Josh Hamilton, ranked second on MLBTR's Top 50 Free Agent List, is said to be looking for a seven-year contract worth $175MM, tweets John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus (h/t the Dallas Morning News).
While the asking price doesn't match the length Albert Pujols received from the Angels last offseason, it would put Hamilton, represented by Moye Sports Associates, on par in terms of average annual salary at $25MM. Hamilton is widely regarded as the best free agent position player available, but he may have trouble finding a club with the financial flexibility to sign him. It hasn't, however, stopped reports of teams like the Braves and the Brewers being intrigued by the possibility of signing the five-time All-Star.
Hamilton said last month he will give the Rangers an oppportunity to match any offer he receives. The Rangers reportedly aren't prepared to offer Hamilton a long-term deal, but did extend him a qualifying offer worth $13.3MM. He has until next Friday to either accept or decline the tender. If Hamilton declines, any team signing him will also have to factor in the cost of losing a top draft choice.
MLBTR asked its readers last month whether Hamilton will remain with the Rangers and more than 73% of you believe he will play elswhere in 2013.
Good Luck with that 🙂
He’ll get 5/110
Or possibly a 4 yr. I think it will also come down to personal preference for him, especially since he likes TX, his family and church are in TX, and he feels pretty comfortable in TX overall. If someone offers him 5 yrs and the Rangers offer 4, I wouldnt be surprised if he takes the 4 yrs.
I’d be extremely surprised. That relationship seems strained.
Maybe. I still think its 50/50 he’ll return to the Rangers. Agree though, not sure how much they want of him right now. Probably be better off concentrating on pitching and putting Martin or Gentry in center and pick up Hunter. Hunter being from around the DFW wouldnt be a bad alternative. He would at least come without the circus..
It’s going to take 2 teams to bid the offers anywhere close to what he reportedly is asking for. Would the Angels and Rangers be those teams? What if Greinke signs in Texas? Does that motivate Arte Moreno to go wild on Hamilton? Does Hamilton do any endorsements? Is there any reason to think he would be a draw with the Dodgers if they moved contracts to acquire him? And shouldn’t the Dodgers be spending on starting pitching instead?
Which team is the most helped by adding a bat like Hamilton’s? I just think it will end up being an AL team that envisions using him as a DH towards the end of his contract, particularly if it’s more than 5 years.
Hahahahahahahahah!
Hopefully this will kill the Brewers rumors
Rofl; if you really think he is going to get that contract…
I didn’t say anything about him getting it, but I doubt the Brewers can even negotiate with that as his starting point
Ok, I’ll spell it all out for ya…
Either someone hands him the 6-7 yr/150-175 mil deal and it stops there, or nobody will offer him that contract and his price will drop. At that point, the Brewers would probably be interested and jump into the bidding for Hamilton and offer him the 5 yr / 100 million deal that they offered everyone else, while Hamilton also gets the bonus of his good friends, the Narrons, as coaches and one of the best home run hitting parks, etc.
It will take one stupid team to offer him the 7 yr/ $175, but if sanity prevails, his price should drop to the range where the Brewers could enter the fray.
Sorry you spelled it wrong, the Rangers either match a deal like that or someone else outbids it. Hamilton will not be on the Brewers next season
I never said he’d sign with the Brewers. I’ve only ever stated that the Brewers will end up talking to Hamilton, because his lofty demands will not be met. What the Rangers do is irrelevant, since they are only going to match whatever deal is brought to them. Therefore, unless some team is stupid enough to go 6-7/150-175, the Brewers rumors will come to fruition when they talk to him about a 5/100-115 deal that would put him in a comfortable, Milwaukee atmosphere. I never spelled it wrong; you just didn’t read it correctly.
the Brewers could not resign Fielder then they are clearly out of Hamilton talks
I’m asking for that too. Doesn’t mean I’ll get it.
Difference is he is an All Star baseball player who hit 43/128 this year. By your logic, no player ever could ever get 7/175.
