They say the deeper that physicists delve into quantum particle theory, the less sense anything makes.
So it goes with baseball.
According to Cot's Baseball contracts, here are the 15 richest players in history.
According to the Internet, the Yankees have offered Cody Bellinger a five-year, $150 million deal, which his agent - Scott Boras - won't even use to wipe his perfumed butt with.
Unless some other team beats the offer, Bellinger will slot in somewhere around 77th on the all-time Decadent Wealth list. (See below.)
For most of my life, in contract disputes, I always favored players over owners. It's a low ethical bar. Players battle on every pitch, every play from scrimmage, every face-off. No owner ever got carted off with a broken jaw or revived at midfield with a defibrillator, while teammates prayed.
But lately, it's getting hard to make sense of the money in sports. The idea of millionaire quarterbacks pretending to attend college classes, bestriding campuses like Olympian gods... something's gone really wrong. And the money long ago became obscene.
Soon, Bellinger will land in the all-time rich list. He'll rightfully fall below Hall of Famers like Miguel Cabrera ($152 million) and Derek Jeter ($189 million), but beat Mike Trout ($144 million) and Max Scherzer ($130 million.) And he'll be far behind Wander Franco ($182 million, though I suspect those payments are in limbo.)
Let's disregard quantum physics. It makes no sense, probably never will.
As John would say, "That's baseball, Suzyn."
Next year, around now, baseball will be approaching a huge labor lockout. There will probably be no spring training, no opening day - and maybe, no season.
Right now, it's like a civilization-killing asteroid, visible in the night sky, which we're being told to ignore.
Sorry. I can't. Don't mean to hang this on Bellinger. It's not his fault. But as the billionaires become trillionaires - (see Musk, Elon) - they are destroying sports in America, (which, by the way, is also to destroy America.)
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Many of the highest paid players in history should not be among the highest paid players in history. Fuck it, why not Cody?
We are in the era of mediocre millionaires, after all. Kyle Tucker? I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I love this story. Proof that Kay is, indeed, an asshole.
https://pinstripesnation.com/yankees-michael-kay-shuts-the-door-on-espn-co-host-2026-01-17/
I especially like the line, "Michael has to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral." Priceless.
Part of what his daughter, Alice, said about Teddy Roosevelt. Right in both cases.
And as for Cody...
Well, first of all, he and his agent (I wish he were my agent!) are not in a market with the greatest and/or best paid of all time. Cody is now the single, remaining, premium free agent on the market.
Are the Yankees bidding against themselves? Then it's time for them to tell Boras and Cody, cards on the table. You have a real offer from someone else? Let's see it.
If there IS a real offer out there, then the Yankees must decide: is some relatively minor upgrade—one more year, $10 million, etc.—enough to get this done? If so, then they should do it, to make sure 2026 is not an even bigger shitshow than it is already going to be.
And "relatively" works both ways. Cody has got to think seriously about what he's doing. Even with the current Yankees, playing the big ballpark in the Bronx (not the O.G. BBPB, but still), for a storied team, taking aim at that LF porch, and hitting behind Aaron Judge is pretty sweet.
Maybe even, "shot at Hall-of-Fame" sweet, if all goes great. Is all that worth sacrificing for that extra $10 mill/wretched 7th year in Toronto? When he is ALREADY going to be amongst the richest individuals who ever strode the planet.
I dunno. But enough already. It was one thing to go through this with Soto, a generational player.
Cody, Yanks? Time to settle this already and start talking about where we can get some damned pitching.
He's not worth it. It's not like if we sign Cody we win the World Serious...
The answer to the question is a RESOUNDING NO, goddamnit, NO, NO, NO!
This one has got nothing to do with taking sides between labor and ownership/management. The way this winter has played out, there is simply no point to bringing Bellinger back. We can lose without him.
I would've made an offer to Bellinger if we had not kept Grisham. But that's not the way this Yankee club operates anymore. We are risk averse and we manage risk. We maximize profits and minimize taxes. So, from Cashman's standpoint, bringing Grisham back was a no-brainer. Once that was done, Bellinger was no longer necessary.
Cashman's offer of five years to Bellinger is just another risk management strategy that shows how inept he is from a baseball perspective. They decided to keep Grisham. So I would not make any offer to Bellinger. Go with the kids in left field. Instead, Cashman keeps poking around with Bellinger.
There is no plan with this ball club. Almost everything happens by "fly by night" standards. The dam springs a leak, Cashman sticks a piece of gum in the hole. The elephant has a serious wound, Cashman slaps a band aid on it. Retaining Bellinger will be another serious millstone around their necks. Of course, you can look at it this way: I've always said that, as soon as one millstone disappears, they pick up another one. Must be the way they want to direct their finances. They like to waste money. They like to keep the payroll bloated. They like stability, even with their liabilities. That's why there is a pretty good chance that Cashman will do six years and keep Bellinger. Or maybe Bellinger's agent finally blinks forty games into the season and he signs for five years. Either way, it's a mistake. They should let him go. Withdraw the five year offer. Just go with the kids.
