Martinez Comment on Free Agents

Comment: Has the Line Been Drawn?

New York, November 17, 2000 -- The word out of New York is money was not what scared Mets General Manager Steve Phillips away from Alex Rodriguez and his agent Scott Boras. Rather, it was the marketing schemes, billboards, and special treatment that Boras felt was "normal and customary" for his star players that ended the negotiations with the Mets.

As many know, Rodriguez, currently a baseball free agent, is projected to sign a long-term 200 million dollars with one of several bidding teams. But he went from being the Mets' top priority this winter to having them not want him at all because of his excessive demands. According to an article on Major League Baseball's website, Boras inquired about such things as "How will we market around Alex?", "How many billboards will be put around the city?", "Will other players feel bad about moving into a secondary role?". Boras also discussed setting aside conference rooms for Rodriguez to meet with his marketing team (as the Mariners did for him at Safeco Field) and the possibility of having a personal paraphernalia booth at spring training.

GM Phillips stated that he did not want to create an atmosphere that separated an individual from the rest of the team, especially on a team that had just made it to the World Series.

At first glance it seems like the Mets should be cheered for not giving in to another superstars outrageous demands, but why do these salaries and demands seem to get more ridiculous with each new off-season? Each year a new pool of players become free agents (veterans who have completed their sixth year of playing), excited to "test the waters" and see how much money there services will demand from teams, but as this current year is showing us, some of the demands are even starting to scare big market clubs. The Mets, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, and all the rest of the huge payroll teams are starting to take a step back and take notice that one superstar, will not get you the World Series ring that they covet each year.

Chipper Jones and his 90 million dollar contract couldn't lift his team past the Cardinals this year, Manny Ramirez is one of the primer hitters in the game, but couldn't get past a divisional series (i.e., the Yankees). Mike Mussina has played for a sub-500 team for the past 2 years. And Rodriguez, probably the best player in the game today, still wasn't able to bring his old team, the Seattle Mariners to the "promised land."

If there is a line being drawn here, what exactly is it? The important thing to remember is it really isn't the fault of the player or the agent for these demands. An agent's job is to get the best possible deal he can for his player and why should a player reject an enormous deal if a team that can afford it proposes it to him? Until these big market teams get together and realize that "enough is enough" these players demands are only going to get wilder by the season. However, with the competitiveness in professional sports today, I'm not exactly optimistic that it's right around the corner.

J. Martinez