Worst Contracts Ever

[Guest RyechnaiaSobaka]

His K/9 went down but his BB/9 got better. We're talking about shifts of 0.1 and 0.5, in any case. I don't have ERA+, but that is a pretty big drop-off. What was his ERA+ in 2004, if you have it handy?

 

baseball-reference.com is your friend.

 

In 2004, it was 101. That was the lowest of his career prior to this season.

 

Baseball-reference.com has ERA+? Interesting. I've never looked for it there. I like Baseball Prospectus' DT cards more.

 

Thanks.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Albert Belle got 5 years 65 million from the Orioles, played 2 years and retired. The Orioles had to leave him on the 40 man roster for the last 3 years and pay him the 3 years left on his contract from 2001-2003 so they could collect the insurance money on the contract, which handicapped them for those years salary wise and roster wise.

 

He did have a pretty decent run with the Os in 99 and 2000 was ok, but the fact that they had to leave him on the roster and pay him the last 3 years is why it was so bad. It works out to 32.5 million per year he actually played in Baltimore. And Peter Angelos shys away from anyone with even a short history of injuries or medical problems now because of it.

 

 

[alfdogg 0]

Also, doesn't saying "well, he was a really good player at the time the deal was made" as a defense sort of go against the point of this thread? I mean, when you say "in retrospect", that would mean it was something that seemed like a good idea at the time, but now isn't looking so hot, wouldn't it?

[Red Baron 0]

Jose Theodore

Rick DiPietro

Thomas Vanek

Alexi Yashin

Martin Gerber

 

Some of the recent bad signings in the NHL.

[Fartsauce 0]

Theodore and Gerber I would have to disagree with. While it does appear now that Theodore's best days are well over with, at the time he was dominating the NHL. Gerber has picked up his play considerably and has been better than Emery so far. The other 3 were absolutely horrible signings though.

[Zetterberg is God 0]

Jose Theodore

Rick DiPietro

Thomas Vanek

Alexi Yashin

Martin Gerber

 

Some of the recent bad signings in the NHL.

I'd add Dustin Penner to that list as well.

[Darthtiki 0]

You beat me to it

 

While still only a being a year in, could we possibly add Jason Schmidt to the list @ 3 yrs/47mil and only getting 6 games so far?

[Nightwing 0]

I'd put Bertuzzi up there. While it's not a huge contract, it's definitely 2 or even 3 million more than it should be for a guy who hasn't proven himself to be worth that much after his injuries and such. Add in the fact that he only has 7 points in 18 games, has been injured, and is one of the reasons the Ducks are having Cap problems... Yeah. He's not the worst, but he's a serious detriment to his team right now.

[Guest My Pal, the Tortoise]

The Ducks are such a shitpile of a team. You have the past-prime Niedermayers mucking up the joint, asshole Chris Pronger, Todd Bertuzzi a/k/a Canada's Greatest Monster, that Beauchemin bitch, and a bunch of people that nobody cares about, they wear the awe-inspiring combo of black and beige with "Anaheim Ducks" written on it, and then to top it all off, they play in a suburb. So much for The New NHL; it's the same as the Devils winning.

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

The Ducks are such a shitpile of a team. You have the past-prime Niedermayers mucking up the joint, asshole Chris Pronger, Todd Bertuzzi a/k/a Canada's Greatest Monster, that Beauchemin bitch, and a bunch of people that nobody cares about, they wear the awe-inspiring combo of black and beige with "Anaheim Ducks" written on it, and then to top it all off, they play in a suburb. So much for The New NHL; it's the same as the Devils winning.

 

My thoughts exactly on the Ducks. The funny thing is that nobody even showed up to the Honda Center until about more than halfway into the playoffs. They probably have the most wishy washy fanbase this side of the Rocky Mountains.

[Dandy 0]

Eric Milton was a flyball pitcher with a higher than average ERA when the Reds signed him to a 3 year, $25.5 Million deal. He went 8-15, 6.48 ERA and gave up 40 HR's his first year. Next year = 8-8, 5.20, 20. Last year = 0-4, 5.17, 4 HR in 6 starts. I seem to recall that his salary increased in each year the way it was set up. If anyone has relative salaries for the free agent pitchers the year he was signed, I'd appreciate it for comparison's sake. Final stats as a Red: 16-27, 5+ ERA, and 64 HR's in 66 starts.

 

I don't think it is necessarily the worst contract ever, but I don't know what the Reds were thinking when they paid that much for a pitcher that didn't have that big of an upside. It is easy to look back and say he didn't produce, but I don't know many people at all that thought he would produce in the first place.

[treble 0]

I think for a contract to be considered really bad, it has to be long-term. At least 5 years (maybe 4, depending on the money involved). A 3-year contract really shouldn't do a whole lot of damage to a team.

[Dandy 0]

I disagree. A one year contract can do damage to a team. I didn't set any parameters with the the thread, just bad contracts, and it being retrospect.

[RHR 0]

Ryan Leaf wants you to stay the fuck away from him. Do not mention his LARGEST (at the time) SIGNING BONUS EVER.

 

11 million? Shit...

[AntiLeaf33 0]

I still don't think Theodore should have gotten any type of contract that was longer then 2 years. The guy was always streaky. Hell, even during his MVP season he was only a game or 2 above .500. It was his high save percentage that won him the award

[Red Baron 0]

Sergei Samsonov last year was a waste of money.

[CanadianChris 0]

I can't believe I forgot this one, but 5 years, $45 million (at the time) for Bobby Holik was obscene.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Was Carl Pavano mentioned? 4 years, $39.95 million. He has made 19 starts in that time (17 in 2005, 0 in 2006, 2 in 2007, and what will be 0 in 2008). And somehow one of the clown's 2 starts was on opening day this past season.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Yashin was the first I thought of. Rick DiPietro was next. Edit: Can we count Mike Milbury? I know he wasn't behind the DiPietro signing, but he made some of the worst moves ever, in any sport, anywhere.

 

Completely unrelated trivia: I often call the aforementioned Isles goalie 'The Rock', as Baron and I had a high school teacher named Rocky DiPietro (yes, the former CFLer). A similar potential slip-up often comes around when AJ Burnett takes the mound, as a fellow student of ours named Kyle Burnett was nicknamed Gibbon.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Whatever Tony Mandrich got.

Good call, although I was going to say Jamal "Too Small" Reynolds was the worst contract in Packer history.

 

Worst contract ever given to a relatively decent player, at least in pro football, has to be to Kabeer Bjaja Biamila. For a third down pass rushing specialist, he makes more than most of the Packers' young defense. Absolutely useless against the run.

[MFer 0]

That 7-year, $49 million contract Matt Millen (surprise!) gave to Corey Redding last offseason ain't looking so hot right now. 29 total tackles, no sacks, no INT's, no forced fumbles, no fumble recoveries. But he does have one pass defended...

 

And don't get me started on Kalimba Edwards.