THURSDAY: The deal is official, Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (Twitter links). Scott will earn $5MM in 2012, and the club option is worth $6MM with a $1MM buyout. The Tampa Tribune reports (on Twitter) that the contract also includes bonuses placed on plate appearances.
WEDNESDAY: The Rays have reached an agreement with designated hitter Luke Scott on a one-year deal with a 2013 option, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times was first to report the near-agreement, and he notes that it includes incentives. Scott is represented by PSI Sports Management.
Scott, 33, hit .220/.301/.402 in 236 plate appearances in 2011, his season cut short by July shoulder surgery. The Orioles non-tendered him last month rather than pay a salary in the range of 2011's $6.4MM figure. Scott told Topkin he expects to primarily serve as the Rays' DH, with some time at first base. If his shoulder is fully recovered, perhaps he can return to the .500 slugging percentage-type power he's shown in the past. The Rays are closest to Scott's Florida home, notes Connolly.
Scott is a late bloomer, having burst onto the scene with a strong half-season for the Astros at age 28 in '06. After the '07 campaign, he was dealt to the Orioles as part of the Miguel Tejada trade. Scott has drawn plenty of attention off the field, particularly after interviews with David Brown of Yahoo and Amy K. Nelson of ESPN.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Best place for him- the Rays have no fans for him to offend.
And who is your team? Don’t say the O’s
Ha ha ha! That’s really funny! Do you write your own material? Because that is so fresh. A joke about Rays attendance!
Dang funny.
I thought the Rays were a classier organization
Guess the Rays might as well forget about winning the World Series this year – since they won’t be invited to the White House next year.
I won’t believe this until I see the actual contract.
I’m gonna wait to see the long-form contract
I don’t want him ruining the Rays’ clubhouse atmosphere… Still, the Rays need some offense.
Why would he ruin the clubhouse atmosphere? He was always well liked in Baltimore. He’s a unique guy and has his own views on things, but that doesn’t make him a troublemaker.
Yeah, dude clearly does not know about Luke Scott except what the national media says. “He says crazy things! Oh no!” He’s great in the clubhouse.
Well in several ways… he’s offensive.
Well played
He won’t contribute much to a team that already has a low offense. Sure, Luke Scott isn’t bad, but he’s no offensive threat. Throw him in the Rays lineup and he adds nothing more but fluff. The Rays need to execute smallball if they want to win, because they won’t do it with power.
Hopefully, the Rays front office has their press release all typed up for when they inevitably have to distance themselves from one of his stupid statements.
Birther.
Is he playing 1b? I don’t see how he is an improvement over Damon at DH, atleast you know Damon is going to stay healthy
Since Russ Canzler is the other option to play 1B for the Rays, I’d be guessing that yes, Luke Scott will be playing 1B.
He was signed to be our DH and to get occasional starts at 1B. We will be resigning Kotchman or trading for one
No Carlos Pena?
Forgot about him.
Bummer. O’s fans will miss you, Luuuuke! Makes so much sense for the Rays. Good cheap pickup.
Rays 2012 champs.
Yes, an injured, racist, ultra-conservative is just what any team needs to put them over the top.
So someone who speaks fluent Spanish and recently went to Venezuela for a few weeks is racist? Cool story, bro!
Yeah, I don’t know about Scott being racist, and wouldn’t make such claims myself.
Having said that, and with regard to your point, speaking Spanish and traveling to Venezuela make it unlikely that he’s racist towards Spanish speaking people(s). However that has no bearing whatsoever on whether or not he is racist towards people of other backgrounds. Racism is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon.
And John Rocker was good friends with Ozzie Guillen, didn’t stop him from being an disgusting racist, though.
Until Scott starts asking questions about Mitt Romney’s birth certificate, calling him a racist is a pretty safe bet.
Dont you have somewhere to occupy?
On point! My political leanings one way or the other absolutely have anything to do with the fact that Luke Scott is kind of a racist.
Racism, by definition is the discrimination toward another person based upon race.
Ergo, refusing to believe the first black POTUS was born in the US despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, while conversely never piping up about the previous 43 white presidents’ heritage is a kind of racist thing to do.
