Orioles fans boo local boy Teixeira

[Oldcity]

I'll never understand why taking more money somewhere else is greedy. You could easily argue that it's simply common sense. Greed generally involves taking something you don't deserve or that someone else could have. If you were offered 20% more to do the same job, you'd take it too.

[Invader3K]

That point I do agree with. Was Sabathia greedy when he took $50 or 60 million more from the Yankees? I don't think any of us can really talk unless we've personally faced a situation like that, in regards to such a substantial amount of money.

[TooLiveBrew]

So it feels like a slap in the face when the hometown boy turns down hundreds of millions of dollars to play with the enemy.

 

The rumored/reported O's offer was 7 yrs./$150M, and he got another year & $30M more from the Yankees. Again, given the teams' circumstances, I have no idea why anyone in their right mind would have seen him signing with Baltimore. Seems like the offer was made as much as a PR move as anything else. I didn't hear any reports that Baltimore was ever a leading candidate to obtain him.

 

 

He's more Adrian Gonzalez than Albert Pujols

 

And of course the delicious irony is that Adrian Gonzalez's road OPS is over 100 points better than his home OPS http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif To be fair, Tex is going to be playing in a park that has a decent chance to play as a LH HR hitter's heaven, so the point on having a favorable home park might not be a good one to tear down just yet.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

I'd boo Jordan Zimmerman. I went to Whitewater and Stevens Point was a huge rival of ours. Fortunately we beat those guys in the WIAC championship that year and went on to the D3 College World Series.

[BrewCrew25]

Crab cakes and Football. That's what Maryland does. Tex is neither a crab cake nor does he play football, therefor he's free to assiciate with whatever team he wants. Like CC, if the Yankees waiver MILLIONS of dollars in front of his face, can you really blame him for taking it?

 

The best part is that Tex hasn't produced anything in the first couple of games. Every time he has a bad game I'm going to smile knowing that the Yankees just pissed away $139,000 on Texeira for that game.

[monty57]

When Angelos was able to buy a baseball team and essentially retire off of his proceeds from one lawsuit, I will never feel any pity for him when it comes to finances.

Tbadder, I can't agree that Tex (or any player) "represents the worst in us." Working hard to become the best at something and then getting rewarded for it is not a bad thing. Actually, it's the economic principle this country is based on. If you truly feel that baseball players are horrible people simply because they make a lot of money, then I'd suggest you stop paying money to see them play. If enough people stopped doing this, then baseball players' salaries would go down and apparently they could once again be decent, hardworking folk.

I guess the other option would be to watch the countless kids who play for nothing from an early age up through high school or college. The select few who are good enough to play beyond that have to toil through the minor leagues making about as much money as a pizza deliver boy. If they happen to be in the 0.000025% of the people in the world (750 people out of roughly 3,000,000,000 people in the world) who are good enough to play major league baseball, they have to start at a $400,000 salary for three years. That's not chump change, but it's certainly less than most other people in the world who are in the 0.000025 percentile of what they do. Then, if they are good enough to have more than a three year career, they usually get modest payraises for the next three years (unless they're the absolute best of the best, who get bigger raises). Finally, for the very small number who make it to free agency, they are able to claim their payday... only to have pundits call them ugly, greed and the worst of humanity.

Personally, I'll continue to spend my money to help make sure that baseball, my solace from the suffering we all face in the everyday world, continues to be there for everyone to enjoy. I also choose not to boo often, but I respect the decision of those that do, even if I can't understand what some players have done to deserve it.

[joepepsi]

I'll never understand why taking more money somewhere else is greedy. You could easily argue that it's simply common sense. Greed generally involves taking something you don't deserve or that someone else could have. If you were offered 20% more to do the same job, you'd take it too.

I should take back "greedy". I'm usually not on that side of the argument. Players are entertainers, essentially freelance entrepreneurs who enter into agreements with teams to play for them for a set number of years. They have every right to go with the best deal, just like some actor can negotiate the best movie deal.

 

The problem in this case is the Orioles "pretended" to be going after him, like they so often do. Only this time, they kinda enjoyed getting the fan base all excited about the possibility. Then, like they did with Konerko and AJ Burnett (before he signed with Toronto), they bid just under the highest bidder. The other problem has to do with Teixeira himself. To Orioles fans he did come across as disingenious when he basically just went to the highest bidder. It's also true Boras used the Red Sox to get the Yankees to up their bid.

 

So this is what fans are booing, I think. The sleazy way top free agents get their big contracts. They say they don't care about the money, it's more about the best fit for their family. But in the end, it's always about the money. Tex had said in the past his dream was to be an Oriole. When he had the chance, he didn't even seriously consider it.

 

And of course the delicious irony is that Adrian Gonzalez's road OPS is over 100 points better than his home OPS http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Which suggests to me Gonzalez may be the better hitter, if only he played his home games in a hitter friendly ballpark like Teixeira has.

