Major League Baseball held the 2011 winter meetings in Dallas this past week and you didn’t necessarily have to be a sports fan to hear the shock waves of one of the financial bombs dropped in North Texas. Coming into the meetings, many baseball experts predicted someone would get their hands on the top prize, Albert Pujols. I heard rumors of the super star finding his way to the Cubs, Cardinals, and Marlins, but what happened was something I don’t think anyone saw coming.
Out of nowhere, the Los Angeles Angels stole Albert with a $254 million dollar deal over 10 years. I was watching Sports Center when the news broke and trust me; I was excited for the move. The Angels have been one of my favorite teams for years and I had never seen them make a move like this. Then the excitement wore off suddenly. There were two sides of this story that I just didn’t like. Both the Sport and Societal sides really spoke to me.
A further look only worried me more about the Pujols deal. Pujols is 31 years old and has had plenty of injuries throughout his career. Coupled with the 10 year contract and no trade clause, this could be a deadly contract as Albert nears 40. All I can say is if the Angels don’t win a World Series in the next three years, this will go down as one of the worst contract flops in history.
Can I see the Angels winning one with Pujols? Sure. He will be a valuable part of the offense and will contribute slightly with his glove. He will definitely give them the run support to push pass the Rangers. The best part for the Angels is that they have the option to throw Albert in as a DH as his career progresses. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Halos start him as a DH this season due to the fact they have some great players already at the 1st base position (Trumbo, Morales). It also helps that the Angels were able to pick up C.J. Wilson as well. Wilson was one of the Rangers top pitchers and the Rangers will be missing him come September.
I’m just wary for the last 5 years of this deal. Will the Angels have so much of their money tied into Albert that they can’t keep someone like Weaver or Trumbo? I guess only time will tell.
The more pressing issue for me in this story is the sheer amount of money that is trading hands. I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that someone that plays a kids game will make over $254 million dollars. Are people blind to the world around us? All the people that go hungry and try to get jobs have to loathe this. This isn’t directed at Albert or the Angels, but all of sports. There is no reason we should have BILLIONS of dollars dumped into sports while our schools suffer. What qualifies a football player to make more than our own President?
If I could change everything, I would put a cap on all sports. The max amount any player should be able to receive is $5 million dollars. This would also affect the social aspect of sports. Instead of buying guns, drugs, or five cars, athletes wouldn’t have enough money to spurge on such dangerous and luxurious items and would focus on their craft. The domino effect would continue all the way to the fans. Tickets, food, and merchandise would be cheaper. That means more fans in the stands and fewer games blacked out.
As great of a dream as this may sound, we all know that this will never happen. Pro sports will forever be a billion dollar industry that thrives off men and women that play a game. At the same time, I will forever be a hypocrite. I will always be willing to pay the money for the games and the merchandise and so will millions of other fans. Just some food for thought everyone.
Thanks for reading!
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