I’d bet good money Scott wouldn’t have raised a stink about McCain’s birth certificate, despite the fact McCain was born in Panama.
(Side note, a large segment of occupiers are actually libertarians, a large group of which are also birthers, your attempt at political humor falls flat)
Um… Just a thought here…
Don’t you think the reason that Scott wouldn’t have raised a stink about McCain’s birth certificate is because McCain, like Scott, is a Republican?
I mean, sure, guilty until proven innocent certainly seems to be the new normal in our society, but it seems like the “birther” craze was more of a political belief than a race thing, considering the fact that all ultra-conservatives, regardless of race, were a part of it.
I think it’s a mileage may vary thing, as I’ve encountered liberal leaning birthers before.
And would you immediately label those liberal leaning birthers as racists?
To be blunt, yes, generally. In point of fact, I’m more likely to pin them as racists than a conservative doing. As you noted, there is the possibility that a conservative does it just because Obama has opposing views, but a liberal doing it? By and large, there’s really not much of an alternative conclusion to come to in that situation other than racist.
Nope he’s a racist. If you disagree, you’re a racist too. And probably a homophobe too!
I mostly agree with you. However, I believe that the major controversy regarding Obama and the birther controversy was probably more closely related to the fact that he was the son of a Kenyan Muslim rather than the fact that he was black.
Example, I didn’t see Luke Scott (or, for that matter, Glenn Beck) calling out for Herman Cain’s birth certificate. I don’t think it’s racism as much as it’s discrimination against people of other faiths/heritages.
Which, by the way, is still incredibly disappointing to me personally.
Obama’s father was an atheist.
You have overwhelming evidence you believe, I have overwhelming evidence I believe. Oh, and McCain was born at a navy hospital at a US Naval Air Station. Thats a terrible argument for someone as smart as you.
A US Naval Air Station on foreign soil. There is no more reason to doubt Obama’s being a natural born citizen than there is to doubt McCain’s.
Agree to disagree.
If I remember correctly (don’t quote me on this) there is a clause that refers to such situations and marks the children as native born.
It does. Note I’m not advocating even a little that I don’t believe McCain is a citizen, I trust the folks involved in vetting candidates enough to assume that wouldn’t have gotten bungled. All I’m pointing out is the hypocrisy in questioning Obama’s citizenship while giving McCain a pass.
overwhelming fake evidence?? TROLL
Oh no! You listened to something besides baseball on AM radio and now listen to you – defending a racist. There is a cure – turn the radio off.
TROLL
OCCUPY SEASAME STREET! Who need Wall Street?
If he calls him a polyagimist close enough? Or is it OK to be prejudiced about some things? And don’t get me wrong, I cringed when I heard this signing might go down. But I suspect the outrage is manufactured because all sides need their red meat to complain about.
Umm it wasnt just Luke Scott who questioned Obama’s birth certificate…I dont see how it is racist at all. The media blew it out of proportion, tons of radio stations discussed it and so on. Mitt Romeny doesnt have dozens of relatives living in Kenya…Romneys father was born in Mexico though…People questioned George Romneys citizenship in 1968 when he ran for President as well.
What does speaking spanish have to do with racism? Ignorant, there is more than one race.
The Rays pitching puts them over the top. The offense just gives them those few extra games. bah he edited initial post.
Racist how? Birthers are idiots and have been totally discredited by the release of the official long form birth certificate but what racist statements did he make? Or are we going on the theory that if you don’t like obama or are simply conservative you must be racist?
sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=6395744
“So I throw bananas in his helmet. Here are my banana chips to remind him that whenever he acts like an animal, ‘Hey, that’s what other people are thinking. They’re just not telling you, but that’s what they’re thinking about. And I’m telling you so that you’re aware of that so you can make a cognitive decision to not behave like that.’ I would want someone to tell me that instead of letting you making a jerk of yourself.”
Guy is a jerk.
This quote was in regards to Felix Pie, who again was his best friend on the team. The comments were made in jest, and not in a derogatory manner. For a man who has gone on several missionary trips, he sure is painted in a negative light.
