The Choo dilemma and baseball salaries (long read)

I was a fan of Shin-Soo Choo before he ever played a game for the Reds. I honestly don't really know why, but I was. I'll continue to be a fan going forward, regardless of where he signs.

He had a solid season hitting leadoff for the Reds. He played well defensively, though it took him some time to adjust to CF. All season long, people kept talking about how he was going to cash in this offseason. I keep hearing 7 years and $100 million + as his potential contract. Most figuring him to land between the Jayson Werth contract and the Jacoby Ellsbury deal.

Make no mistake, I think Choo is a fine player and deserves to be paid accordingly. $16-18 million per year or more seems ridiculous though. I understand that TV revenue is through the roof and that is helping to push salaries higher and higher, but at what point does it stop? If Choo landed an $8-10 million a year contract, I would think that was more in line with what his production dictates; double that seems unreal to me.

I know a lot of people (especially the players) don't want it, but a salary cap may need to happen in baseball. I understand that some teams don't even spend the amount they receive in revenue sharing, but teams cannot afford to operate at a loss either. Big market teams will always rule because they generate a considerable amount of money. It gets a old watching the same teams be in play on the top free agents while knowing at least 20 other teams have no legitimate shot.

I'm not trying to bash any particular teams, I would just rather have parity than watch the same teams consistently be in the playoffs. Make no mistake, some mid and small market teams make it, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule.

My only other thought would be to downsize if a cap isn't put into place. If there is an abundance of talent, but less teams, that would drive the salaries down. Some may say that everyone should be able to make as much as they can, but this all gets passed on to us. I enjoy going to games and wish I could go to more, but increasing salaries will continue to lead to increased ticket prices, concessions, souvenirs, parking, etc, etc.

Seeing a player like Choo be on the brink of signing a huge contract this offseason (potentially) just makes me wonder how sustainable the current model is. Eventually, there is a chance that fans could become priced out.

The reality is MLB teams are swimming in money - it doesn't mean the players are all worth it but the reality is money generated gives owners more of an opportunity to give the players what they demand.

muskiesfan said:

I'm not trying to bash any particular teams, I would just rather have parity than watch the same teams consistently be in the playoffs. Make no mistake, some mid and small market teams make it, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule.

Click to expand...

2012 playoffs. 10 teams in playoffs 5 in the bottom half of payroll for the league
2013 playoffs. 10 teams in playoffs 5 in the bottom half of payroll for the league

Its becoming more and more obvious that money doesn't always mean winning. It means they will always field a competitive team but not always a winner.

Baseball doesn't need a salary cap. They need small revenue owners to spend more money (which they have) instead of pocketing it. Choo is getting a huge deal because the FA class was very weak this year. Cano got 240 million, Ellsbury got 153 million, Beltran got 45 million, Granderson got 60 million so to see Choo get 100-130 million isn't really unbelievable.

Maybe Choo is worth the money in a sport of rising inflation? Inflation is going to be rampant in sports for a Lon time to come. Tv deals, radio, stadiums make money for the teams. So with more money comes the inflation that middle class people don't really pay attention to, but feel in are wallets. So Choo get your money while u can its a free market for now! Put a cap in place and the owners become richer while players are forced to except less.

I understand that the flood gates are open for revenue to flow. I'm just saying that it's not good for the consumer. Eventually, there will be a chance that the average person will not be able to afford to attend games. I'm not saying to let the owners pocket all of the money, I'm just saying that baseball should consider a cap.

As for the contracts, I am well aware at the ridiculousness of some of them. I just watched Choo play almost every day. I agree, he should get whatever someone is willing to pay. I'm just using him as my example. Whether it's based off of last season or his career at large, he isn't worth the amount of money he is going to get. Cap aside, that is why we see so many teams get into trouble. They throw these huge contracts out to players and in a few years, they are stuck with them. When a team gets a couple of bad contracts, it can hurt them for years to come. Not many teams can absorb bad/dead money like a handful of large market teams.

I don't believe the MLBPA will ever accept a salary cap, not in my lifetime. Of course the salaries are ridiculous, but that's the nature of the beast.

Yes, I agree to me the contracts are crazy, but to other ball players they are not. If you don't think its crazy to have a Mcdonalds worker get a raise to 14 dollars and hour to flip burgers then maybe a salary cap is a good thing. The culture in America is to place caps/floors on salaries. All that is produced out of that system is mediocre at best work. If you want the best to come out of people then you remove cap/floors and let them make what they are worth. Go get your millions Choooooo.