[Baldkin]

Did Overbay really get booed at Miller Park? I seriously don't remember that one. I know Jenkins got a nice ovation when he came back.

I went to all 3 games vs the Blue Jays last year, and he didn't get boo'd like Carlos Lee, but there were as many boo's as there were "Ooooooooo's"

[TooLiveBrew]

Which suggests to me Gonzalez may be the better hitter, if only he played his home games in a hitter friendly ballpark like Teixeira has.

 

There's a decent chance that's true, but Gonzo has the weakness of not being very strong v. LHP, while Tex handles both sides well. Overall, imo the two are very, very close.

[Tbadder]

I'll never understand why taking more money somewhere else is greedy. You could easily argue that it's simply common sense. Greed generally involves taking something you don't deserve or that someone else could have. If you were offered 20% more to do the same job, you'd take it too.

 

Plenty of people do this all the time because they feel an affinity for a place and it's people. They want to give back to an area even if it might less wealthy or less priviledged. Many times people choose to take less money because they feel a calling to help others. i could go one and on with innumerable examples of good people who do this--so most assuredly many people understand perfectly well ideas of loyalty and generosity and community that often times celebrities do not.

[Invader3K]

I do kind of wish MLB tweaked their system somehow so more young guys were encouraged to stay with their first team and not bolt out the door when they first hit free agency, as seems to be the trend generally. I just don't know what the answer would be, realistically.

[Oldcity]

So because people sometimes take a little less to stay in an area, it means we should hold it against those who don't?

[RU Rah Rah]

I almost started a thread on opening day; the title was going to be, "My new least favorite player is Mark Teixeira."

 

I am from Baltimore, and grew up a diehard O's fan. (They are still my default AL team.) I can say that there is a particular low-key, blue-collar loyalty that fans in the city really genuinely admire. It's why folks -- including me -- still worship Johnny Unitas; he sort of embodied that vibe. Same thing with Brooks Robinson.

 

Teixeira seems to be the antithesis of this. He claimed to be interested in playing for the O's or Nats because of his alleged interest in returning to the area, but, in the end, his greed got the better of him and he went elsewhere -- to New York, of all places.

 

Basically, we Baltimoreans hate phonies, and Teixeira seems to be about as phony as they come.

[endaround]

But this isn't a normal job. Most players don't have permanent homes in the city they play for. And even then they're only there for 2 months in the summer with hectic travel all the time.They don't have to considered the idea of uprooting the family because the family isn't likely there much anyway and they're on the road more than truckers.

[TooLiveBrew]

Teixeira seems to be the antithesis of this. He claimed to be interested in playing for the O's or Nats because of his alleged interest in returning to the area, but, in the end, his greed got the better of him and he went elsewhere -- to New York, of all places

 

Why would a top FA that's about to sign the one monstrous deal he'll get his entire career...

 

a) Not take the biggest offer?

b) Sign with rebuilding teams when he can sign with a WS contender?

c) Sign anywhere else when he can accomplish both a & b on one team?

 

 

If the O's were just as serious of contenders as the Yanks, I'd completely agree with ya, RU Rah Rah.

[RU Rah Rah]

Teixeira seems to be the antithesis of this. He claimed to be interested in playing for the O's or Nats because of his alleged interest in returning to the area, but, in the end, his greed got the better of him and he went elsewhere -- to New York, of all places

 

Why would a top FA that's about to sign the one monstrous deal he'll get his entire career...

 

a) Not take the biggest offer?

b) Sign with rebuilding teams when he can sign with a WS contender?

c) Sign anywhere else when he can accomplish both a & b on one team?

 

 

If the O's were just as serious of contenders as the Yanks, I'd completely agree with ya, RU Rah Rah.

I think people are angry because he pretended that the Orioles were in the running when, in fact, they never really were.

[Oldcity]

I think you could say the same thing about the Orioles' "pursuit" of him.

[PKBadger]

Teixeira seems to be the antithesis of this. He claimed to be interested in playing for the O's or Nats because of his alleged interest in returning to the area, but, in the end, his greed got the better of him and he went elsewhere -- to New York, of all places

 

Why would a top FA that's about to sign the one monstrous deal he'll get his entire career...

 

a) Not take the biggest offer?

b) Sign with rebuilding teams when he can sign with a WS contender?

c) Sign anywhere else when he can accomplish both a & b on one team?

 

 

If the O's were just as serious of contenders as the Yanks, I'd completely agree with ya, RU Rah Rah.

 

a) When you're talking about guaranteed $150 MM versus guaranteed $180 MM, the difference between the 2 contracts is essentially the difference between Tex buying a 14-karat solid gold yacht and a 24-karat solid gold yacht. With a sound investment strategy, the next 5 generations of Texeiras (at a bare minimum) are going to be obscenely wealthy. That's what bothers me the most. When you reach this level, it's basically Monopoly money, so why not show that you have some semblance of a soul....IF, in fact, you were the "Orioles fan" you claimed to be?