The point about Felix Pie being a friend is a fair one, but don’t be so quick to claim that doing “missionary” work is any proof of racial acceptance.
There are enough folks out there who proselytize Christianity (for example) out of feelings of racial/cultural superiority to those with whom they would share it. Having come across such people in my life I know this to be the case — although I do not claim that this necessarily applies to Luke Scott. I am just pointing out that appearances can often be misleading, and that missionary work hardly qualifies a person as racially open-minded.
Well, you have yet to show any racist comments, or having any backing for calling him a racist. So why don’t we start with that?
You’re off base, Michael. I did not call him a racist — nor do I plan to. Let me summarize what you missed:
My purpose here is not to claim that he is a racist but to show that the arguments used to “prove” that he is not a racist are not valid.
Now there are others on this board who ARE calling Scott a racist. Take your complaint up with them.
All of the points in this discussion are fair, except for the one saying, flat out, that Luke Scott is racist.
Does anyone here know Luke Scott?
Has anyone seen how he interacts with people of different races in person?
No? Didn’t think so.
So let’s not make a personal judgement on someone that none of us know personally.
I think you should direct this statement toward the folks who ARE claiming Scott is racist.
My point is that there is more to Luke than what is being stated here. He’s a bit outspoken and not always politically correct, but almost always comes across as a genuinely good guy.
so now youre saying he’s gay… real classy.
You never heard people asking for Bush’s birth certificate or Clinton’s. It’s absolutely racially driven. I’m a conservative, don’t you dare link these closet KKKers with my polical veiwpoints; this has nothing to do with politics. There is not one human being worthy of respect who subscribes to this witchhunt BS.
Nope but people asked for mccain, maybe those guys just hate old people.
who doesn’t hate old people?
No, they asked a fair question. Likewise, inquiring about Obama’s heritage is a potentially fair question considering his father’s birthplace.
Where it veers off the track to the realm of probable racist (And differs from the McCain situation, in which people basically just let it go after assurances were made by the courts) tendency is the fact that Obama’s administration has verified through innumerable sources that he was, in fact, born in Hawaii, yet large chunks of the birther movement, Luke Scott apparently included, continue to dispute what is regarded by the media, the US Justice Department and the US Department of Vital Records as the indisputable fact that Obama was born a US citizen.
You are assuming that stark facts will interfere with preconceived notions… which they should.
It’s not the disliking thing, it’s the birther movement itself comes off as inherently racist. No one’s ever gone on and on asking about a president’s birth certificate until a black president was elected and then they come out of the woodwork. You really don’t see that as potential racism?
How many presidents have forgien born parents? And yes people asked mccain for his birth certifcate too.
President Obama’s mother was born in Kansas. So its foreign born PARENT.
There have actually been 7:
Thomas Jefferson
Andrew Jackson
Chester A Arthur
James Buchanan
Woodrow Wilson
Herbert Hoover
Barack Obama
Plus the President was born in Hawaii, so why should his parent’s birth place matter. Any person born on US soil are US citizens, period.
How insane was the political media back in 1802 or 1865 or 1928?
Check out the election of 1824. Just as crazy as it is now.
“How many presidents have forgien born parents?”
Thomas Jefferson for one off the top of my head. An eight second google search also yielded Hoover, Wilson, Arthur, Buchanan and Jackson aside.
As for McCain, people asked, a couple lawyers said “for serious, he was born here” and then the question died. Obama produced a certificate of live birth, records of the newspaper announcement were found and the doctor who delivered the guy came forward and said “no, really, I pulled this guy out of a lady in Hawaii,” yet guys like Luke Scott persist on the ridiculous notion he was not born on US soil.
No they compltly stoppedonce he showed those people want they seemed to want thats why the movment died,
Yet Scott has not stepped back on it…
Those who backed off once the Certificate of Live Birth came out get a pass (Kind of), but guys like Scott who have not redacted despite evidence coming out are either conspiracy nut dolts or racists.
I wasnt aware of that and trutfully i dont like searching things on my phone so im out ofnthe arguement on account of that. I could of lived him leaving the issue after the proof
Birtherism died? Non-lawyer Orly Taitz never got that memo.
