Joey Votto Contract. 12/$251m

[jbhofmann]

he doesnt have mental health problems. his dad died that year.

Yes he did have mental problems in 2009, I am sure Google has stories on it, he thought he was going to die, had head or headache problems, etc.

His father passed away unexpectedly.

The following were rumors:
He had vertigo
He was gay
He had ear cancer
He had some life threatening disease

 

[Bill Bray Collector]

Risky deal but I absolutely love it. Shows that the management here is serious about building a team around him and that they are serious about winning. Could it come back to bite us? Sure, but I like that we are taking the risk.

This also most likely means that we won't overpay for Brandon Phillips after this year. Love BP, but didn't want to sign him longterm.

 

[RL24]

These crazy contracts will end within 5 years IMO as the teams get to the second half of some monstrous deals and are left paying players huge contracts with little performance in return. At that point in time contracts will shift to fewer years, possibly at more money per year, as the teams pay up front to protect themselves from an albatross that kills the franchise for half a decade.

The thing that amazes me is that teams have not made the move already since they have to realize the long term risks (coupled with extremely low interest rates, so it's not like the NPV of the deals is really much less due to the payments being so far in the future.) My only thought is that the TV deals may be changing the economics of the sport.

I completely agree. I think that when a slightly better than mediocre player like Ryan Howard got $25mil out of the blue, it scared some owners. What if, in 5 years, slightly better than mediocre players like that are making $40mil? It will be a bargain to have Votto locked in at "just" $20mil...

I think a great thing for the future of contracts would be heavily incentive laden contracts. If you play like Pujols, you get paid like Pujols. This would prevent things like the A.J. Burnett situation. There are dozens of examples, I just picked A.J. because everybody knows what happened....

 

[bowmanchromeandorr]

[/quote]though the length is staggering.[/quote]


that's what she said

 

[nborton]

I think most owners are thinking it's only going to get worse. Which is why they are locking up long term deals.

However, the fallacy in the thinking is that they are expecting the same results 10 years from now.

Everyone plays worse toward the end even if you aren't injured. Of all the big deals that have gone down recently, I think Pujols is the riskiest. It's the biggest boom or bust in my opinion because he's the one guy out of these deals that has been injured recently. But he's also been the best.

In the end I doubt it matters a whole lot for these teams. They are getting huge TV deals, and wouldn't normally do these types of deals in prior years, or just have tons of money like the Tigers do.

 

[vwnut13]

Risky deal but I absolutely love it. Shows that the management here is serious about building a team around him and that they are serious about winning.

Just hope the Reds don't go the way of the Twins after they locked up Mauer.

 

[DRav87]

Risky deal but I absolutely love it. Shows that the management here is serious about building a team around him and that they are serious about winning. Could it come back to bite us? Sure, but I like that we are taking the risk.

This also most likely means that we won't overpay for Brandon Phillips after this year. Love BP, but didn't want to sign him longterm.

I agree it is risky but I am so glad the Reds did it, guys like Votto do not come around very often especially for the Reds so I like how they locked up him while they still could. People are going to hate on the deal but at least they are finally committed to winning. As a Reds fan I am thrilled and could not be happier.

 

[James52411]

As a Cubs fan I am disappointed because I had hoped they would sign Votto as a free agent. As a baseball fan, however, I like that a star like Votto will likely retire a Red.

 

[Bill Bray Collector]

Risky deal but I absolutely love it. Shows that the management here is serious about building a team around him and that they are serious about winning. Could it come back to bite us? Sure, but I like that we are taking the risk.

This also most likely means that we won't overpay for Brandon Phillips after this year. Love BP, but didn't want to sign him longterm.

I agree it is risky but I am so glad the Reds did it, guys like Votto do not come around very often especially for the Reds so I like how they locked up him while they still could. People are going to hate on the deal but at least they are finally committed to winning. As a Reds fan I am thrilled and could not be happier.

Agreed Dan. Been awhile since I've been on here. Hope everything is going well man.

 

[DRav87]

[quote="Bill Bray Collector":1zmijyb2]Risky deal but I absolutely love it. Shows that the management here is serious about building a team around him and that they are serious about winning. Could it come back to bite us? Sure, but I like that we are taking the risk.

This also most likely means that we won't overpay for Brandon Phillips after this year. Love BP, but didn't want to sign him longterm.

I agree it is risky but I am so glad the Reds did it, guys like Votto do not come around very often especially for the Reds so I like how they locked up him while they still could. People are going to hate on the deal but at least they are finally committed to winning. As a Reds fan I am thrilled and could not be happier.

Agreed Dan. Been awhile since I've been on here. Hope everything is going well man.[/quote:1zmijyb2]

I was surprised to see you post again. I knew it was you as soon as I saw that Xavier logo. Everything is going really well, I have really slowed down on collecting and can't even remember the last card I bought. I still buy some Dan Haren, Reds and Wisconsin Badger stuff here and there (mainly just Badgers stuff) I still read the boards quite frequently though!

 

[thefatguy]

But between the ears, however, he was still trying to cope with his father’s death. Joey had thought the best course of action was burying his feelings and concentrating instead on baseball. But it eventually became too much for him. At one point, he sat out a few games with an ear infection and respiratory illness. That gave him more time to think. Joey began June on the DL, as he sought counseling for anxiety and depression. After nearly a month, he returned to the team. He pronounced he had a clear head, and the team gave him a clean bill of health.

Joey’s battle with his peronal problems won him lots of fans. Rather than shying away from the stigma of mental illness, he acknowledged his issues publicly. Always a hardnosed competitor, he desperately wanted to return to the diamond. But Joey knew he had to work through the anxiety and depression that plagued him. In turn, he was viewed as the uncommon professional athlete, a superstar who didn’t pretend he was a super-hero.

Cain's deal is crazy for a pitcher, but I think Votto's deal is good.

A good take on it from SI

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/w ... =hp_t13_a2

 

[chompsmcgee]

Isn't Bill Bavasi a "special assistant to the GM" to the Reds? This deal reeks of his brilliance.