By Sue S.
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on January 11, 2000.
Echoes of neighborhood boys who once shared tales of baseball can still be heard as if it were yesterday. “One million dollars?”, they shouted. “No one should make that much just to play baseball.” The time was around 1978, when Dave Parker signed the first million dollar per year contract worth $5 million. Well, why not? The average salary for a player in the NBA is around $2 million and approximately $1 million in the NFL. All compared to about $1.5 million for a player in Major League Baseball. At an Astros game in 1996, a fan was heard complaining, “They make millions of dollars and they still can’t win”. This person was wearing a Houston Rockets championship shirt and was exiting the Dome in disgust. It is ironic that it was Mike Hampton pitching that day and struggling early in his career. The team made blunders, but only due to lack of confidence. The players were doing their best with the teammates they had, with a payroll of just around $35 million. The Astros fell short of the playoffs that year. The opposing team, the Atlanta Braves, went on to win the National League pennant on a superior paycheck.
Since the 1994 strike, team salaries have soared and both plummeted into a never-ending story. The top payroll in baseball today is $85,054,360 with a low of $17,340,500. Do the math. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, the teams who once thrived on success, such as Kansas City and Oakland, have been found recently at the bottom of the season-ended barrel. It was less than a decade ago when the Fall Classic was played by two teams that finished in last place the prior year. Although, steadily rising with winning ball clubs, team salaries did not reach an all time high until 1997. The Florida Marlins spent at least $80 million dollars on a team that in five short years from its birth won the World Series, only then to have the team dismantled the following season. This has set the tone for the rest of the decade. The one exception was the San Diego Padres, in 1998. The paychecks did not quite meet up to par with The Yankees. But, there were two former players on that particular squad who were no longer affordable just four years before…with the Asters.
It takes more than money to win. Just ask the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago Cubs. However, it is becoming more apparent that at the end of one hundred and sixty-two, most of the rich cream rises to the top.
Basically there are two factors involved when owners acquire players. Some simply hire to assist in win-now situations and some desire those who will fill seats. The highest payrolls in baseball today have been able to fit the bill in both scenarios. Drayton McLane, owner of the Houston ball club, has tried to do the same. Recently however, in an attempt to endure some financial responsibility, he found the need to trade Carl Everett and Hampton, possibly to allow for Craig Biggio and Jose Lima to be retained. And hopefully, Jeff Bagwell. All three players assisted in winning and are crowd favorites. McLane has put his team in the playoffs three consecutive years, allowing only a less than half an increase in his budget. On the other hand, the rest of the 1999 playoff teams have doubled or more their chances. The top two in the American League and National League have enjoyed two Fall Classics in a three-year span.
Major League Baseball…This is Houston…We have a problem.
It’s not arbitration. This salary negotiable tool can actually be good for baseball. It allows teams to negotiate with players they could otherwise not afford who have exceeded expectation early in their career prior to their eligibility for free agency. It also encourages owners to lock in these players into longer deals and retain them within their budget. Hence, the recent case of Lima and the Astros. Although, free agency branches off, its main trunk has players with their agents exploring the market set by the previous player(s). Since there is no salary cap in baseball and becuase of an exemption from antitrust laws, agents can simply go to the highest bidder. When contracts are not limited to a maximum amount, competitive balance is not maintained.
Major League Baseball…This is Houston…a leak has been detected in the system.
It is the year 2000 and time for baseball to get a grip. If the sport wants to be a business, then act like one. Like in one aspect, customer satisfaction. Sure, the fans are happy with the product in Atlanta and New York, but they are quite displeased in Minnesota. In Houston, the consumer feels caught in the middle. Baseball cannot operate to full capacity without all its competition. Therefore, it cannot afford any further discrepancies in team salaries. Also, the less teams, the weaker the players’ union and so on. Owners and the MLB Players’ Association have a golden opportunity to create a new tradition coming into the new millenium. The next at-bat is around 2002. What’s it going to be to win one for America’s National Pastime? Is there going to be a lockout at the plate with the hitting of numerous foul balls? Or, is Congress going to be called on to pinch-hit, because negotiations between owners and the union have struck out. Both are quite capable of keeping the ball in fair territory and connect with a long drive sending the few remaining in the crowd to a standing roar.
Here’s the pitch….
Major League Baseball…this is earth’s command center in Houston…how do you read?