He’s also 32 and gets hurt every single year.
He is not 32 yet and he has played 121, 133, and most recently 148 games the past three years.
121 and 133 games played aren’t good totals.
If my team is going to give out a mega deal like 7/175 I would want him out there 155+. Missing 14 games due to just injuries, not counting the slumps he goes through is quite a lot of games he is not producing.
You realize those aren’t very high game totals, right?
148 is high. and the other two are around 80% of a season. Just so it’s clear I’ve already said that I wouldn’t give him 175 either.
Yes, 148 is acceptable. 121 and 133…no. That’s missing a significant amount of time.
Are you really Nomar Garciaparra, or if you’re not, why are you using his name as a handle here? What do you think he thinks about that?
Just to put this in perspective. If he were to average 148 games for the 7 years his average AB would gross him $42, 229.72. That’s just crazy insane for a ball player to be earning that.
Look at Hamilton’s stats. His strikeout rate has gone through the roof, it’s worse than in his previously worst season.
this guy might be a doctor or a teacher, or rocket scientist. All jobs more deserving of 175 million than a sports player
Good luck with that! Only a crazed AL team’s GM would make that offer.
Pass.
People don’t get it. It’s a negotiation. This is the absolute most he’s asking for.
Even as a starting position it seems high.
Not really. It’s about what I expected. It doesn’t mean he’ll get it. Just means he want to start there.
wouldn’t you want to start high?
Thank you for the most intelligent response thus far. He can ask for whatever he wants, doesnt mean he’ll get it. He probably already knows this, thus the high number of years in hopes someone counters with a 5-6 yrs, or maybe someone that is desperate will go 7. It actually wouldnt surprise me if one team did..
Everyone knows that. Get a sense of humor!
I’m not so sure everyone knows that. A couple actually seem angry.
Sarcasm on the internet? Like that will ever happen.
I get weird flashbacks of the Ryan Howard – Ruben Minaya Jr “negotiation”.
Rumor has it Rube’s told Ryan he was gonna give him whatever he wanted, if he re-signed.
“I’m going to need a SWAT team ready to
mobilize, street level maps covering all of Florida, a pot of coffee,
12 Jammy Dodgers and a fez.” – all he got was the maps
Who does he think his agent is? Scott Boras?
Scott Boras doesn’t have rights to hard negotiating.
I’d be shocked if he even got five years. Given his history, tying yourself to a guy like him for seven years is quite the risk. The average annual dollars probably aren’t all that far off. I’m thinking 4 years, $100M or 5 years, $125M at most.
Too long, too much. 🙂
I think I’d be willing to give him 5 years/$120-125 million. not if I’m the Braves or Brewers, but some team doing that wouldnt surprise me. Thats the most I would give him though. I still think the Braves should explore Ryan Ludwick as cheaper option for 2-3 years in left field
In other news. Moye Sports Associates has now replaced Scott Boras as the leader in crazy contract demands.
I think someone will give him 7/150. I’d welcome it to the jays
Edit: and people blow the injury and drug thing way out of proportion
Jays should offer 120/4. Offer more annually for a shorter period of time, it’d be the only way Hamilton would think about coming to TO. Paul Beeston would need to talk it through with Rogers though.
cut of 20/15 mil of that and Texas may match, their problem is the length.
People who haven’t experienced close friends or family members who struggle with substance abuse are usually (USUALLY) the ones who suggest it’s not a big deal.
Josh Hamilton is a public figure who has repeatedly dealt with substance abuse — which makes it (for him) both easier and harder. Easier, in that there’s greater accountability for his choices, simply by virtue of being the press. Harder in that fame and money can (and often do) lead to various levels of recklessness, including drugs and alcohol.
Any team choosing to sign Josh Hamilton ought not be so short-sighted as to think that his issues have been blown out of proportion. They are serious issues, and deserve serious attention.
