As I am sure you have seen the news all over SportsCenter, mlb.com, espn.com, Facebook, and Twitter, Milwaukee Brewer's All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder signed a long term deal with the Detroit Tigers today. With the help of agent Scott Boras, Fielder was able to sign a deal for 9 years and $214 million dollars. Fielder is well known to fans due to his monstrous size and his colossal power at the plate. While this is nice to various teams around the league, baseball GMs and Managers love him for a .299 AVG, 28 HR, 120 RBI, and a .415 OBP in the final year of his contract last season.
Greeting Prince in Motor City will be Cy Young winning pitcher Justin Verlander, who holds a career 3.54 ERA with 1215 strikeouts, and fellow All-Star Miguel Cabrera, a .300 career hitter. Having already been a well known playoff contender the last few years, the Detroit Tigers tune up their already outstanding line-up with Fielder. Competition against teams such as the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, and the Texas Rangers will heat up even more with the Tigers now in the mix. There is no doubt Prince Fielder can and will have a positive impact for the Tigers, but there is always the ultimate question: did Detroit pay the Prince too much?
Even though Albert Puljos made more this past off season signing with the Angels (10 yrs/254 mil) and Fielder's contract does not even touch Alex Rodriguez's Texas Rangers signing of 10 years and 275 million, the Prince still walks away from this deal having signed the fourth highest contract in the history of any sport. No, I didn't type that wrong. THE. FOURTH. HIGHEST. IN. THE. HISTORY. OF. ANY. SPORT. I mean, what is going on here? I like Fielder just as much as the next person and I would have loved to watch him launch baseball bombs into McCovey Cove next season, but c'mon.
If I told you to make a list of all the famous athletes you can think of, would Prince Fielder come fourth? If I asked you to think of the five professional athletes most deserving of the highest contracts in sports, would Prince make that list? Or the Top Ten for that matter? I know, I know; different sports, with different revenues, with more exposure and more attraction, therefore more money to those who play. But it's the principle. I personally do not think Prince Fielder is worth $214 million dollars and if the Tigers want him that badly, they can have him. In all honesty, in four years, which would only be half way through his contract, the Prince may be tipping at 330 pounds, and that unfortunately is no joke.
So what do the rest of you think? Was Prince Fielder worth all that cash? If so, why sign him for nine years? If not, what would you have signed for and where should he have gone?
1 comment:
I don't think I'd feel safe living in Detroit making that kind of money
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