Just sayin’ Mitt Romney’s father was born in Mexico and he ran for president. He WAS a US citizen, just like Obama.
No they didn’t. I never remember McCain’s birth being questioned. Quit lying. Even if they did and I missed it he didn’t have racist dolts obsessing over it and forcing him to release his “long form” certificate.
Yes they did, stop trying to rewrite history
I see it as the media drumming up something out of nothing and instilling hate and fear in the general public.
I can see how the “birther” craze could be viewed as racism, but I would almost guarantee you that 99% of “birthers” don’t have a racist bone in their body. They just sucked sucked in by the Sean Hannitys and Glenn Becks of the world and take all the fear and hate that those guys spew every night as truth.
If I had a big personality, a chalkboard, a primetime Fox News show and a few tears, I bet I could twist some facts around and get people to believe that Steve Jobs had dictatorial desires and that iPhones lead to Communism.
No, it just so happens that the first President of color is the first one to have his origin questioned? That is just a random chance? Of course its racism, people who are to idiotic to accept the fact that people who are not WASPs are as American as they are.
The media played on it sure, but they didn’t create the BS.
The inference is that all birthers are racist bc they are asking for a documentation for the only Black President and failed to bring up the legality of white candidates like Old Man McCain who was born in Panama.
Also many birthers claim he was born in Kenya bc some idiot tried to photo shop a Kenyan birth certificate, which stated the capital of Kenya was Nairobi when he was born, which is impossible since the President was born prior to Kenyan Independence in the 1963 making Nairobi the capital. President was born in 1961.
Further, Birthers are usually Tea Partiers who are definitely racist, there is overwhelming documentation on that front.
There is plenty to link Birthers with racism and Luke Scott is one of the crown prince’s of the Birther nation.
You would think, if this was such a big deal to Scott, he would fly to Hawaii and see the document himself, like every other citizen can do…
Way to assume man. Unless you know Luke Scott personally, you can’t know with certainty that he is racist, making any assumptions to that irrelevant.
The evidence suggests that he is, if it walks like a duck…
The evidence suggests that he is, if it walks like a duck…
Tea Partiers who are definitely racist, there is overwhelming documentation on that front” i’m sure if you keep saying this, it will eventually come true
His best friend on the team was Felix Pie, pretty strange for a racist! Just curious what is the correct political view to have for ball players? I wasn’t aware that being conservative was inappropriate.
how does racism factor into WAR calculation again? I forget
Considering John Rocker managed to only produce a -0.1 WAR in 2003, despite having an ERA of 9 and an FIP of 15.03, it seems to be weighted in the player’s favor. One would think he’d have a -6 WAR with the numbers he had.
Everyone is a little bit racist
I’m not sure if I should let go of my Damon resigning dream or my Pena returning dream. Scott might be at 1B or DH….
Scott and Pena, although I will miss Damon.
I’d still love to see Pena back with the Rays. I love his defense so much, and I miss those awesome home runs, despite his god awful average and strikeouts.
He made a comment in regards to Obama and his birth certificate.
The Astros should have signed him.
Luke Scott wasn’t signed to make friends, he was signed to hit. Pena or Kotchman are probably going to be the other bat, not looking good for Damon.
I don’t think he’ll have any issue making friends. This was a good if not great signing by the Rays considering who is out there.
I wonder who the other bat is going to be…
Nice signing for the Rays, they really have mastered buying low.
Great pick up. Take a look at his numbers – great OBP and steady hitter. Can he really play 1B?
He is not going to be playing there… That move is going to come in the next 2 weeks.. per Friedman
Racist scumbag. I’m glad that this lowlife is on a rival team so that I can root against him.
Do you have any evidence of this?
How do you know?
Scott will definitely be the DH with either Pena or Kotchman returning or grabbing another first baseman. The Rays put a premium on defense so they wouldn’t be ok with rolling out Scott everyday at 1B. Look for the Rays to go after Pena, Kotchman, Cordero(might not now that we have signed multiple relief pitchers), Juan Cruz, and a free agent catcher(possibly pudge) as the season nears.
