Peter Paul and Mary said it best.
"When will they ever learn?"
Joey Votto is a wonderful player.
He's a power hitting, Gold Glove winning former MVP home grown hero who is a lock to be a Red for a decade plus and give Reds fans some consistency.
Since 2010, Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols have all left the National League. Thus Votto has a whole bunch of National League All Star appearances to put on his resume.
But 10 YEARS?
Seriously.
The Reds think that in 2022 that Joey Votto will be an elite player?
How many Jason Giambi, Vernon Wells and Todd Helton contracts need to be signed before people realize that they probably shouldn't sign someone to longer than 5 years?
I said in our Albert Pujols video that 10 years is a super long time for a contract.
It is a little less risky for Votto because he is 27 years old as opposed to 32 (or maybe 48) like Pujols is.
But the Reds are banking that he will have twice as many great seasons has he already logged.
And he's a first baseman, the single easiest position to replace. Sorry, but it is.
Are the Reds one of those deep pocket teams that can withstand a big huge, clogging up the payroll, contract?
9 years from now, if Joey Votto isn't one of the elite sluggers in the game at age 36 but is still making big money, Cincinnati fans will be grinding their teeth over this contract.
But hey, as long as they got good press NOW.
My kids are in the first grade. When this contract ends, my kids will be seniors in high school.
Call it a hunch, but I think they will be saying "Man, that Votto contract stinks."
Shhhhh do you hear that? It's Carrie Fisher! Remember when she said "Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die."
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I'm with you on this! These deals aren't smart in the long term, but in many cases, it may be the only way to lock up these star players and keep them happy.
ReplyDeleteI am not resentful... just detecting a pattern
ReplyDeleteI totally get where you're coming from Paul, but if Votto walked a couple years from now and signed a huge deal with a larger market team, we'd all be up in arms about the smaller market teams being unable to keep their stars. If he stays in Cincinnati for his entire career, I'll be thrilled. I miss the days when players like Mike Schmidt and Cal Ripken stayed with one franchise.
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