The Five Richest Pitching Contracts in History
Sabathia's Contract With Yanks is the Biggest Deal Ever in Baseball
Dec 13, 2008 James Lincoln Ray
CC Sabathia, New York Yankees. This 28-year old lefthander, who won the AL Cy Young Award in 2007 and had a dominant stint last year as a Milwaukee Brewer, recently signed with the New York Yankees for seven years and $161 million. The deal is both the biggest total figure and pays C.C. the highest annual salary for any pitcher in baseball history. The pact also allows Sabathia to opt out after three seasons and become a free agent. This last clause was a big factor in C.C.’s decision, since he expressed a desire to pitch on the West Coast and wanted this “out” if New York didn’t agree with him
Is he worth it? Well, obviously no ballplayer is worth this kind of money, especially in a severely depressed economy. But things are different in Major League Baseball, especially the way it's played in the Big Apple. The Yankees are moving into a new stadium and have some very expensive seats to fill. Landing Sabathia will help them do just that. Moreover, his presence certainly helped the Yanks sign A.J. Burnett, who was the second most coveted starting pitcher on the market. So, even though he hasn't thrown a pitch for the Yanks, C.C. has already added value. Now let's see what he does on baseball's biggest stage.
Johan Santana, New York Mets. Santana has been the best starting pitcher in the game for the past five or six years. During last year’s free agent bonanza, the Yankees and the Red Sox appeared to be the leading suitors for Santana, but the Mets ultimately landed his services by giving him a six-year deal worth $137.5 million.
Is he worth it? Santana had an excellent year in his debut season in New York. He went 16-7 with a 2.53 ERA, and he won his last eight decisions. This, plus Santana’s consistency (two Cy Young awards, two third place finishes), certainly makes Johan a good bet to earn every penny of this huge deal.
Mike Hampton, Colorado Rockies/Atlanta Braves. Hampton won 22 games in 1999 with the Astros and then followed that up with a 15-win season for the 2000 Mets, who won the National League pennant that year. Those two seasons prompted the Colorado Rockies, who are always in need of pitching in their mile-high Coors Field, to sign Hampton to an eight year/$121 million deal. The team hoped that Hampton, a ground ball pitcher, would be a good fit in their homer-friendly home park.
Was he worth it? No. Injuries and other struggles made this contract one of the worst in history. From 2001 though 2004, Hampton posted a respectable record of 58-45, but his ERA just under 5.00. Not horrible, but not really the numbers the Rockies (or the Braves, to whom he was traded before the 2003 season) hoped for. Then, over the next four years, Hampton suffered a series of injuries that limited him to 12 starts in 2005, zero starts in both 2006 and 2007, and just 13 starts in 2008. Overall, his record under the monster deal was just 66-52. That's just under $2 million per win.
Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants. Zito was a dominant pitcher during his six-plus seasons with the Oakland A’s, winning 102 games and taking home the 2002 American League Cy Young Award. The San Francisco Giants, who were looking for a big-time star to replace Barry Bonds as the face of their franchise, signed Zito to a seven-year, $126 contract after the 2006 season. At the time, it was the largest deal ever given to a pitcher.
Has he been worth it? Well, it is still too early to call this deal a bust. After all, Zito has been in San Fran for only two years and has five years remaining on the deal, so he could certainly turn things around. But as of now, Zito has not been worth the money. In 2007, he was 11-13 with an ERA of 4.53. In 2008, he was even less impressive, going 10-17 with a 5.15 ERA. Not good. Certainly not $126 million good.
Kevin Brown, Los Angeles Dodgers. After the 1998 season, the Dodgers created a lot of controversy by signing the then 34-year old brown to a seven-year deal worth $105 million. At the time, it was the biggest contract in Major League Baseball history. Many criticized the pact, questioning whether an aging player who only affects one in five games could really be worth $15 million per year.
Was he worth it? Sort of. Brown had a few very good years under this contract. In 2001, he was 18-10 with a 3.00 ERA and finsihed sixth in the Cy Young voting. The next year he was 13-9, but would have won more games if the Dodgers had even decent hitting. His 2.58 ERA, 216 strikeouts and 0.99 WHIP were good enough for him to again place sixth for the Cy Young. Brown was injured for big chunks of the next two years, but still managed a 17-8 record. But he was healthy in 2003 and bounced back with a great year, going 14-9 with a 2.39 earned run average. Brown was then traded to the Yankees, where things didn't go so well. Overall, however, Brown's seven-year record was 72-45.
On the whole, one could certainly argue that it may be unwise to shell out this type of big money, long term deal to any pitcher, even one as good as Sabathia.
CC Sabathia
|
What do you think about this article?
Latest Articles