the Yanks were paying Reggie Jackson (five years, $3.5 million). As it turns out, the Padres essentially bought a dotcom stock at its peak. The bubble burst quickly as Gamble hit seven homers and drove in 47 runs in '78 before he and his hair were shipped to Texas.
8. Eddie Lee Whitson, Yankees, 1985 -- Boss Steinbrenner handed Whitson $4.5 million over five years, but the country boy from Johnson City, Tenn., did not take to the big-city lights. He went 15-10 in 1-½ seasons for the Yanks, making his most notable impact by breaking the arm of manager Billy Martin with a karate kick in a Baltimore hotel on Sept. 22, 1985. Eventually the team tried to pitch Whitson only on the road to protect him from hostile home fans. Whitson later described his New York stint as a "living hell," matching the sentiment of Yanks fans.
9. Mike Hampton, Rockies, 2001 -- After helping lead the Mets to the World Series in 2000, Hampton signed an eight-year, $121 million deal with Colorado in part, he said, because he liked Denver's school system. Instead, Hampton received a costly lesson in how high altitude flattens a curveball. He went 21-28 in two seasons with ERAs of 5.41 and 6.15. On the bright side, the current Brave did hit 10 home runs.
10. Danny Tartabull, Yankees, 1992 -- Soon after the Mets signed Bonilla, Steinbrenner recaptured the back pages of the Gotham tabloids by making Tartabull the second-highest-paid player with a five-year, $22.5 million deal. Tartabull hit 81 homers in 3-½ seasons while never hitting higher than .266, though he did display excellent manners by eating a donut with a fork and knife on Seinfeld.
Honorable mention: Albert Belle, Orioles; Darryl Strawberry, Dodgers; Jaime Navarro, Brewers; Dave Collins, Yanks; Denny Neagle, Rockies
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/pete_mcentegart/01/07/ten.spot/index.html
The 10 Spot
By Pete McEntegart
Center fielder Carlos Beltran is the jewel of this season's free-agent crop, and his agent Scott Boras is demanding a minimum offer of $112 million over seven years. So far the Mets seem to be the most ardent suitor. Beltran, 27, hit 38 homers and stole 42 bases a year ago before tearing up the postseason and seems like a sure thing. Of course, things don't always work out that way. Here are the 10 free-agent signings that went the most wrong:
1. Bobby Bonilla, Mets, 1992 -- When the Mets made the Bronx native the highest-paid player in the game with a five-year, $29 million contract, he told reporters that they'd never wipe the smile off his face. Before long, he was threatening to show the same scribes what "the Bronx" really meant, and he wasn't talking about swanky Riverdale. He hit .249 his first year while averaging a decent 26 homers and 79 RBIs in 3-½ seasons, but the Mets imploded and an increasingly chunky Bonilla was a target for the boo birds.
2. Mark Davis, Royals, 1990 -- Davis won the NL Cy Young for the Padres in 1989 with 44 saves and a 1.85 ERA. The Royals tossed him $9.4 million over three years, but Davis couldn't handle the pressure of a big contract. He saved just seven games over the course of the contract while Jeff Montgomery took over the closer role. The scuttlebutt was that Davis had a fragile ego that needed constant reassurance, which is not a trait one wants in a big-money signee.
3. Wayne Garland, Indians, 1977 -- Back in the heady early days of free agency, the Tribe waved a 10-year, $2.3 million deal in front of Garland, who was coming off a 20-7 season for the Orioles. In five years in Cleveland, Garland proved as valuable as tinsel on Dec. 26. He never had a winning season and compiled a 28-48 record.
4. Bruce Sutter, Braves, 1985 -- Ted Turner angered his fellow owners by signing the man who was then the game's top closer to a six-year, $10 million deal to pitch on TBS. In fact, Turner received an official censure from the other owners and helped inspire the owners' harebrained collusion scheme to limit free-agent signings, a decision that later cost them hundreds of millions in court. The Braves were taken to the cleaners as well, as an injury-plagued Sutter saved an average of 13.3 games in three seasons with ERAs of 4.48, 4.34 and 4.76.
5. Mo Vaughn, Angels, 1999 -- Anaheim made the Red Sox slugger the game's top-paid player with a six-year, $80 million deal. Vaughn sprained his ankle in the season opener and missed most of April, an unfortunate harbinger of his Angels stint. He hit a combined 69 homers his first two years but missed all of 2001 with a ruptured left biceps tendon before being shipped off to the luckless Mets. His career ended in 2003, but not his stream of mammoth paychecks. To add insult to injury, Disney CEO Michael Eisner testified in open court last month that his two worst personnel decisions were hiring Mike Ovitz and Vaughn.
6. Andy Messersmith, Braves, 1976 -- In the dawn of free agency, Turner offered Messersmith a then princely $1 million over three seasons. That seemed plausible considering that the pitcher had won 39 games during the previous two seasons and had never compiled an ERA above 3.01. It seemed less plausible when Messersmith won 16 games over the course of the contract.
7. Oscar Gamble, Padres, 1978 -- The man with the giant 'fro clubbed 31 homers for the White Sox in 1977 and cashed in with a six-year deal worth $2.85 million, not far from what the Yanks were paying Reggie Jackson (five years, $3.5 million). As it turns out, the Padres essentially bought a dotcom stock at its peak. The bubble burst quickly as Gamble hit seven homers and drove in 47 runs in '78 before he and his hair were shipped to Texas.
8. Eddie Lee Whitson, Yankees, 1985 -- Boss Steinbrenner handed Whitson $4.5 million over five years, but the country boy from Johnson City, Tenn., did not take to the big-city lights. He went 15-10 in 1-½ seasons for the Yanks, making his most notable impact by breaking the arm of manager Billy Martin with a karate kick in a Baltimore hotel on Sept. 22, 1985. Eventually the team tried to pitch Whitson only on the road to protect him from hostile home fans. Whitson later described his New York stint as a "living hell," matching the sentiment of Yanks fans.
9. Mike Hampton, Rockies, 2001 -- After helping lead the Mets to the World Series in 2000, Hampton signed an eight-year, $121 million deal with Colorado in part, he said, because he liked Denver's school system. Instead, Hampton received a costly lesson in how high altitude flattens a curveball. He went 21-28 in two seasons with ERAs of 5.41 and 6.15. On the bright side, the current Brave did hit 10 home runs.
10. Danny Tartabull, Yankees, 1992 -- Soon after the Mets signed Bonilla, Steinbrenner recaptured the back pages of the Gotham tabloids by making Tartabull the second-highest-paid player with a five-year, $22.5 million deal. Tartabull hit 81 homers in 3-½ seasons while never hitting higher than .266, though he did display excellent manners by eating a donut with a fork and knife on Seinfeld.
Honorable mention: Albert Belle, Orioles; Darryl Strawberry, Dodgers; Jaime Navarro, Brewers; Dave Collins, Yanks; Denny Neagle, Rockies