Baseball players are the most overpaid athletes in professional sports.
Last year, Alex Rodriguez made more than $266,000 every time his name was scribbled onto the lineup card. Kind of makes you sick to your stomach doesn’t it?
It’s unfortunate the majority of ballplayers don’t play for the love of the game anymore. Former Red Sox pitcher Lefty Grove said it best when he told owner Tom Yankey, "Give me a blank contract. I'll sign it and you fill in the figures."
There is a clubhouse full of players who are earning paychecks their bats can’t cash these days, here are just a few.
Milton Bradley
Perhaps the Cubs thought they were buying shares of the popular children’s board game company when they offered this mercurial outfielder a three-year, $30 million contract in 2009.
But Chicago pawned off Bradley on the Mariners ($10.3 million in 2010, $13.3 million in 2011) and now the Emerald City will have to deal with him flipping off fans and threatening the media.
If Bradley could ever stay out of the discerning public eye and off the disabled list he might do alright for himself, but Milt is a meltdown waiting to happen and has played only one full season in his career.
Alfonso Soriano
How much can you get paid for occasionally lifting a ball over the ivy walls at Wrigley and misplaying about five fly balls per week? About $20 million per season if your name is Alfonso Soriano.
Sweet Lou has done about all he can to get Soriano going. The Cubs are praying he can improve upon the 20 HR, 55 RBI, .241 season he struggled through last year because the club is paying him $19 million per through 2014.
While his physique doesn’t fit the bill, Alfonso’s numbers suggest he might have been a product of the steroid era.
David Ortiz
Big Papi has turned into Big Poopi. Ortiz is hitting well below the Mendoza Line in 2010 and this season is beginning to look a lot like last year.
Terry Francona pinch-hit for his $13 million slugger last week, a move that Ortiz called “embarrassing.” What’s more embarrassing is striking out nearly four times every 10 at-bats.
Despite being a fan favorite in Beantown, expect the Red Sox to discard of this dead weight and not pick up the club option for 2011.
Gary Matthews Jr.
The Mets already have enough players who aren’t pulling their weight (Carlos Beltran - $20 million, Oliver Perez - $12 million) but this guy tops them all.
The Angels dumped Matthews faster than they could sign him to that head-scratching, five-year, $50 million deal but for some reason New York thought this overpriced outfielder could contribute.
Matthews Jr. might be worth a bag of batting practice balls and a box of cracker jacks but definitely not the $11.9 million he’s on the book for this season and the $12.4 million he’s owed in 2011.
Eric Chavez
This former All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner is robbing Oakland blind – shame on you Billy Beane.
When the lauded GM signed Chavez to a six-year $66 million contract, it looked like a good long-term move for the Athletics. But the former three-bagger has played a total of 31 games the past two seasons and hit .219 over the last five years.
This season, when Chavez isn’t in his designated hitter role making $12.5 million, he’s moonlighting as Inigo Montoya. “Hello. My name is Eric Chavez. You killed my batting average. Prepare to die.”
Gil Meche
Meche might have suffered the same fate as the poverty-stricken Gil from The Simpsons had he not bamboozled the Royals into paying him $55 million for five years of “service”.
The right-handed pitcher is pulling in $12.4 million this season and will earn the same in 2011. Meche has registered only one winning season (14-11) since getting paid and missed the majority of last year with an injury. Meche was roughed up for five, seven and four earned runs in his first three starts of 2010.
Todd Helton
Hold onto your seat because this washed-up veteran is making a cool $17.8 million in 2010. Helton is the oldest player in the Top 25 salary tier and will still be making more than $10 million at the ripe age of 37 next year.
This fossil was playing for the Rockies back when Larry Walker and Dante Bichette were still banging balls around Coors Field.
Helton is a guy that will always produce a respectable average, but failing to reach the 100-RBI mark and not hitting more than 17 home runs during the last four seasons doesn’t produce a resume that commands one of the largest contracts in baseball.
