Markakis takes out a two page ad in the Baltimore Sun

[MrOrange82]

There's a time and place for everything. You chose to make this thread about you and your cynical perspective. I negative "repped" you because IMO you chose the low road. You could have seen the post for what it was, a heartfelt expression of gratitude, and let it slide. You chose not to. I won't be responding to any comments you make regarding this. This thread should be about Nick's gesture, not your cynicism.

If calling an opinion "overboard" (i.e., excessive) is taking the low road, I'd hate to be in the post office on the day someone makes fun of your haircut.

[Oriole1940]

Nick, I just wanted to tell you that you will be missed. While we welcome you home here in Georgia, you left very big shoes to fill in Baltimore, both on and off the field. All the best to you and your family, and I hope that you lead the Braves to the WS in 2015.

[Going Underground]

4 million dollars is still 4 million dollars. Many athletes after retiring end up broke or in financial stress. Not saying Nick is one of them but it is still 4 million extra dollars. Some will go to taxes and his agent.

[Tx Oriole]

Let me try it this way.Stupid Sun paper. Less and less content and have to pay for it.

Outfielder Nick Markakis, who had been the longest tenured member of the Orioles before signing a free-agent deal with the Atlanta Braves last week, has taken out a two-page advertisement in Wednesday?s Baltimore Sun to thank fans, the city and the organization for his nine seasons with the club.

Inludes a large ?Thank You,? on one side and an open letter to Orioles fans from Markakis on the other, which begins with, ?This isn?t a goodbye.?

The letter is signed by Markakis, his wife, Christina, and their three sons. Within the text, Markakis says the family has every intention of continuing to live in northern Baltimore County and maintaining their extensive charitable endeavors.

http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1377274/nick-markakis-ad-1.pdf

http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1377275/nick-markakis-ad-2.pdf

I like Nick. He is a class act.

[AlbionHero]

I was hoping for something like this. Glad to see he went through with it. You'll be missed, Nick.

[DrungoHazewood]

Specifically the last line. Because...no, we should not in any way feel obligated to say "thank you." We said "thank you" by purchasing tickets, jerseys, bobbleheads, and the like, and by cheering raucously for Markakis (and the Orioles), for years. He chose to leave town despite being offered a (more than) fair contract that equaled Atlanta's in years and just barely fell short in dollars. If I'm going to thank Nick for anything at this point, it's not locking the O's into another bad, long term contract.

No one should ever be obliged be nice and courteous and respectful. If you're a mean guy, just be a mean guy.

[TheDirtyBird]

1. Reload the page.

2. Immediately press stop button on your browser.

3. Read the Sun for free.

I do it every day.

I've mentioned this before, glad I'm not the only one who is enjoying the sun for free

[Reboulet'sStache]

Specifically the last line. Because...no, we should not in any way feel obligated to say "thank you." We said "thank you" by purchasing tickets, jerseys, bobbleheads, and the like, and by cheering raucously for Markakis (and the Orioles), for years. He chose to leave town despite being offered a (more than) fair contract that equaled Atlanta's in years and just barely fell short in dollars. If I'm going to thank Nick for anything at this point, it's not locking the O's into another bad, long term contract.

[TouchemAll]

Very Nice Nick you'll always be and Oriole to me.

[OrangeJerseys]

Still feels like a kick in the nuts.

[atomic]

Just an all around good dude. I'm still kind of bitter we didn't bring him back, but I hope he does great in Atlanta.

Yeah my feelings too. He was always a team player first even if it hurt his own stats. He will be missed by the fans fo the team for sure.

[Dipper9]

Specifically the last line. Because...no, we should not in any way feel obligated to say "thank you." We said "thank you" by purchasing tickets, jerseys, bobbleheads, and the like, and by cheering raucously for Markakis (and the Orioles), for years. He chose to leave town despite being offered a (more than) fair contract that equaled Atlanta's in years and just barely fell short in dollars. If I'm going to thank Nick for anything at this point, it's not locking the O's into another bad, long term contract.

I wasn't in favor of signing him either. What's that have to do with thanking him for 9 years of good service?

Whatever man, you are the epitome of what I said in my post.

[Dipper9]

Most players do this when they were in a city for this long. Very nice Nick.

Not BRob!

[Dipper9]

O's fans have accumulated more than enough good will/karma in re: thank-yous, as I indicated above. And if the thank you you're discussing was really just for a letter (i.e., a small, everyday, ordinary gesture that any polite person, regardless of financial means, should be expected to make), rather than for Nick's performance/tenure as an Oriole, then shouldn't our response be a relatively sedate "thanks," rather than paragraphs-long outpourings of emotion?

I said in my first post that there's nothing inherently wrong with a thank you note. I said I thought the reaction to that note was overboard. IMO, that still holds true.

So you took the time to tell me MY POST was overblown? Seriously? So anytime I disagree with one of the thousands of posts that occur on a message board, I should respond, "I think your post is wrong."

Or should I do what most normal people do and read the post, think, "Hmm, odd" and move on to another thread?

[Can_of_corn]

And thanks to 33rdst for the negative rep (back atcha, boss). Because voicing a contrary opinion is just...awful.

Who do you think you are, a comedian?