As a Giants fan, I’m disappointed he’s not going to SF, but that kind of money is obscene. And he had a .271 average last year. Keep that in mind.
These long deals always end up being an albatross, baseball is crazy.
Glad the Yanks passed on him.
A friend of mine I used to work with who was a sports writer says he thinks the Phils will come to regret it. I hope so. I was hoping the Giants would get him (reports say they wanted 12 years). I think any deal that long, though, wouldn’t be a good thing.
And I still hope the G’s keep Bumgarner though I’m not entirely confident they will.
Yeah, chances are that contract is going to look very bad towards the end of it.
Listening to discussion the analysis is that the Phillies are really banking on the 4th-8th year which should be a relative steal at 25/year considering contract growth; but yeah, years 9-13 are where it could easily go the other way if he declines.
Not for us to judge. It’s a business deal. But on a personal level, it does seem a little bat ■■■■ crazy. For some reason this country saves it’s harsh judgement for corporate CEO’s. Big Pharma and the like. We always give the greed of sports figures, Hollywood elite, Musicians and other entertainers who earn even more money, a free pass. We love to complain about the earning of the head of Johnson and Johnson, but for some reason George Clooney is off limits. Are times changing?
George Clooney is not the first person I think of in that regard. I think of sports teams owners as the ones really raking it in (some making that dough in publicly financed sports facilities). And there are those guys that own those big hotels, like this one I saw (but didn’t stay in) when we were in Vegas a couple of years ago.
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Because at the end of the day people know they themselves, as fans, are fundamentally paying those athletes/entertainers salaries themselves; corporations… not so much.
“…Sports figures, “Hollywood elite”, musicians and other entertainers who earn even more money are given a pass.”
Yes. Because they are paid for the money they bring in. They are the people WE want to see on the field, the screen or the stage. We are 100% aware that when we pay for our tickets to baseball games, concerts, movies, etc…that we are doing so for the purposes of being entertained, and that if we did not have the money to spare we would not be able to attend these events.
The CEO’s of companies like Johnson and Johnson, Merck, etc, are seen as far more predatory because the service and/or product they provide is NECESSARY for some people to live. If you’re charging children with peanut allergies hundreds of dollars for ONE DOSE of epinephrine, you’re probably pretty evil.
On top of that - all of the people you’re referring to - the athletes, musicians, actors, etc, are responsible for supporting dozens of other people. Agents, managers, assistants, etc…all rely on the dime of that one person. Merck’s CEO doesn’t pay the people who actually do the work at Merck, the scientists, the sales staff, etc…that’s all corporate money.
And yeah, when an athlete begins to underperform to the terms of their contract, they get criticized as “overpaid” or whatever you want to call them, but they only get paid through the end of their contract. You don’t hear about “golden parachutes” for athletes. You really don’t hear about them for musicians or actors, who are really just independent contractors.
Harper hit .249 last year but his career average is .279.
He also got on base 39.3% of the time, which is 36 points higer than every Giant. He also had 34 home runs and 130 walks last year, which was more than the top two Giants combined, and his 100 RBI were just 9 short of the top two Giants.
I figure it this way - he’s making $25M/year for 13 years. We’re probably getting, relatively speaking, $35M of production for the first 8 years. And sooner or later the NL will have the designated hitter so some of his reduction in value caused by bad defense will go away.
Put it this way - I’d rather have Harper for 13 years than the deal the Giants are going to give Bumgarner for the next 8 or so, just because long-term deals for Giants’ pitchers always go so well…
Billionaire businessmen are already targeted. Entertainers are usually let off the hook for their wealth.
Harper isn’t worth that much. Especially when he’s got a bad attitude sometimes,
and thinks that he’s above the officials calls.
Hadn’t heard about his attitude, but he’ll certainly feel some pressure this year because of that big salary. We’ll see how he reacts.
And speaking of a little pressure, look where else he’ll be seen (this comes out in about two weeks) … (Photo copyright Playstation 4.)
Have you never seen how rude and disrespectful Harper has been to an
official before? You must not watch that much baseball then. lol.
Actually I do, but not Harper.
Forget the attitude, a lot of players, past and present had bad attitudes.
What’s most telling is the number of strike outs.
I don’t watch Harper either. I was just happened to
see sports center, and they showed the rerun of what happened.
Him getting into fights at other times.
I mean, how old is he now? and he still acts like this?