Also, all that said — he’s only been injury-free for a whole season once in his career, and he’s on the wrong side of 30. A seven year contract has trouble written all over it, drug issues notwithstanding.
he has played 133, 121, and 148 games the past three years and that 148 was the most recent. He still plays the majority of the season regularly
Sure, but injury issues tend to get worse with age, not better.
For Hamilton to complete a five year contract without missing a considerable amount of time would be a long shot. Seven years? Yikes…
I’m not saying you are wrong but that is pretty much the case with every player. and considering he took a big jump this season, i don’t consider it a BIG issue. Of course I’m concerned about injuries and thats why 175 isn’t good for me. But it’s not as big an issue as people make it out to be.
Wait…
So injuries issues get worse with age and they’re an issue for every player, but you don’t consider them a big issue for a guy who wrecked his body for years with drugs and alcohol?
I’m confused.
Also, what big jump did Hamilton take this season? Sure, he hit a lot of home runs, but his numbers took a nosedive in the second half and he was basically an absentee for the AL West deciding three game series in Oakland, as well as the Wild Card game against the Orioles.
This comment actually makes me feel like I’ve wasted my time here. If I have to answer what jump, then I might as well be explaining this to my dog.
One has to assume you mean the jump from 121 games to 148 games. And you can compare this message board to your dog if you like, but you’re promoting ideas that aren’t really all that supported (one, that Josh Hamilton is worth 7/150 or more; two, that substance abuse isn’t a big deal; and three, that the Blue Jays would actually spend 7/150 on a 32-year old center fielder with an inconsistent history).
Clearly you like the Blue Jays, and clearly Josh Hamilton is a talented free agent. But he’s injury prone with or without a substance abuse problem, and he’s not getting any younger.
Your Blue Jays don’t have a budget that can handle 7/150 (as you proposed) if they hope to have anything else on their roster beyond journeymen and AAAA players. If I were running the Jays, I would stay away from big ticket free agents, and follow something more like the Rays business model. (Of course, I wouldn’t have traded my manager away like he was a second round draft pick either, but that’s another issue.)
I know the Jays wouldn’t actually do it, it’s more of a fantasy. And I’ll say this one more time: It’s not that drugs are not a big issue, it’s that it hasn’t effected his play.
His performance didn’t take a jump. He’s 28th in WAR among batters since 2007. of his 4 seasons where he played at least 120 games his WAR has been :4.1,8.4,4.1 and 4.4 . Unless you are calling moving from a 4.1 to a 4.4 a “jump”. He’s a good player, but he’s not nearly as elite as some people think he is (though a permanent move to LF will help his total value a good bit)
His K rate went from 17.3% (which is good for a power hitter) to 25+%, and hes a significantly more indiscriminate hitter.
That’s fine now, but as he ages and his bat slows down, bad plate discipline is going to make his decline even sharper than it would be otherwise.
that’s a huge red flag, not even mentioning that he probably needs to be moved to corner outfield asap, which diminishes his value.
This comment actually makes me feel like I’ve wasted my time here.
You don’t have anything to say in response, so you’re stooping to insults? Nice.
It doesn’t effect his play though. I’m not saying that drugs are blown out of proportion, I’m saying that he has yet to falter on the field and he has shown that he wants to shake this so I don’t think it’ll get any worse than what happened this spring.
7/150 is a huge risk for any ballplayer. Let alone a 32-year-old who has played exactly one full season over the past five years while continue to struggle with substance abuse.
As an O’s fan, I’d be happy to see the Jays sign Hamilton for 7/150. That should put them in a world of financial hurt, and thus out of the picture in the AL East, for the next seven years.
Dodgers: 10 years: $250 mil. And that’s our final offer!!
Why do I find this not hard to believe.
Nick Punto is mulling over your offer.
Not more than 5 years and not more than 15 MIL a season. Whatever sucker team pays more or gives more years is just asking for trouble. I think 5 years is even pushing it.