Forget Bellinger, I would keep trying to trade for another starting pitcher. They're going to need at least one more starter. Probably two more relievers.
There are a couple of kids on the farm ready to make the jump to the majors: Lagrange and Rodriguez. These guys should be able to bolster the bullpen at some point. But probably not 'til later in the year. So they need to keep adding pitching.
I want young, effective pitching. I don't want to see Max Scherzer. Anyone over 28, forget about it.
Also, from Bellinger's perspective, I think he made a serious mistake listening to his stupid mega-agent Boras. If I was Bellinger, I would've been content to make 25 mill this year, and shoot for an extension during the year or negotiate a 3-4 four year deal next winter. Bellinger peaked early in his career, had injuries, fell off a cliff, then clawed his way back to respectable numbers. That kind of record will not make him one of the highest paid players. He's not Judge or Ohtani.
Then again, Yankee management has this Scrooge mentality whereby, once they sign someone to a huge contract, no one else must ever equal or exceed that contract until it's off the books. That's why they were reluctant to give Yamamoto a contract bigger than Gerrit Cole's contract. That's why they'll never give anyone Aaron Judge money until Judge's contract expires. They won't even get near Aaron Judge money. It's taboo for them.
So Bellinger should've been able to see the writing on the wall at the end of last season. He should've foreseen that they would retain Grisham. And that if they retained Grisham, that he (Bellinger) would be expendable.
Hey, ballplayers are really stoopid. No one's going to mistake these guys for Albert Einstein. They've got to have the brains to think about and control their financial situation. Not just blindly rely on their effing agents.
Now, if he ends up getting a mega-deal somewhere, okay, I'll eat my words. But then, I guess I'm very risk averse myself. (Of course, the other way to look at it is that I'd be betting on myself to have a big year in 2026, not get injured, and have a chance at a big contract. So, from that perspective, I'm a big time gambler, risk taker.) This is the way I would've done it if I was Bellinger.
I'll say it again, ballplayers are really stoopid. Look at Judge: he negotiated a 9 yr 40 mill per year deal for only 360 mill. He underpaid himself by at least 90 mill. He should've got at least a ten yr/45 mill per yr/450 mill deal. I wonder if he now realizes how badly he underpaid himself.
Look at Ohtani: 70 million a year 10-20 years from now. Does this guy understand the concept of inflation and present value? 70 mill twenty years from now might not be worth 70 cents, you stoopid doofus!
I said it back then and I'll say it again now. With fucking Trump arresting the Fed Reserve Bank Chairman, replacing the labor statistics bureau head, all federal economic statistics are now highly suspect and complete fabrications. Inflation looks like it's going to explode. That Ohtani contract looks dumber by the day.
Kay has been suffering from an inflated ego for years. I am perfectly OK with the job he does on the Yankee broadcasts. Moving away from his afternoon simulcast has made him irrelevant in the overcrowded NY sports media arena.
Can’t let the opportunity to bash Rosenberg pass though. An insufferable man-child who follows the non-sport of professional wrestling in what seems to be a desperate attempt to maintain his status as a “bro”, in spite of his advancing age. He was a complete know-nothing when it came to all things Yankee, and I grew to despise the very sight of him.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
I like Bellinger a lot, and clearly the team needs him back. I think the team has made a perfectly reasonable (at least in terms of the current environment) offer, and if he leaves for Toronto I’m fine with it.
I must agree with Hammer, the pitching staff as currently constituted is simply unacceptable. However, steinscammer has shown no appetite for opening his overstuffed wallet leading to the current air of cynicism pervading our enlightened fanfare,
That's a pretty brilliant analysis, Hammer, through and through.
I would just (mildly) question two things. Maybe Judge—who had already made about $40 mill in baseball salary alone by then—decided, 'Hey, $400 mill'—to start, never mind investment money, etc.—'is enough, and I'm going to play in a place that I like, and where they love me."
Or maybe his wife loves NYC. Who knows? But small a virtue as it may seem, I honor that willingness to say, 'Oh, half-a-bill or so is enough, I'm going to enjoy myself.' (Of course, I would honor it less if it benefited the Boston Red Sox.)
Same thing with Ohtani, maybe, who had already made almost $100 mill in MLB salary alone, even before the new contract—and still gets what, $28 mill a year NOW?
Not to mention whatever staggering ad deals come from Japan.
He apparently figured, 'Now that I have more money than God, how should I enjoy myself? Hmm, head a bold franchise that is going to establish a new dynasty, so I can play in the WS almost every year? Sounds like fun!'
I honor that, too, as the first baby step back toward some kind of sanity. It sure beats the Juan Soto "Grinch" approach. ('Hey, did I leave any crumbs on the floor?')
As for Bellinger, his advantage is, he can play 1B, too, which would give us more flexibility. But yes, this is probably more Hal & Pal bullshit, figuring out the best way to "finish second" in the bidding for him.
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