Alex Rodriguez is the best player in baseball. He deserves to be paid as such. But the best player in baseball does not deserve to be paid $350 million. When Babe Ruth had baseball's highest salary at $80,000 in 1930, he was paid $5,000 more than President Hoover. Well, Alex Rodriguez is asking for $34.6 million more per year than the President--something seems a bit off.
In the years between Ruth and A-Rod, baseball has prospered in unimaginable ways. Of course, salary comparisons between the two eras are ridiculously unnecessary, but this is, after all, a slightly ridiculous debate. Markets determine salaries, so he's free to get paid whatever some overzealous owner wants to pay him. If that's $350 million over 10 years, so be it. Still, I'm happy the Yankees aren't going to get suckered into a bidding war this time. Don't get me wrong, I wish Alex were coming back to New York. I do--just not at that price.
You could do a lot with $350 million, and I'm not just thinking of 27 million cases of Keystone. No, with that much money, you could assemble a championship-caliber line-up. Baseball, more than most sports, cannot be won on the back of one player. It's a team game in the truest sense of the word. Need proof?
Just look at all the great players who could never deliver a title to their teams. Ted Williams and Ty Cobb. Ernie Banks and Don Mattingly. Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. And yes, Alex Rodriguez. Scott Boras may try to argue that Alex Rodriguez is worth more to potential suitors than the mere chance to compete for a title. He would have you believe that A-Rod will boost your revenue by so much that the contract will ultimately pay for itself. Well, that's an interesting idea, but I don't buy it. And more than that, it still doesn't mean it's a good baseball decision.
With that kind of money, you could assemble a team that would compete for a title for years to come. More importantly, you could spread that money between multiple players, ensuring that your team's hopes don't fade if Alex goes down. He might be the best player in the league, possibly even the greatest player of all time, but he's also 32 years old. Who knows what might become of his body in the next 10 years. And if something did happen to him, it could leave a franchise in ruins. Even if Boras is right, even if the contract could pay for itself, this sure doesn't seem like a smart business decision. Your risk is simply too high when you invest too heavily in a single asset.
Just for fun, let's suppose you do have the risk appetite to stomach this contract -- here's why you still shouldn't do it. Alex Rodriguez, as great a player as he is, lacks a true love of the game. Everything seems so forced with him. Consider a similar athlete in a different sport: Kobe Bryant. Both receive relatively similar criticisms, but even when Kobe is playing for a team he clearly no longer wants anything to do with, he still plays with an intensity of which A-Rod could only dream. After all, Alex is a businessman, first and foremost. He had a chance to seize the greatest stage in sports, for the greatest franchise in history, in the greatest city in the world, on the greatest planet in the solar system, and he refused to even take a meeting unless the Yankees came to the table with $350 million? The Yankees were right to part ways with him. And to his next team, enjoy the chance to watch one of the greatest players ever. Just don't complain that you're getting a raw deal.