One thing in Helton's favor - he looks exactly like old-school version of WWE wrestler Bradshaw. He probably executes the closeline from hell just as flawlessly, too.
Carlos Silva
Sly Silva began his career in the bullpen and was never higher than the No. 3 starter during his days with Minnesota and Seattle. But the Cubs weren’t frightened to take on the four-year, $48 million contract Silva suckered the Mariners into.
Silva has been decent for the Cubbies this season, but is the No. 4 guy in your rotation really deserving of $12.75 million this year and next? In the five seasons Silva started at least 25 games, the righty compiled a 51-60 record with a 4.85 ERA.
Kosuke Fukudome
At least Cubs fans have gotten some good jokes out of the big bucks they paid for this Japanese bust. Since defecting to America for a more prosperous baseball career two years ago, Fukudome has hit 21 home runs and 112 RBIs with a .258 batting average.
Fukudome can buy plenty of Sushi in Chi-Town with his $14 million salary this season and the $14.5 million he’ll be paid next year. Maybe the Cubs’ brass thought they were paying $48 million in yen when they signed him to his four-year deal.
Aaron Rowand
When this guy is on the field, he’s going to go all out every play, but Rowand is a far cry from the premier player he once was in Chicago and Philadelphia.
The Giants are paying Rowand a ridiculous $13.6 million for the next three seasons. In two years as the leadoff hitter in San Francisco, Rowand has hit 13 and 15 long balls while failing to eclipse the 70-RBI barrier. Granted, the Giants aren’t the most potent offense in the bigs but they also expected better than a .266 batting average from their leadoff hitter.
Travis Hafner
Whoever decided to give this ogre a four-year, $57 million contract should be taken out back and shot.
Hafner has played fewer than 100 games in each of the last two years and combined for a .235 batting average in those seasons.
Hafner is hitting for about the same average this season while raping the Indians for $11.5 million. He stands to make $13 million in 2011 and 2012. And all you get out of this guy is four at-bats a night because a manager would be wiser to put the batboy on the field for defense rather than Hafner.
Last year, Alex Rodriguez made more than $266,000 every time his name was scribbled onto the lineup card. Kind of makes you sick to your stomach doesn’t it?
It’s unfortunate the majority of ballplayers don’t play for the love of the game anymore. Former Red Sox pitcher Lefty Grove said it best when he told owner Tom Yankey, "Give me a blank contract. I'll sign it and you fill in the figures."
There is a clubhouse full of players who are earning paychecks their bats can’t cash these days, here are just a few.
Milton Bradley
Perhaps the Cubs thought they were buying shares of the popular children’s board game company when they offered this mercurial outfielder a three-year, $30 million contract in 2009.But Chicago pawned off Bradley on the Mariners ($10.3 million in 2010, $13.3 million in 2011) and now the Emerald City will have to deal with him flipping off fans and threatening the media.
If Bradley could ever stay out of the discerning public eye and off the disabled list he might do alright for himself, but Milt is a meltdown waiting to happen and has played only one full season in his career.
Alfonso Soriano
How much can you get paid for occasionally lifting a ball over the ivy walls at Wrigley and misplaying about five fly balls per week? About $20 million per season if your name is Alfonso Soriano.Sweet Lou has done about all he can to get Soriano going. The Cubs are praying he can improve upon the 20 HR, 55 RBI, .241 season he struggled through last year because the club is paying him $19 million per through 2014.
While his physique doesn’t fit the bill, Alfonso’s numbers suggest he might have been a product of the steroid era.
David Ortiz
Big Papi has turned into Big Poopi. Ortiz is hitting well below the Mendoza Line in 2010 and this season is beginning to look a lot like last year.Terry Francona pinch-hit for his $13 million slugger last week, a move that Ortiz called “embarrassing.” What’s more embarrassing is striking out nearly four times every 10 at-bats.
Despite being a fan favorite in Beantown, expect the Red Sox to discard of this dead weight and not pick up the club option for 2011.
