1/30/06: How Much Is Not Winning Worth?
It is common for professional athletes to get labeled by many in our society of being greedy, spoiled and out of touch, but I am generally not one of those people who will make these accusations. After all, if you are one of the chosen few blessed to play a professional sport, your shelf life as a pro athlete is extremely limited (especially if you play in the NFL), so you better get your money while you can. Or should I say get what money you can after taxes and various fees to player unions, agents and publicists?
While I don’t fault athletes for earning their hefty paychecks, there are some things that remain a mystery to me. For example, I don’t understand how someone can leave a winning team and head to losing team for not that much more money. Nobody can fault a top rookie or second-year phenom for jumping ship if they are with a team that is offering $500,000 per year when a team in a larger market is willing to pony up $5 million per year for their services. However, if you are an established name and on a team that is contending for a championship, why move away from that franchise and be a little richer but much more miserable?
One example of this happening was when Bobby Bonilla left the Shittsburgh Pirates after the 1991 season and headed over to the New York Mets. After going to the playoffs for two consecutive years in Shittsburgh, Bonilla turned down a multi-million dollar contract (if memory serves, it was around $4-4.5 million/year) and went to the Mets for about $6 million per year. As a kid, I didn’t understand why Bonilla left the Pirates, who were still considered contenders at the time by many, to go to a Mets franchise that was struggling below .500. Now that I’m older, I can sympathize with him wanting to go to a larger market where there would be greater opportunitiesto make more money, but I still don’t agree with the move. If the Pirates had gone through a 100-game losing season, then I could understand him wanting to leave and go to team with a better chance of winning. But this wasn’t the case. Bonilla was already a millionaire, and unlike football, baseball contracts are guaranteed. So even if he sustained a career-ending injury during that next year’s spring training, Bonilla would still have earned enough money to live comfortably for several lifetimes.
The funny thing about this whole situation is that for 1992, Bonilla’s first year in New York, the Pirates won their division for the third straight year and was one only out away from reaching the World Series. The Mets meanwhile stayed near the bottom of the NL East. Although as a kid I enjoyed watching the Pirates win during that summer of ‘92, I enjoyed even more the articles I read about Bonilla and his miserable stay with the Mets where at one point he had to wear earplugs to drown out the boos from the New York crowds. Was that extra million or so worth hating your job? Only Bonilla can answer that question, but I know I would rather stay with a contending team and be cheered on by the hometown fans than be mercilessly booed in a new city. (Sadly, Bonilla would go on to win a Series ring with the Florida Marlins.)
While I am on this subject, another athlete whose actions I don’t understand is Kobe Bryant. It’s true he wasn’t best friends with former teammate Shaquille O’Neal, but they were civil enough to each other to win three NBA championships. However, winning wasn’t enough for Bryant, and as a result the Lakers traded O’Neal to the Miami Heat. Now Bryant is the main man for a mediocre Laker team.
Ever since Bryant got his wish, he has piled up great personal stats, including recently putting up 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. But aside from a scoring title or some other individual achievement, this is all the glory Bryant will see for the time being. I was watching last night’s game the Lakers had with the Pistons, who are the quintessential “team” in the NBA, and the Lakers got clobbered 102-93. During the game I saw a sign held by a fan that pretty much shows the difference between someone like Bryant and a team like Pistons. The sign read “Bryant: 37 points; Pistons: 37 wins.”
Enjoy these big games, Kobe, because the best your team can hope for is an early-round exit from the playoffs, if you are even lucky enough to get into the postseason.
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