It was a better world when professional athletes had to get jobs in the off-season.
When contracts went to 2 and 3 year deals...it tended to work. Once you got to a 6 or 8 year deal....more than half of them are crap in the end.
Lets not forget the 2020 8-year deal with Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers.
Yep, back then it was still just a game. Now, it's a major corporate business.
My all time favorite player:
In 1971, Al Kaline became the first Tiger to sign a $100,000 contract, which is equivalent to $752,342 in today's dollars. Kaline initially turned down the pay raise, saying he didn't feel he deserved it.
22 years with the tigers,
10 Gold Glove Awards
18 All Star Games
399 Home Runs
297 career batting average