Oh, nonsense! We’ll give him twice what he’s asking for!
A smart team would NOT try to sign Hamilton at this price.
He wants to be paid $25,000,000 when he’s 38?
probably more like $30,000,000 given the way I would expect the contract to be worked out.
I expect him to get a 5 year deal worth somewhere around $115M.
Every year there is a free agent like this. Every year we laugh at his asking price. Every year a team pays significantly more than the asking price and we are shocked. Could this be the year we change the trend?
I hope so.
First thing I thought of when I saw the title of the report. While I would hope a team wouldn’t offer a contract like this to Hamilton, I also didn’t see Fielder getting the deal he got.
Fielder got his contract prior to his 28-year-old season after playing 157+ games in each of his seven full seasons in the majors. Not to mention 161+ from 2009 – 2011.
Hamilton turns 32 in May, and he’s topped 150 games once in six seasons.
Sure, there are issues with both players, and I can’t believe I’m downplaying Fielder’s girth, but I think the industry would consider weight issues less of a risk than injuries and substance abuse issues.
good info, thanks
Fielder, like all husky people, is quite the jolly character. Overpaid, sure, a little bit. But he’s an awesome player with an expensive contract.
The risk with Hamilton is that he ends up being a formerly great player with a mammoth of a contract.
Fielder’s contract is in the same ballpark as Joey Votto (for now). Very expensive, and not a bargain. But contracts with players who are reliable.
I predict that Fielder’s contract will remain a “fair” one throughout the length of it. Votto’s contract on the other hand, is bound to turn real sour in 5-6 years IMO.
I’m gonna say your a tigers fan. The last 1/3 of that contract will not be good
No, I actually dislike the Tigers a lot, although I have real reason for why.
I like a lot of their players, but their franchise just rubs me the wrong way.
No offence Tigers fans.
As for Prince, I just have a feeling he’s durable. Sure, he’ll be about 400 lbs in 4 years. But he’ll defy the law of physics somehow, and still bat for average, power and what ever else. Heck, he’ll probably steal 10+ bases.
Sliding for home like a mother LOL.
Didn’t mean anything particularly negative, just don’t think most fans agree with fielder being durable. He’ll be amazing the first few years, but when you’re that large, 9 years is a long commitment
Aouch, sorry, thought the contract was for 7 years. My bad. And those last three years may not be so fun.
I mean, unless you’re running a deep dish pizza place in Detroit down town.
Is Prince sponsored by Domino’s? Or is it the other way around?
7 years for prince would be similar to 5 for Hamilton- a great get for the team. Prince waited a long time for that deal. And I think Prince could own a few Dominos if he wanted to.
One other thing, any reason I can only post on the mobile site?
I’m pretty sure that Prince is sponsored by Little Caesars. And I’d wager that there are a few of them in the Detroit area…
That was a mistake to sign votto for so long. It probably is around where he would have fallen for his next deal, but they locked him up when they still had him for another 2 years. 12 years is a long time to lock a player up for that long. I just shudder to think what if he gets injured significantly,
In a few years, Votto’s contract is bound to look like Ryan Howards. What kind of production do they expect from him when he’s 37?
Fielder is as fat as the goodyear blimp. Don’t misuse the wood husky, for fat.
He is (if anything) bigger than his obese father, who was fairly useful as a bat until the age 33 season and if that remains true with Jr? That leaves 5 seasons of horrendous value the Tigers are going to regret.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not comparing the two players. I simply said I didn’t see Fielder getting the money and years he got, which is why, given teams’ penchants for handing out big money contracts, Hamilton getting what he wants wouldn’t surprise me.
I actually like the Fielder contract comparatively. Sure he is a slightly worse hitter, and not as good in the field, but they signed a player that is 4 years younger at a deal for 1 year less. They only had to sign fielder through age 36, where pujols will be there til he is 41. Fielder should be pretty productive though his contract. Whereas Pujols I don’t know, because how often do players stay productive into their 40’s.