Exactly
what do you think this is, a baseball blog?!!!
I can hear Luke Scott from all the way here where I am sitting!
I am free…. I am finally free!
Listening to pitchers or others complain about lack of run support.
The Threat of Dana Eveland being in the rotation.
Being out of playoff contention by June.
He will have the joy of seeing Palm Trees every day.
While the Rays may not sell out every game, the fans that do are loyal and have a good time.Good for you Luke, I am happy for you! You get to leave a sinking ship!
PS Luke Scott may speak his mind at inopportune times, but he’s no worse than Charles Barkley or Manny Ramirez for that matter!
Well he gets to play with a winner
IM lost here. When did Charles Barkley or Manny Ramirez challenge the legitimacy of a US President with no evidence whatsoever?
He made no allegation just asked to see a document you on the hand are make an allegation without any real evidence.
You are incorrect. this is what he said, “I was born here. If someone accuses me of not being born here, I can go — within 10 minutes — to my filing cabinet and I can pick up my real birth certificate and I can go, ‘See? Look! Here it is. Here it is.’ The man has dodged everything. He dodges questions, he doesn’t answer anything. And why? Because he’s hiding something.”
He was also asked, “You don’t think Obama was born in the United States do you?”
He responded, “He was not born here.”
Who cares? Every republican says the same thing.
Fair enough
Really glad to see we have a lot of people on here who know Luke personally and know his thoughts on everything. It looks like the nonjudgmental portion of this site is in the minority. Maybe everyone who hates on the guy should read his article on ESPN that Amy Nelson did.
Just like Adam Jones said in the article:
“”They form opinions on what they see rather than what they know. If you
form your opinion on what you know, you might be surprised.””
Very surprised a team like the Rays would pick up this negative influence. One of their assets seems to be Maddon holding the team together well. Who needs the distractions this clown will bring?
I can almost gaurantee that Luke Scott will fit in great with Rays and Maddon. His personality seems to fit with that team very well.
I don’t think the Rays give a rats behind about the character of a player, unless they are truly toxic i.e. Carlos Zambrano, as long as they produce and are affordable.
He’s a clown because of what he believes in?
i dont care what any of you haters are saying. and i honestly dont care about what type of person luke scott is… but he is going to be a upgrade for the rays. 20 pluse homers is always nice.
Thank Tebow he is not in Baltimore, Even though I know he will do some damage against us, because everyone that leaves does.
Luke Scott as a hitter is not what the Rays need. But they seem to always pull off the reclamation project of the year maybe Luke is it.
I’m going to make this pretty simple and say no matter what his political views are who cares? He’s an average baseball player, they don’t exactly hold that much political sway. I doubt Luke Scott’s opinions on any issue have made even a slightly noticeable difference.
Pena would be a soild cheap option for the rays because he is getting 5 mill from the cubs this year. Scott is a solid buy low option. If healthy he can rake
That 5MM is to be paid his month and is not part of the 2012 payroll. It was deferred money to be paid as part of his 2011 salary. What ever team he signs with will have to pay market value for him, not the league minimum.
Let’s forget about off-the-field stuff, and let’s focus on the move for him and the team:
I feel this is a no-brainer for the Rays. Scott had great career numbers against the Rays. So they signed him out of recognition. If he stays healthy, he can be a 20-30 HR guy.
i am not a birther. and there are a lot of things that i find objectionable about luke scott’s political views, though there are some things he has said that i agree with. that said, i have never seen or heard anything that would prove to me the man is a racist. its such a nasty thing to say about someone and its thrown around so frequently these days- even over the most trivial matters that the charge is becoming almost meaningless anyway. i enjoyed watching him play in baltimore and wish him good luck with the rays. just hope he doesn’t hurt us too bad.
Luke Scott is a proven AL East race-ist.
You say he is not racist, but he takes his cues from and repeats the filth that is created by big-mouth media racists. The public repetition of racist propaganda makes the FOLLOWERS racists too. You cannot plead ignorance if you espouse the same views. Birthers are inherently racists.
