As March Madness consumes everyone (be it the basketball version or the late-night on Sunday passing health care through the House of Representatives version), it seems a good time to touch on some of the moments that struck the collective fancy this week...
While the economy strangles so many, a moment of extreme spending that makes people happy took place Sunday. Joe Mauer, native of St. Paul, MN, signed a contract extension with the Minnesota Twins that guarantees him remaining in Minnesota through most of his career. The contract is for eight years and pays him eleventy-seven billion dollars over that span. (Ok, it is for $184 million, averaging $23 million per year, but that feels like eleventy-seven billion to us normal folks)
It is likely that Mauer, a 27-year old catcher who has won three batting titles and last year's Most Valuable Player award, would have received offers from the Yankees and Red Sox as a free agent next year that would have been in the 10-year/$300 million range to start with, and could have gone much higher, but the decision to sign for less to play at home will deify Mauer in his hometown. The Twins have historically let its superstars move on when the price got too high (see Johan Santana and Torii Hunter recently), due to the small-market economics that make up baseball. Three things worked out in favor of our beloved Twins in this instance:
1) Joe Mauer is the MAN.
Mauer was raised in a nice area of Saint Paul, starred in three sports at Cretin-Derham Hall (they always killed 7DB on the basketball court, waaaaay before Mauer was of age...back when they had to climb a ladder and pull the ball out of the peach basket and all...), and is surrounded by extended family in the area. Having spent many formative years in the area, 7DB can attest to how important that could be to a guy like Joe.
2) Joe's agent was also the agent of Kirby Puckett
Puckett, the late Hall of Famer that led the Twins to their two World Series victories in 1987 and 1991, was a free agent late in his career. The Chicago native got an offer for a nice raise from the White Sox, but his agent (Ron Shapiro) knew what staying with the team that drafted him was worth to all involved. The Twins gave up about 80% of what the White Sox offered, but could afford little more. No matter. Puckett stayed home, won another World Series and went directly to the Hall of Fame. Twins fans and baseball purists rejoiced. (Shapiro also represented Cal Ripken, Jr., who spent his entire career in Baltimore and went straight to Cooperstown as well.)
Mauer idolized Puckett as a kid, and the idea that he could have the same agent and play for the same team (The Twins drafted him #1 overall, passing on other people thought to be more talented) for life has strong appeal to a guy of his sensibilities.
3) The Twins stepped up...huge.
The contract is one of the largest ever in the history of the sport, and more than double the largest ever given to a catcher. Catching 140-plus games per year wears out players much faster than playing other positions in the field, and guaranteeing $23 mil per year until a guy is 35 to play catcher is no automatic choice. The Twins are still a small-market squad (and this contract does hamstring them a bit for future signings), even with the new stadium opening this year.
This was a signal to all of baseball and all of Minnesota that they understand Mauer's impact on the team and the region. Thousands of kids will grow up watching #7 play his heart out every game, and will do so wearing the same piece of laundry the whole way. Fans that have become cynical of the game and the money surrounding it will take heart in Mauer's signing, and the Twins organization will reap the proper benefits of that.
This may be the most heartening bit of news to cross the wires this calendar year in the world of sports. Joe Mauer alone may have brought many back into the baseball fold, and for that, 7DB thank him, Ron Shapiro and the Twins.
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The last player that attended BYU that even registered a blink from the eyes of the average American is probably Jim McMahon, and that was mostly for his ridiculous headbands. Jimmer Fredette led the Cougars into the NCAA tournament, then poured in 37 to help win a double-OT thriller and advance to the second round (BYU's first tourney win in 17 years).
Oh, and he goes by 'Jimmer'. Like that isn't an automatic WTF from the casual fan...
Fredette's draft stock shot way up based on his play this year, and fans should watch another BYU alum, one Danny Ainge, to see if Fredette could be wearing the Celtic green next season. Consider yourself warned...
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A few quick hits on health care reform, passed through the House of Reps late Sunday night:
-Barack Obama was elected in part on his promises to break through partisanship and make Congress work for the people. A quick look at the results says he was successful, as he made 34 people from his own party vote against his bill, while unifying Republicans like no candidate/elected official has in 20 years. Well played, Mr. President.
-Since the versions presented before did not pass the smell test, Obama and the Pelosi-led Congresspeople devised a way to prevent needing more than a simple majority to pass reform. Ignoring the concept that this goes against the spirit of the law, the backlash against those from particular districts that supported this maneuver will be swift. Watch the ballots fly in November coming up...
-The revisions still have to get ok'd by the Senate, but presumably under the same 'simple majority'. Polling suggests that less than 40% of voters support this version of reform, but many have been worn down by the badgering approach to getting 'something, anything' passed. Not to be a broken record about it, but ask any bar patron that stayed at the bar until 1:30 am looking for companionship how that usually works out.
-The promise that this will eventually make money for the government was part of the justification, suggesting that it would not 'cost' anything at some point in the future. Knowing what we all know about government and money, does anyone believe this? If there is a budget surplus from this, it will be spent in some other way, instead of paying down the whopping debt that the stimulus and other things have created. If there is not a surplus, the President who pushed it through and the Congressmen and -women will be long gone, enjoying their rather comfortable pensions. My unborn children will be holding the bag.
In short, this better work perfectly, or there will be Heck to pay. And by Heck, I mean tens of thousands of dollars per person in tax overruns.
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Michael Jordan has become the primary owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, the first former player to have a controlling interest in a team. After Jordan's completely classless Hall of Fame induction earlier this year, the league approved the ownership change faster than one had ever been approved. Some attribute this to Jordan's star power, others point out that any stable buyer in this economy is a good thing for the NBA as a whole. I forward a different thought...
The man who bought the expansion franchise to begin with, BET founder Robert Johnson, came in as the first minority owner in the sport's history. In a sport that has between 75 and 85 percent of its players being minorities, this was a long-awaited moment for the league, and a very important step to show the players that there is no limit to how far their influence as people can go, regardless of the past. Keeping the team in minority ownership (still the only team in the NBA held and controlled by a non-white) was key. Jordan's history of gambling problems and infidelity were not deterrents.
In the NFL, an ownership group was turned down to buy the St. Louis Rams last year because one of its small investors was Rush Limbaugh. The rest of the ownership group, led by former team executive of the New York Knicks and Utah Jazz Dave Checketts, promptly kicked Limbaugh out of the group after the uproar. (They then lost the bid to buy the Rams anyways.)
This all brings back the question: does anyone care who owns their teams? Donald Sterling lost a tenant-discrimination lawsuit for over $2 million, yet owns the LA Clippers of the NBA. No one seems to care. It seems that David Stern wants people to care, but just about Jordan, since he makes for good copy. The league will make much out of Jordan's presence for a multitude of reasons, but it should be noted that the Russian plutocrat that agreed to buy the New Jersey Nets and develop some old rail yards in New Jersey is still 'being evaluated' for his worthiness in the ownership clique. Apparently being a poor sport of a competitor, gambling away millions of dollars and cheating on your spouse is ok, as long as you are not from the old Soviet Republic.
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One last athletics-related thought to share...recently the 7DB Clan attended many local high school basketball games. It is marvelous to look at how much the game has changed over the years. Many of the fundamentals of the game that were taught to our parents no longer exist, yet the enthusiasm and spirit behind the play of the vast majority of the players is consistent and heartening. Regardless of how the game evolves, the play at the amateur level (not the paid-under-the-table-at-NCAA-schools level) is still fast-paced and thrilling. To all of those caught in their playoff runs, and those who went down swinging, we salute you. Enjoy...until next time.
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