If the White Sox had managed to avoid a collapse would people already being saying Fielder was not worth what they paid him this season? 4.9 WAR for 23 million? It’s not bad I guess but it’s not good either.
And the Angels?
Don’t see how it’s relevant, is more than just 1 player as the reason that a team misses the playoffs. Fielder may not have been as good as we have seen him ever, but he still performed to what they paid him to do. Fielder has been better than Pujols last 2 years with the bat.
Considering Hamilton’s age, injuries and substance abuse issues, I’d expect so.
I think there will be a shift towards locking up young players.
There is little reason for a team to spend 11 mil a year on a spoiled vet like jimmy rollins when you instead can put that money towards extending a Manny machado.
Spend 150 mil for 5 years of Hamilton or maybe 60 mil for 9 years of Starlin Castro?
Easy choice.
I think we’ve had a period where young players weren’t perceived to be ready unless they had played 3-4 years of minor league ball. But Trout, Machado, Harper, changed that.
Free agent vets aren’t gonna be as desirable imo.
So he will get 5/97+ incent… + 24 beers/week
Wasn’t funny the first time it was posted
I’ll commend Mr. Hamilton on his sense of humour.
i agree good luck with that. dont think he even gets close
HAHAHAHA!
To be blunt, baseball is a business and Hamilton is about a risky investment as there is. Very high reward for a very high risk. Not only do we have the injury issues and the addiction issues, we also have the random Hamilton-esqe problems like “can’t see during days games(Sorry Cubs), his slumps that go a month or longer, and the costs of his “people”.
Well there’s no way that Texas will give him that kind of deal, so buh-bye!
Lawls.
when is the last time the guy at the top of the market didn’t AT LEAST get their asking price? He’ll get what he’s asking…might even get the dollar amount at 6 years, or the AAV over 8.
Not even Ruben Minaya Jr and the Phillies will bite that. I predict he’ll get 5 years and 125 mil from the Phillies though.
A four year deal at 90 mil is still overpaying considering Hamilton’s unlikely to play more than 110-120 games and his increasingly bad plate discipline.
But it would be something that a team could gamble with, considering the great upside Hamilton has.
I believe he’s worth around 22-25 mil next year, 18-19 in 2014, 15 mil in 2015 and 11-12 (similar to Ortiz) in 2016.
Now, I am a big fan of Hamilton, but his lackadaisical play on that fly ball against Oakland, and his obvious could-care-less attitude in at-bats, is a big red flag.
Josh is probably the most talented player in MLB, but he’s just not mentally fit to execute.
I think Texas will be a better team without him eventually. They’ll miss his bat, but they won’t miss his lack of effort (at times).
I wish him the best, and I hope he lands a big contract somewhere else, hopefully not with my fave teams (although it seems likely that Ruben Minaya Jr will be the guy who coughs up the dole).
I agree with your guess of 5/125, I’m not sure which team however.
I think that there would be a lot of suitors at 5/$100mill but somebody will throw in either an extra year (6/$120mill) or that extra AAV on a 5 yr deal. If any GM gives him 7/$175m they deserve the firing that will surely be coming in about 5 years.
Ruben Minaya Jr deserved firing after extending Ryan Howard. But he’s still around. Don’t expect this signing to get him the boot either.
Not happening.
He ll end up with Brewers for 5 years 125 mil unless Dodgers move Either then i say he gets the 7 years 175 mil
Personally i would give him 5 years 110 mil, highest i would go
An over-paid, oft-injured player entering his declining years… sounds like a Met already!
Or Yankee….this Guy is right down Cashman’s alley.