 

b) It's a 7-year contract right? Does he honestly believe that the Orioles won't contend in the next 7 years, or is he just not planning on fulfilling the whole contract?

 

Note: I may concede this point ONLY on the basis that they play in the AL East, which certainly affects things. But they have a decent core of young talent with Markakis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, et al, so a Wild Card run is not out of the question.

 

 

Edit: changed # of years

[trwi7]

Yeah, 7 year $150 million vs 8 years $180 million. If you think he's going to play another year after the 7th year, he'll probably get around $10 million if he's still any good so it would basically be 8/160.

[danzig6767]

I don't boo any players, but the only issue i ever have with booing is when fans boo players on their own team even if the guy is giving his all, he's just struggling. If though fans want to boo certain players on opposing teams for whatever the reason, i have no issues with that at all. That's always been a part of sports where fans find reasons to really not like certain players on other teams and they let those players know it.

[owbc]

The difference between 150 and 180 million is more than you think.

 

What if you got two job offers, one for $100,000 and one for $83,000:

 

-Both jobs are exactly the same position with the same amount of hours

-One is located in your hometown, the other is a few hours away but still in the region.

-In one job you will be working with customers who are always friendly to you. In the other, the customers will evaluate you much more critically based on your performance.

-Upper management will also likely be more critical in the higher paying job, but you expect that because you will be making more money

-In the higher paying job, you will work alongside many of the finest professionals in your field, some of which are considered the greatest of all time. In the lower paying job, you will be far superior to most of your coworkers

-Evaluation is based primarily off the performance numbers of your entire company. In the higher paying job, they will expect nothing less than to be the best in the country. In the lower paying job, you will be under less pressure because mediocrity is expected.

[danzig6767]

The difference between 150 and 180 million is more than you think.

 

What if you got two job offers, one for $100,000 and one for $83,000:

 

-Both jobs are exactly the same position with the same amount of hours

-One is located in your hometown, the other is a few hours away but still in the region.

-In one job you will be working with customers who are always friendly to you. In the other, the customers will evaluate you much more critically based on your performance.

-Upper management will also likely be more critical in the higher paying job, but you expect that because you will be making more money

-In the higher paying job, you will work alongside many of the finest professionals in your field, some of which are considered the greatest of all time. In the lower paying job, you will be far superior to most of your coworkers

-Evaluation is based primarily off the performance numbers of your entire company. In the higher paying job, they will expect nothing less than to be the best in the country. In the lower paying job, you will be under less pressure because mediocrity is expected.

I do think he chose the Yankees for both the extra money and the fact that his odds of being in the playoffs more over the next 7-8 years were higher in NY than Baltimore. Even if the money was equal, i think most players would choose to sign with NY over Baltimore given the track records of both franchises when it comes to winning and that's very understandable to me.

 

That said, i still don't understand why some athletes who get huge long term contract offers from two teams, choose to take the biggest offer even if they'd prefer to play for the other team. I don't care what anyone says about you aren't in the athletes position to take this stance, i do know without a doubt that if say i was a free agent player and the Brewers offered me a 5yr/80 million dollar contract while the White Sox and Red Sox both offered me 90 to 100 million, i'd take the Brewers offer so long as i felt they'd be competitive and i still wanted to remain living here in Wisconsin. Unless i was a complete moron with my money, between what't i'd have made prior to that 80 million along with the 80 million, i'd have a life of current/future luxury and so would family members of my choosing. So i just question why some big time athletes put dollar amount as ther number one prioriy when they'll be silly rich either way. If i had multiple huge long term contract offers that would dictate where i and my family would be living, along with dictating which team a bulk of my career would be spent playing for, money would be third on my list assuming all the offers would make me silly rich to varying degrees.

 

For the lesser athletes, i understand why those guys chase nearly every last dollar because they aren't choosing between contract offers that would leave generations of family rich if the athlete chose for it.

[RU Rah Rah]

I think you could say the same thing about the Orioles' "pursuit" of him.

No argument there.

[trwi7]

The difference between 150 and 180 million is more than you think.

 

What if you got two job offers, one for $100,000 and one for $83,000:

Are you honestly comparing $150-180 million over 7-8 years over to $664,000-$800,000 over 8 years?

 

One you can retire after those 7-8 years, the other you're still going to have to work, probably for another 15-20 years. One you have the next few generations of your family set up for the rest of their lives. The other you have enough money to retire with your immediate family comfortably.

 

So yeah, obviously if you're going to have $83,000 vs $100,000 you're going to take the $100,000 because while it's a nice paying job, it doesn't make you insanely wealthy and comfortably set your family up. $150 million vs $180 million on the other hand sets your family up for life and it sets the next few generations at least up for life as well.

[PKBadger]

Also, I'll mention again that the money is guaranteed regardless of performance or injury (thanks, union!)

 

If it were the NFL, where you can get cut at any point, it would be a different story.