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December 9, 2010Cavs Offbeat: Manny Harris Gets the Call
December 9, 2010I love the Cleveland Indians and baseball. Really, I do. The problem is that I want to love both of these things a whole lot more. Unfortunately for me (and many fans like me) the commissioner Bud Selig and the powers that be haven’t kept up with the times in terms of structuring the game so it is conducive to my consistent fandom. Nothing could be more representative of this fact than the contract that Derek Jeter just signed to remain a living statue in the New York Yankee museum in the Bronx. Jeter is long past his prime, yet due to his past performance and vaunted “intangibles” he has been rewarded with $17 million per year for the next three years at the age of 36. On top of all that, Jeter is somehow “unhappy” due to some unpleasantness during his veritable bank heist. Regardless, I decided to do ask the question. What if baseball was a perfect market where every player was paid exactly according to their value? Oh, and what if Derek Jeter was the baseline for that value?
For simplicity, I decided to use the WAR (wins above replacement) statistic and I have decided to only talk about hitters for this article. Derek Jeter had a WAR of 1.3 for 2010 according to Baseball-Reference.com, good enough for 170th in the Majors a year ago. So, if that becomes the baseline and Derek Jeter is worth $17 million, what is everyone else worth, per season by comparison? Now for the fun…
(Earmuffs, Scott Boras.) Shin-Soo Choo was second in the majors a year ago with a WAR of 7.3. Based on Derek Jeter’s salary of $17 million dollars for next year, Shin-Soo Choo could be worth as much as $95,461,538. Someone get the Dolans on the phone and let’s get this extension talk started.
How about some other Indians? Asdrubal Cabrera tied Jeter with his 1.3 WAR and would make $17 million. Jayson Nix isn’t as well-served. His WAR of 0.1 means that he gets paid $1,307,692. Then again, that is almost $900k more than he makes today. Cleveland Indians’ rookie Carlos Santana had a WAR of 2.2 and would make almost $29 million. Shelley Duncan would make just over $13 million. Trevor Crowe would make just over $9.1 million. Believe it or not, compared to Jeter, Hafner deserves a raise. He made $11.5 million, but his WAR made him worth $34 million even.
(Earmuffs Eric Wedge and the Seattle Mariners.) Unfortunately for Luis Valbuena and his negative WAR of -0.1 he would have to pay us $1,307,692. I think I just heard the Dolans perk up. That’s nothing compared to poor Grady Sizemore. In his injury shortened season he owes BIG to the tune of almost $12 million. Sizemore’s salary is only $5.7 million so he is going to need a second job. Maybe Playgirl?
Obviously this is all silly, ludicrous and just for fun. Here are the top ten. Remember this next season when you have to watch the Indians “compete” against the larger payrolls in the majors. Remember this the next time the Indians are lucky enough to compete in the playoffs and the Red Sox pull a “pinch hitter” named J.D. Drew off the bench who makes north of $17 million per year.
9 Comments
I applaud your waste of time. Very funny and Derek Jeter likes Coldplay.
I’m curious if anybody’s WAR to pay was similar to what they ACTUALLY made last season. That would take quite a bit of time to come up with.. So I’ll be holding my breathe waiting.
While the Dolans definitely aren’t without blame I think this article shows what a lot of people don’t understand –
The difference between a $40 million payroll and an $80 million isn’t that great when you compare it to the Yankees and Red Sox.
The Yankees are still going to outbid for all the top players – so giving big money to mid-tier guys (Westbrook and Hafner) is just a waste of money and won’t help you compete.
Going young and cheap and trading guys as soon as they are ready for a payday is the only way to compete.
@MattyFos…
Melvin Mora is a good one. He should have been paid $1.3 million according to this silly study and he made $1.275 million.
Kelly Shoppach should have made $2.615 and made $2.25
Mark Grudzielanek should have made $1.3 million and made $600k
Other good ones. Raul Ibanez should have made $13 million and his salary was $12.2 million…
Last but not least, Manny Ramirez should have made $19.615 million and he made $18.7 million.
I think it would be funny if Choo went into arbitration hearing with the article. It appears as if you are asking for $95 million and the Tribe is offering 4…
CraigL, you were a little late. I think MattyFos is now passed out (I think from holding his breath, but I do smell Jack Daniels 🙂 )
Ben, Choo definitely should bring this article to negotiations. And start off with: “well, as you can see, I am worth $95mil/year, but I’m willing to go as low as $50mil/year as a ‘hometown’ discount”
Finally, I love Jeter resigning with NYY. At least teams can still get plenty of groundball hits through their infield. It’s like they are handicapping themselves.
The Jeter situation just shows another advantage of a huge payroll – rewarding your fans by keeping beloved vets around. That pays for itself in the long run.
Last but not least, Manny Ramirez should have made $19.615 million and he made $18.7 million.
YAY Manny!.. Fair value I guess.. I thought he was under performing last season. I guess he was considering Choo should have made about 100 mil!
“Earmuffs Eric Wedge and the Seattle Mariners”, good stuff…