Josh’s asking price needs to come down. I wouldn’t even be willing to give him a 5 year deal, let alone 7 years. He’s asking for a contract very similar to the one the Yankee gave Mark Teixeira in 2009, but when Teixeira got his contract, he was younger than Hamilton and had no little injury history or shady past to speak of. I fully believe in Hamilton’s talent. He’s had such a bad break in life on so many instances. Whether it be personal or the accidental death of that boys father. The man has his demons. Money in and of itself is another demon.It doesn’t necessarily lead to happiness. I don’t want to see Josh corrupted by money. Hamilton will get paid for sure, but I hope he learns to come down from this ridiculous asking price.
I think Bobby’s guess is very reasonable (115 mil/5 years). But if we step back and look at what Hamilton is, and what he’s likely to be in the next few years, or at least the risk of becoming, 115 mil is very steep.
I did a little speculation using the Fangraphs WAR stats for Hamilton. Also, it’s stated that every WAR point is worth 4.5 mil, so a guy with a 2.0 WAR would be “worth” to pay 9 mil per year.
In 2010, Hamilton had a career year, where his WAR was 8.4. The last two seasons, 2011 and 2012, he’s had a WAR of 4.1 and 4.4, respectively. And 4.4 this year, despite playing in 148 games, much more than his career year 2010.
In six seasons, Hamilton’s accumalated 25 WAR, an average of 4.1 WAR.
His worst WAR season, 2009, came before his career year, 2010. What’s troubling is that his strikeout rate was LOWER that year than it was this year, 2012.
But lets assume Hamilton rebounds next year with a 6 WAR (worth 27 mil salary). I seriously doubt it, but just for arguments case.
Then I’ll argue that he would drop to at most 4 WAR during 2014 and 2015. Just guessing, but that’s what this board is about. 4 WAR is “worth” 18 mil salary.
In 2016 I doubt he’s more than 3 WAR, the same goes for 2017. Both those years are 13.5 mil per year.
In total then, a five year deal for Hamilton, that would be “fair”, would IMO be 90 mil.
And even then, I am very doubtful about him getting to 6 WAR next year, or going to 4 WAR in 2014 and 2015.
The increased strikeouts are a real issue.
Look, I’m sure there are many flaws with my reasoning, one of them being that you can’t properly put a price tag on WAR. I understand this, but it’s food for thought at least, I was trying to put together something usable for once…
Interesting. Where did you come up with the “Also, it’s stated that every WAR point is worth 4.5 mil, so a guy with a 2.0 WAR would be “worth” to pay 9 mil per year.”
Right now it is commonly believed 1 WAR costs around $4.5m on the free agent market. Places like fangraphs have also stated that it is around $4.5m per WAR on the free agent market.
…And then Hamilton woke up…
Wow, I don;t even know who’s asking for more at this point, Swisher or Hamilton. All I can say is that both of these campers want a lot more candy than their neighbors are willing to give them.
I don’t quite see who would pay Swisher 10+ millions on a multiyear deal.
His away split (not hitting in Yankee stadium, that is) is less impressive.
His OPS was higher on the road.
Kind of funny how people forget logic flies out the window when a player like Hamilton is available. Seven years couldn’t possibly shock anyone anymore. Part of his history is what appeals to the ticket buying fanbase. An owner will make a deal and he’ll have to deal with the consequences down the road. Not the first time, not the last.
One thing that’s gonna shake up a lot of things, and that very few people in baseball are talking about, is that TV ad revenues are going down, and fast!
This means that TV deals that previously would secure the future of a franchise, aren’t suddenly so secure anymore.
Even if FOX has signed on to pay X billions during a 10 year span, it doesn’t mean anything, if FOX doesn’t have any ad revenues to pay with.
Advertising is turning to social networks, and also using networks in real life to get their messages out and about. Much more cost effective.
This will inevitably take a cut from the teams financial strength.
Teams may very well fill this void with other, even better sources of income, like streaming PPV games and “club events” online, but right now, TV is on the way out. The money has to come from elsewhere.
I asked for that once too at work. They didn’t give it to me though, oh well.
The Hamilton/Braves talks is nice for us Braves fans to dream about, but it’s not happening. Of course, you’d love to have a player of his caliber but the $ don’t match, and the lineup is already left-handed heavy. They need a right-handed bat that can crush LF pitching.
