Posted on 03/01/2019 12:56:05 PM PST by Rummyfan
1956 was my first season as a baseball fan. That year Mickey Mantle had one of the best seasons ever by a hitter. He won the Triple Crown with a batting average of .353, 52 home runs, and 130 RBIs. His on-base average plus slugging percentage was 1.169.
I resisted the temptation to become a New York Yankees fan, opting instead for the hometown Washington Senators. Their star, Roy Sievers, became my favorite player. But I always wondered what it would be like to root for a team with a star having a season like Mantle’s.
In 2015, I found out. Playing for the Washington Nationals, Bryce Harper batted .330, hit a league-leading 42 home runs, and drove in 99 runs. His on-base average plus slugging percentage was 1.109.
Okay, this wasn’t quite Mantle in 1956, and not in terms of fancier stats either. But it was close enough.
And yes, unlike the 1956 Yankees, the 2015 Nationals were a .500ish team. But Harper’s Nats won four division titles in his seven seasons here. The Nats never had a winning season before he arrived.
Today, Harper signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. The deal is 13 years for $330 million. Months ago, the Nats offered him $300 million for 10 years. Harper made out marginally better by rejecting that offer and testing the market.
(Excerpt) Read more at powerlineblog.com ...
AOC wants pro-sports terminated as in her view, there would be no commercial aviation to transport the teams.
There’s a target though in the meantime: The gummint steals more of their money at gunpoint. AKA taxation.
As long as the poll respondents mean that “No” as moral suasion I don’t see a problem.
It’s only a problem when they think that AOC and Kamala Harris socialists ought to use force to enact it.
No the teams will ride on high speed trains.
And those NFL games in London they’ll take sailboats.
“The pro sports thing is not true capitalism. Many if not most teams are getting large subsidies from the taxpayers via stadiums, tax abatements, etc. “
My favorite team/stadium arrangement is that of Green Bay with its 360,000 shareholders.
No owner holding the threat of moving the team over the head of the local taxpayers.
“Next up is Mike Trout.”
Dream on. He loves it here in SoCal during baseball season. The Trout and Ohtani Era is just getting started.
That was big money in ‘56. WOW. Glad We’re not in a communist country they would never allow that. The Yankees MADE money with The Mick, a well planned investment
Mantle once admitted that he "never played sober." Can you imagine what his stats would have been if he wasn't always drunk at the plate?!
I'm not so sure it's much better than playing in Filthydelphia!!
Bryce Harper had one great year(2015) and a few very good years.
But he could not hit against the shift. He did not play good fundamental baseball and he was terrible in the post season.
Harper is a career .211 hitter in post season.
Me too. If the Nats had to lose anyone, I’m glad it’s him.
Last year or two, seemed to be always hurt and seldom came
through in the clutch. Bye to him and his hair. Go Nats, Yankees and Indians. C’mon spring!
Maybe he’s wanting to avoid the 8.5% Wash DC income tax?
Carl Furillo wound up working construction...
George Shuba went to work for the Post Office...
Duke Snider got his avocado ranch...
Jackie Robinson worked for Choc-Full-of-Nuts and died young...
Roy Campanella had a tough time...
Billy Cox tended bar at his local American Legion...
That's life. Very different back then in that almost all ballplayers had jobs in the off-season and they never made enough over the course of their pro careers to carry them through life, whereas now... well, $330 million should take care of Harper and his family.
You are either being sarcastic, or don't follow baseball. In the last five years, the Nats have gone 1-2-1-1-2 in division play; the Phillies have gone 5-5-4-5-3.
Then why didn't he go to the Dodgers? LOL.
When one thinks of winning tradition the Phillies do not immediately spring to mind!
The Phillies have fallen since their last Series appearance in '09. They let that team get old before doing anything and are just now coming out of it. Last year they had a good 3/4 season then collapsed. Are this year's offseason acquisitions enough? Who knows. I do think they NL East will be dogfight with the Phillies, Nats and Braves slugging it out. And I would not discount the Mets if DeGrom and Syndergard stay healthy.
Prince(and many others)got a lot of dough from Pizza Man, the late Mr. I( founder and owner of Little Caesars).
Too bad Mr. I ended up with pie on his face....with no World Series title to show for all that cheese and pepperoni deep-dished out.
Yeah, and my Dad made $2700 a year... Now I make $180k+ a year and Harper makes $xxxxxxxxx a year... All relative...
They probably saw the question as "should theyOur local sports radio station was running a poll. “Should any athlete be allowed to make this much money?”As of last check 75% answered NO. THAT is where the country is heading. - Buckeye McFrog
The price of a thing or service is not set by people who don’t want it, but by those who do (demand) and by those who can provide it (supply).
Look at it this way: Harper is 26, not 29. It’s really rare for a player of his caliber to get to the open market at such a young age. That’s worth a risk. So they locked up a solid player for 13 years at a rate which in a couple of seasons will seem cheap. Sure he may break down in the final 3-4 years of the contract (though if the DH ever gets to the National League he’ll likely still be productive regardless) but in 11 years I’ll bet the $25M per year he’s getting will be going rate for an average player, such is salary escalation.
Harper has been brilliant mainly when the Nats have managed to stay healthy -- which has been their chronic problem -- and he's been sandwiched in a murderers' row lineup that puts a lot of guys on base. Two years ago, before the injury blitz took them down, the Nats had five guys batting 300. Put Harper in the middle of that lineup, with guys on base and a 300 hitter right behind, and teams can't pitch around him. He's terrific in that situation. Otherwise, he get ordinary fast. Last year, with four starters out for most of the first half (five if you count Howie Kendrick), Harper couldn't carry the team. Fan frustration was starting to grow. I suspect that's part of the reason he left.
How long the romance will last in Philly remains to be seen. I don't know how you can sustain a competitive team when you are overpaying one guy by that amount.
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