Rodriguez's contract defies spirit of baseball
Jeff Baltruzak
Assistant Sports Editor
The Texas Rangers will pay shortstop Alex Rodriguez $252 million over the next 10 years. For $25 million a year, you'd think they would have Bill Gates digging ground-ers out of the hole or at least Bill Clinton.
Rodri-guez might hit .400. He might hit 55 home runs with 180 RBIs, win the Triple Crown, but he, Alex Rodriguez, will not win the World Series, will not bring a ticker tape parade to downtown Dallas, and will not place a golden championship ring on each one of his teammates' fingers in October.
Worst of all, Rodriguez won't even give Texans a reason to turn off the NASCAR race and head down to the ballpark for Gun Rack Night.
Why did the Rangers invest in Rodriguez? Is it because the stock market is in the crapper and they are looking to diversify their portfolio?
No.
It's because the Rangers want to win, and they think Rodriguez will help them win baseball games.
And he will. He'll get hits, advance runners, help score runs. He'll help win games, but he won't win them himself. Last time I checked, Rodriguez was just one player, albeit an outstanding one, and not even the President of the United States.
The $252 million signals to everyone that the Rangers expect Rodriguez to produce extra wins for the team. Nobody pays somebody that much to "give it their all" or "try their best." Little Leaguers give it their all, and all they get is a plastic trophy and a party at Pizza Hut at the end of the season.
Baseball is a team sport. It has been since the 1800s when players used to have huge mustaches and drink mint julips in between innings. Back then, players didn't even have numbers on the back of their jerseys, let alone names.
The Texas Rangers might as well be called Alex Rodriguez and 24 Guys That Wear the Same Uniform As Him. But that won't fit on the front of a jersey.
It can be very refreshing to see 33 guys playing baseball together, some better and more highly touted than others, but never the less a team. Go to Frank Eck Stadium on Wednesday, and watch the No. 13 ranked Notre Dame baseball team destroy Toledo — together. Watch the team lay down bunts, advance some runners, and score runs together, not wait for an Alex Rodriguez to bash some homeruns and then save the free world.
The Irish does not win on overwhelming, Mark-McGwire-crazy-on-creatine offense, smacking home runs left and right, but rather through solid pitching and intangibles like perfectly executed hit and runs.
Watch the team support each other. Watch each member of the team make exactly the same salary — nothing. It really is refreshing.
Every member of the Notre Dame baseball team understands the common purpose they all play for, from head coach Paul Mainieri down to the freshmen.
When Mainieri won his 600th college game earlier this season, a reflection of his great success in the coaching profession, all he could do was gush about how great his assistant coaches and players are. That's what people on a team do, that's what people do when they understand that baseball is about being part of a team.
I know I sound like a T-ball coach, but what is baseball without the team concept? Ever try to play one-on-one baseball? Its tough, I tried it once. But then my friend and I forgot where the ghost runners were, and all hell broke lose. I attacked him with my plastic bat, and after some brief fisticuffs, we decided to go inside and let MTV rot our brains.
You don't need to go to a Major League game with quarter-billion dollar megastars to see well-played baseball. There's a team that plays out behind the Joyce Center that will show you how a baseball team is supposed to be.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Observer.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, March 27, 2001
