I would say it's partially Trout's doing, that and the team not being great. He is by all means a fantastic player, but he doesn't have a big personality nor does he do a ton of attention seeking off the field, whether it be events or ads or whatever.
MLB: Mike Trout Gettin' Paaiiidddddd
- Thread starter Bret44
- Start date
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I want to say the Angels signed a $3 billion (with a B) TV contract a few years ago.
This doesn't include $$ generated by playing the games or selling merch.
If Trout's star power helps Artie get a deal that includes land he can develop in Anaheim or a sweetheart deal in Long Beach this will look like complete robbery.
$$ hasn't been the issue. How they spend the money has been a problem
I agree completely. I was just trying to point out that I think it’s silly to question the worth of the high-paid, superstars in sports. “I don’t have a problem with guys getting paid $17 million a year, but holy cow Mike Trout (the best player in the game) getting paid $35m+ is a bridge too far” is a pretty common sentiment among a certain segment of fans.
If you want to have an intellectual discussion about the morality of the obscene amounts of money that people willingly choose to spend to watch adults play games, then have it. But it’s not Mike Trout’s fault that he’s getting paid an insane amount of money. If people really think things are out of hand financially in professional sports, then stop giving the owners your money.
Yeah, Albert Pujols wanted a deal from the Cardinals in 2012 at the height of his career/popularity as well. They didn't do it and the Angels did. That deal has worked out awesome for the Angels...
Totally agree with your comments but to bring this back to baseball:
Does anybody else see these gigantic superstar contracts and immediately start doing the math for the number of multiple solid pitchers that could be acquired for the same money?
Absolutely. Superstars are important, but you can get so many very good players for the same money.
It also jacks up the base price for all players.
Maybe teams have the money to sign superstars and role players as well, but it seems like some of these contracts are going to hamstring the organization.
I just don't get why teams are OK with locking themselves into a decade long deal with no out. No matter how great the player is you still can't predict the future. Trout's a relative bargain now but two thirds of the way through the contract it'll already be an albatross unless his prime extends into his late 30s; same for Bryce Harper. Pay them monster money for 5-7 years, sure. Makes sense for every one. The team doesn't have the long term obligation and the player gets another chance for a huge payday if they play well.
I love KB but I wouldn't want him to have a contract like this. So much can happen and players fade at different points of their careers. I would hate to pay a guy like that for a 12 year deal and in year 5 he starts hitting .250 with 18 HRs. Not terrible, but for $36 million a year? No thanks.
The only issue I have is when the owners leverage their team into deals with cities to pay for stadiums/upgrades. I'm not a huge fan of that and I wish cities would all just tell them to get bent.
It was widely talked about that the Pujols contract was bad for the Angels. He was 32 at the time. And he was a hell of a player but not on Trout’s level. Won’t dispute that was a terrible contract. Trout is 27 and will be in legitimate consideration as the best player of all time. Yes, he’ll likely decline after he gets to 35 or so. But if the Angels played paddy cake and waited him out, there’s a solid chance he would leave and the Angels just turned away one of the best players of all time. They did the right thing here
He got what the market would dictate. Good for him. He is worth every penny that the Angels have paid. It would have been a PR nightmare for the Angels not to pay him and still have that albatross contract that they gave to Pulious still around.
He'll be able to get his kids into any college they want out there with all that dough
Admittedly, I havent followed baseball as close as I used to the last couple years, but the Angels dont ring a bell when it comes to teams with good farm systems. Thats how you win in the MLB now. If the Angels have loads of talent expected to come up in the next 2-4 years, then I think this is a really good deal. If not, they will continue down the path they have been on for a long time and waste the career of a potential GOAT.
All that being said, I 100% agree the Angels had to make this deal, but I dont see how it works for them.
Imagine back to back ACL tears or Achilles ruptures....GM would probably cry more than the player
I agree, winning consistently revolves around a strong farm system. Build around your homegrown guys then supplement with key trades (using your other prospects) as needed. That's typically a good recipe for success. But you and I probably won't see another Trout in our lifetimes. A smart bet would be that we definitely won't...
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23800260/how-mike-trout-stacks-mlb-greats-first-1000-games
He isn't the same player as ANYONE that has ever been the centerpiece in one these mega-deals. If you're into WAR as a stat, his laughs in the face of literally everyone else's to ever play the game. Like you said, you don't not do this if you're the Angels.
I think the Angels will be fine. Will they win a WS? Who knows. That's hard to do for everyone. And I 100% agree that they can't win with just Trout. Baseball isn't the NBA where you can have Lebron carry your entire team to a ring (lol Lakers... what are you doing?!). You've got to have good arms in the rotation and in the bullpen, you have to be good defensively, and you have to have more than one or two guys who produce runs. And you also need some luck and a hot streak in October. Only time will tell for the Angels.
I did check what they have for prospects on the farm... it isn't Padres or Braves caliber but those two are on a completely different level right now. They do have one of the best prospects in baseball in a 19 y.o. outfielder and a couple more top 100 guys. Definitely in the lower half of the league though. Be interesting to see what they do.