Do you know him? No, therefore you can’t say he’s a racist. Everything doesn’t always connect just like that.
You don’t have to know someone to say they are a racist, if they give an interview and say the crap this guy did I think you can make up your mind and call them what they are. I mean by your theory you would not be able to call Hitler a racist because you never met him and no in NO WAY am I comparing Luke Scott to Hitler!!!
What “racist” propaganda? Just because someone doesn’t like Obama does not make them racist. Were the birthers gullible…..yes. But automatically racist….no. It was just people doing anything they could to delegitimize a president they didn’t like or agree with. They are just the right wing version of idiots similar to the left wing crazys that went on for months/years about Bush stealing the election. Again, anything to delegitimize a president they didn’t like or agree with. It was about politics then, and it was about politics with the crazy birthers. Not about race.
I just find it amusing how the ONLY thing the Rays Haters can ever bring up is the lack of attendance. I have news for you..THE FANS of the team are some of the best in baseball. Because there’s a small market with a bunch of cheap retirees living in it does not make us the worst fans…possibly the worst fan base..but those are 2 different things. A bad “Fan” almost kills a fan of another team by trying to beat them to death in the parking lot…a bad fan spits on Cliff Lee’s wife and children and pours beer on them during a playoff game then gets pissed when he signs with another team after the season.. a bad fan throws beer and other objects at opposing teams outfielders, a bad fan pee’s on David Price’s car cause he hates the Rays..We are not bad fans because we have low attendance, we just have less numbers of GREAT fans. BTW..when your team that draws all those fans can actually make the playoffs then you can talk crap cause there aren’t many (if any) that could do what this team does with the resources they have to work with. Lastly if Scott stays healthy and produces he can say whatever ignorant things he wants…there’s been plenty of ignorant athletes that have been great players. I just hope he is the answer at DH we’ve been looking for.
As a Rays fan I completely agree
As a Rays fan I completely agree with everything you said
BRAVO!
unhealthy obsession for DHs with sweet mohawks
I really want to see a truly interesting bit of conspiracy theorizing. I want to see the popularization of the Ozzie Guillen theory.
It goes as such: Ozzie “Guillen” was actually born Osmond Gill to a family of Mormons in the state of Utah. To avoid the baseball draft he was outsourced to Venezuela where he underwent a racial “transplant” and was coached in being “all fiery Latino and all”. Jerry Reinsdorf, seeing is “fiery Latinoness” on a Betamax tape..spit out his Tab and ordered a Sox signing of the Utahzeulan. Cut to years later. Reinsdorf gets wind that Osmond has a younger brother who has undergone the same international transplant…one Carl Gill…..but decides to tuck young “Carlos Zambrano” in with the Cubs organization so he can watch Carl when Osmond and the Sox are away.
Bringing up to date….both brothers have joined the Miami Marlins to be closer to their parents who have retired and moved to South Florida.
As long as he hits, I don’t care if he even says Yankees and Red Sox SUX.
It must be really nice to get a contract based soley on name. I say that because Scott USED to be a productive player. He isn’t a bad player, but he isn’t worth $5 MM either ($6 counting buyout). I feel Damon should have been offered a contract first, then use Scott as insurance. The only advantage Scott has is (besides having 2 first names) more power than Damon. This all coming from a die hard Red Sox fan who loathed Damon for going to the Yankees.
You kinda defeat your own argument when you talk about signing Damon first. That would be a signing for name only again. Damon has declined in BA and OBP for 3 straight years, and saw his OPS dip below .750 last year. He’ll be 38 next year, and realistically his numbers will continue to decline. Scott is risky because of the shoulder, but his low end projections would likely be like last year (low .700 OPS) which would put him comparable to Damon, while his high end if healthy is likely low to mid .800 OPS. I don’t see any realistic expectation for Damon ever to approach those numbers again.
I’m just happy the Pirates didn’t sign Scott
Docks kg
That racist birther hick will fit right in down in Florida. Supposedly he used to throw plantain chips (the look like bananas) at his black teammates in order to let them know “they were acting like an “animal” “. Google Luke Scott + Deadspin