Braves have a very good lineup as it is, and it looks to be even better next year, with Hayward and Freeman probably getting settled in finally. Braves will be very tough. They just have too much of a pitchers park.
Of course he’s asking for that much. You always ask for top dollar to maximize your potential earnings. You never know if someone will pony up the dough you’re asking for, or come close to it. Will he get the 175/7? Probably not. But it doesn’t hurt to ask.
Yikes. Those numbers make Werth’s, A-Rods and Howards’, and Wells’ contracts look pretty reasonable.
Hamilton is one year too late. He would have gotten easily last year from Miami.
I don’t think Hamilton will be worth much more than $18 mill AAV over the life of any contract longer than 2 yrs. He’s settled in to be a 4+ WAR player. you can get that production at greater value from guys like Pagan or Swisher. True he has the POTENTIAL for putting up another 8 win season, but does anybody find this becoming MORE LIKELY as he ages?
Guess the Orioles are out….
If the Rangers sign Greinke, it might make the Angels players against the Brewers, Braves and Mystery Team to offer Hamilton T least 6 years. They’d be fools to do it, but that never stops teams from trying to make a splash. I’d commit the money to Greinke over Hamilton if I were the Rangers.
I don’t think you will find the Rangers arguing with you over this one. It looks as though that is what they already have in mind, especially after two of their better starters went down last season and won’t even be back until the All-Star break at the earliest.
Here’s why he won’t get it: He’s white. He’s not marketable at all like Pujols. Pujols sells a crap ton of jerseys and other merch. Much like Ichiro crushes the Japanese market, Pujols dominates the everloving crap out of the Latino market which is half the reason the Angels knew they could pay him so much money.
Hamilton is a normal, plain white guy with pretty much no marketing whatsoever outside of his local market, wherever that might end up.
Even IF you know that Pujols is going to be worthless on the end of his contract, you’re still going to have sold a billion jerseys and will still have one of the most marketable players to a specific demographic as well as plenty of the rest of the market as well. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone with a Hamilton jersey, and they may not even sell at all outside of Texas. That’s definitely a factor.
Of course, general managers get desperate. I’d see him getting 4/100 with options, but seven years is a little silly for a 32-yr old guy with issues in the past.
The whole race thing is irrelevant.
It’s extremely relevant.
What ryear are you talking about 2006? If you look at list of top selling jerseys Hamilton was #2 in 2012. I’m not even sure Pujols cracked top ten. Very bad example. I guess your race example would be relevant if MLB is expanding to a full time time in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone with a Hamilton jersey, and they may not even sell at all outside of Texas.
I am not even sure what you’re trying to say here.
Most fans that I run into wear the hat of their favorite team. Yes some jersey’s sell, but it isn’t pro football, most of their fans wear the team jersey and not the hat.
As for a billion jerseys for Pujols…haha, I think that’s just a bit high. Outside of St. Louis and now Los Angeles of Anaheim, I don’t think Pujols is that popular.
To be honest, in my recent memory the only player I knew to be universally popular and you can include me in this group of fans was Bo Jackson.
As for Josh Hamilton I am quite certain that he would help whichever fanbase of the team he decides to sign.
Pujols isn’t even the best selling Jersey on the Angels. Mike Trout is by a long shot. I’ve actually seen a fair number of people at Angel Stadium wearing Angels hats and Pujols St Louis jerseys they likely picked up cheap online.
You’re kidding, right? If anything, all of the Jesus/”overcoming adversity” glurge is uber-marketable.
Hamilton’s not looking at a Pujols-like contract because he’s older and a lot less durable. Plain and simple.
Worst arguement ever.
Hamilton doesnt mean he’ll get. No way I go 7 years with his injury and off field issues especially if I am an NL team. Could buy him alot of oh nevermind
i just got an austin powers flashback
Hamilton and McCutchen is going to make a nasty outfield in Pittsburgh
Worst part is, some team out there will give him what he wants, thus contributing to a never ending trend of contract inflation.
