Alex Rodriguez: Bidding Starts at $350 Million

There is no doubt that Alex Rodriguez has stellar baseball skills. He will challenge some of the present day baseball records. As a free agent, Alex Rodriguez is looking for a long term contract that starts at three hundred and fifty million dollars ($350,000,000.00).

To paraphrase the late Senator Everett Dirksen, ‘a million dollars here and a million dollars there - and pretty soon, you’re talking about a lot of money’. Senator Dirksen was speaking about billions of dollars, but that is government spending.

Alex Rodriguez did not meet with the New York Yankee management to hear what they may have had to offer. Mr Rodriguez and his agent Scott Boras must have indications that some baseball organization will consider that figure seriously. Perhaps there are several teams that would be willing to undertake such a bill.

The salary would limit the talent that the team could retain to augment Mr Rodriguez and his astronomical contract. In effect, it would limit the team’s talent pool and impact advancing in post season play. A few large market franchises, like the Yankees, could afford the contract. Many clubs would find it prohibitive - and, if they did sign Mr Rodriguez at that price, their fan base would not be too happy. Ticket prices would go up - and hope of successful post season play would go down.

The unfortunate fact is that, on Mr Rodriguez’s baseball resume, there are no championships. None. And from the point at which Mr Rodriguez and Mr Boras are starting negotiations, it clearly is not about winning championships. It is all about the money - and greed.

Catherine Forsythe

[tags]baseball, alex rodriguez, contract, new york yankees, championships[/tags]