February 1, 2006: The Anti-Damon
By White Russian
His
name is Bronson Arroyo. About two weeks ago he decided to go against the advice
of his agents and signed with his current club a three-year
deal at a discounted rate. And the reason is because he is happy in Boston
and wants to finish his career there. It is as simple as that. Tim Wakefield
is another player like this, previously signing a deal that ensures he will
retire as a member of the Red Sox.
These are the types of players that baseball, and all professional sports need more of. The type that will say they want to stay and then take measures to do just that. The type that will still act professionally when they are not in a situation they want. The type that realizes that they and their fellow players already make way more money than they should.
There seems to be a shortage of this type of player, and it is absurd that they even need to be pointed out because you would think that they would be the rule rather than the exception. And it very well may be that these types of players are far more common than we think, since they are overshadowed by the head cases who capture the headlines and put a spotlight on all that is wrong in sports. The thing with the head cases is that they get away with it. As bad as a player may be, there will still be teams that want him, as long as his talent outweighs his baggage. Second chances are nice and are the proper thing, but there comes a point where you cross into the ridiculous with the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth chances.
While the argument about money is an old one – that players in all sports make too much money just to play a game – it is still valid. The players do make too much, the owners do charge too much at the ballpark, on so on and so on. For the Red Sox, it is a player like Arroyo who provides a bit of fresh air, especially when it comes on the heels of J. Damon leaving the way he did.
In the case of Damon, both he and the Red Sox will obviously try to spin it to look better for their own side, but the bottom line is that Damon had previously stated he wanted to stay in Boston, that he could not see himself in a Yankee uniform, and that money was not the most important factor. His actions speak much differently as he did not stay, he joined the Yankees, and the money seems to be the most significant factor in his decision.
This is not to say that players should automatically want to stay with the team they are on. Players should be able to take advantage of free agency. But don’t say one thing and do the opposite. Don’t suddenly get unhappy with your contract just one year after signing it because some other player is making more than you. Don’t force a team to trade you just because you want out. And if you do find yourself in such a bad situation, make your trade request private. When trade requests go public, your value goes down, making it that much harder to get rid of you.
Unfortunately the many bad examples get far more attention than the good ones. In the NBA, Ron Artest, after many well-documented problems, including being suspended for a large part of last season for his role in the Detroit riot, demanded a trade and ended up being deactivated from the Pacers for a month while the team tried to get rid of him. In the NFL, Terrell Owens felt his contract, which he signed just one year earlier, did not pay him enough, so he decided to make himself such a cancer that he did not play for half the season after first being suspended, then being deactivated. This is from a player who was such a cancer with the 49ers that they had to trade him. This is also the same player who would not go to Baltimore because he so desperately wanted to play for Philadelphia.
And it is not just the top players getting into the act. Last year Jay Payton wanted out of Boston, so he manufactured a confrontation with his manager in the dugout to force a trade. This off-season, just one year after signing a two-year deal, David Wells has demanded a trade. And not a trade to just any team. He wants to go to the west coast and, specifically, to the Padres – the team he played for before he signed with Boston. Now he insists that the Sox try to trade him back to San Diego? So why did he leave in the first place? He tried to go back to the Yankees, but they didn’t want any part of him. In this particular deal, being a former Yankee with a history of being an a-hole, the Sox should have known what they were getting themselves into.
The sad thing is that it is far too easy to come up with players like this. Players who are unhappy with a contract that they signed, even when that contract is only one year old. Players who will make themselves a nuisance just so they can get shipped out. Players who will say one thing, then do another.
What is not so easy to come up with are players like Arroyo – the Anti-Damon.
Arroyo deal official
Boston Globe, David Lefort, January 19, 2006
The Red Sox announced today that they've reached an agreement on a three-year deal with pitcher Bronson Arroyo, avoiding arbitration. The deal is believed to be worth about $12 million.
The new deal would appear to make Arroyo more vulnerable to being dealt to a team like Tampa Bay, which is seeking affordable starting pitching and has a player the Sox covet in shortstop/leadoff hitter Julio Lugo. However, Arroyo said today that he received assurances he was not being shopped around.
"They didn't give me any guarantees," Arroyo said, "but [co-GMs] Jed [Hoyer] and Ben [Cherington] both stated to me that there was no deal on the table for me, and that at no time in the near future did they see me going anywhere."
Arroyo went 14-10 with a 4.51 ERA last season, pitching 205 1-3 innings.
He made $1,925,000 last season and asked for $4.2 million in arbitration. The team offered $2.95 million.
More comments from Arroyo today:
On going against the advice of his agents:
"I agreed to this contract with strong advice from them not
to sign it, simply for the reason that I want to play in this town. I wouldn't
have signed a deal in any other place."
"They basically advised me against it for one because I signed at a discount, and arbitration would have been better ... and they worried that I would be traded to a [small]-market team like the Royals or Devil Rays."
"I think they felt like I was leaving close to $4 million on the table [by taking this deal] ... they thought three years and $15 million was what they thought I'd make [if I went to arbitration each of those three years]."
"Nothing is guaranteed in life ... obviously at this point in my career it's benefiting me to have a little bit of security."
On staying in Boston:
"The reason I took a discount is because ... I want to stay
here for the rest of my career."
"Everyone has their own take on the city, and how rabid the fans are. I love playing here. It's fun for me, it's exciting, every time you come to the ballpark you know you've got to bring your best, or people are going to criticize you for it."
"I enjoy that fans enjoy their baseball here and they take it seriously."
"I'm very happy and pleased that I ended up in the place I did ... In my heart, I always knew this day would come for me."
On his goals for 2006:
"My goal this year same as the last couple [of years] ... make
all my starts, stay healthy, shoot for 15 wins and 200 innings ... anything
above and beyond is really a bonus."
On his role on the team in 2006:
"I have not spoken to the team [about my role] ... I said in
the past I'd do anything to help the team win. I've proven myself as a starter
... but if I need to pitch out of the bullpen, that's what I'll do ... but
I feel confident I'll be a starter.
"I'd much rather be a starter ... I enjoy the four days in between to prepare yourself mentally, and enjoy knowing that the game is my hands from the beginning."