Gary Matthews Jr.
The Mets already have enough players who aren’t pulling their weight (Carlos Beltran - $20 million, Oliver Perez - $12 million) but this guy tops them all. The Angels dumped Matthews faster than they could sign him to that head-scratching, five-year, $50 million deal but for some reason New York thought this overpriced outfielder could contribute.
Matthews Jr. might be worth a bag of batting practice balls and a box of cracker jacks but definitely not the $11.9 million he’s on the book for this season and the $12.4 million he’s owed in 2011.
Eric Chavez
This former All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner is robbing Oakland blind – shame on you Billy Beane.When the lauded GM signed Chavez to a six-year $66 million contract, it looked like a good long-term move for the Athletics. But the former three-bagger has played a total of 31 games the past two seasons and hit .219 over the last five years.
This season, when Chavez isn’t in his designated hitter role making $12.5 million, he’s moonlighting as Inigo Montoya. “Hello. My name is Eric Chavez. You killed my batting average. Prepare to die.”
Gil Meche
Meche might have suffered the same fate as the poverty-stricken Gil from The Simpsons had he not bamboozled the Royals into paying him $55 million for five years of “service”.The right-handed pitcher is pulling in $12.4 million this season and will earn the same in 2011. Meche has registered only one winning season (14-11) since getting paid and missed the majority of last year with an injury. Meche was roughed up for five, seven and four earned runs in his first three starts of 2010.
Todd Helton
Hold onto your seat because this washed-up veteran is making a cool $17.8 million in 2010. Helton is the oldest player in the Top 25 salary tier and will still be making more than $10 million at the ripe age of 37 next year.This fossil was playing for the Rockies back when Larry Walker and Dante Bichette were still banging balls around Coors Field.
Helton is a guy that will always produce a respectable average, but failing to reach the 100-RBI mark and not hitting more than 17 home runs during the last four seasons doesn’t produce a resume that commands one of the largest contracts in baseball.
One thing in Helton's favor - he looks exactly like old-school version of WWE wrestler Bradshaw. He probably executes the closeline from hell just as flawlessly, too.
Carlos Silva
Sly Silva began his career in the bullpen and was never higher than the No. 3 starter during his days with Minnesota and Seattle. But the Cubs weren’t frightened to take on the four-year, $48 million contract Silva suckered the Mariners into.Silva has been decent for the Cubbies this season, but is the No. 4 guy in your rotation really deserving of $12.75 million this year and next? In the five seasons Silva started at least 25 games, the righty compiled a 51-60 record with a 4.85 ERA.
Kosuke Fukudome
At least Cubs fans have gotten some good jokes out of the big bucks they paid for this Japanese bust. Since defecting to America for a more prosperous baseball career two years ago, Fukudome has hit 21 home runs and 112 RBIs with a .258 batting average.Fukudome can buy plenty of Sushi in Chi-Town with his $14 million salary this season and the $14.5 million he’ll be paid next year. Maybe the Cubs’ brass thought they were paying $48 million in yen when they signed him to his four-year deal.
Aaron Rowand
When this guy is on the field, he’s going to go all out every play, but Rowand is a far cry from the premier player he once was in Chicago and Philadelphia.The Giants are paying Rowand a ridiculous $13.6 million for the next three seasons. In two years as the leadoff hitter in San Francisco, Rowand has hit 13 and 15 long balls while failing to eclipse the 70-RBI barrier. Granted, the Giants aren’t the most potent offense in the bigs but they also expected better than a .266 batting average from their leadoff hitter.
Travis Hafner
Whoever decided to give this ogre a four-year, $57 million contract should be taken out back and shot. Hafner has played fewer than 100 games in each of the last two years and combined for a .235 batting average in those seasons.
Hafner is hitting for about the same average this season while raping the Indians for $11.5 million. He stands to make $13 million in 2011 and 2012. And all you get out of this guy is four at-bats a night because a manager would be wiser to put the batboy on the field for defense rather than Hafner.