Definetely not worth it, Hamilton will probably be a full time corner ofer soon. I also dont see him as the 45 hr hitting cf he was this year, his career suggests he is more of a 30-35 hr guy, with poor plate discipline.
But if you extrapolate the best 3 months of his season into a full 162 he’s as good as Barry Bonds !
Not even, Bonds retired with a career .444 obp. And 650 of those were intentionanal walks. Bonds was feared, Hamilton is good but not even close.
I agree. Hamilton has to prove that he could get he could get quality steriods like Barry in order to get to the next level.
msg333 was making a joke about hyperbole. It was the very best joke about hyperbole EVER.
I know. Just saying how good bonds was.
I think the guy is doing drugs again…
It’s amazing Hamilton thinks he’s worth that much. Here in Pittsburgh we got McCutchen wrapped up for 6 yrs/$51 mil! Talk about a bargain!
Not exactly an apples to apples comparison given the service time McCutchen had when he signed the deal.
Thats a short term deal for a star player. He is being too generous to the MLB Clubs. Minimum should start at 10 years and 300 million.
..is this Scott Boras?
Teams will not get hung up on the asking price, but on the length of the contract.
To the guy that suggested the 5/115 contract, I agree with you but we all know it aint going to happen. This is a pickle, theres a lot of variables and factors here but the fact is that someone will offer him what he wants and itll be a team thats desperate, then itll be up to him to decide to play for a crappy team for the right money or lower the asking price for a better fit and a shot at contending.
Gotta love everyone over reacting. When you negotiate a contract you don’t start low then go up. You start high then work down.
I guess he’s retiring then.
I am a die hard Braves fan and a huge fan of Josh Hamilton. That being said, the Braves can get BJ Upton and either Shane Victorino or Nick Swisher for the same amount or less. They really do not need anymore left handed bats, but right handed and switch hitters will be just fine. Let’s get Upton and Swisher to go with J-Hey in the outfield!!!
He needs to look at his 2nd half numbers. This would of been a starting point after 1st half. always better to have huge 2nd half/big playoffs like carlos beltran. this is the year no team gives him 7 years/ it is insane. it will be funny when he gets 8 yrs 200 million
5 years and 80-90 mil is fair value, considering josh might get you 4 WAR/season. That’s no gimmie though, he may get injured and miss a lot. Not to forget, he’s been hitting in Arlington. Hitters paradise.
Well thanks for playing
yeah, ah, that’s not gonna happen from the Brewers. any fool can tell you that. the Brewers will bid 100 over 5 years and they’ll be topped by the Dodgers at 200 for 7. Moye Sports Associates will say “are you sure?” and the Dodgers will say “OK, 210”.
OK, wild idea so someone can tell me why it wouldn’t work. 14 million base salary and 20 million bonus for 1st in MVP ticking all the way down to 1 million for 20th MVP. He could be getting 14 mil for a bad season and 34 mil for a great season. A solid season with 10th in MVP and he gets his 25 million. Any reason they couldn’t do this? Is there a cap on incentives?
Managers of opposing clubs would vote for Hamilton as MVP just to reduce the financial flexibility of whatever team ends up getting ihm
managers do not vote for MVP.
Thanks for your time in Texas…..
Not sure who can afford a massive overpay right now. Hamilton is just such a risk.
As a husky/fat guy I think its awesome that prince got a good contract! Don’t be mad that an overweight guy can play ball better then you!
The Rangers cannot win the division without Josh. Up the money lower the years but keep him a Ranger.
no way my braves pay that
If he wants that much he needs to stay in the AL
With each large signing the clubs willing to pay this much dwindles. Who is left ?
In the American League where DH gives you some comfort for later years of the contract,
Boston only and maybe Seattle and Baltimore.