Is anyone upset that a team just shelled out $1 billion???

[RarityFlaherty]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

Do you think players should have the freedom to choose what team they play for?

Sure, but if things weren’t always all about money, you’d see a lot more players that are loyal to the team that brought them up and developed them. 

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, RarityFlaherty said:

Sure, but if things weren’t always all about money, you’d see a lot more players that are loyal to the team that brought them up and developed them. 

They aren't always about money.

When Ohtani went to the LAAoA do you think they had the highest bid?

Because they didn't.

I think you are overestimating how much loyalty players have for their employers. 

If you are all about the money and the Orioles can offer as much as the Yankees or Dodgers why stay in Baltimore when you can make more money (endorsements), be more famous and have a better chance of winning if you leave?

If I'm young and rich and can live in any of the cities with ML baseball teams I ain't picking Baltimore.

[forphase1]

8 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Do you think players should have the freedom to choose what team they play for?

Honestly?  No.  I hate free agency, and wish it didn't exist.  But I've never been on the players side for the most part.  I'm not exactly pro-owner, per se, but I am much more pro-organization than I am pro-player.  For example, I HATE what the NIL and transfer rules (or the lack there off) is currently doing to college football.  I'd honestly enjoy baseball a lot more if free agency didn't exist and if I knew that a Ripken/Murray in the past or a Henderson/Holiday today were 'ours' until we decided we didn't want them anymore.  I know that genie is never going back into the bottle, but if I'm being honest I'd like to see more restrictions on player movement in all sports, especially in baseball.  Never happening though.  

[ArtVanDelay]

30 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I don't watch the NBA but you put stick me in a room and tell me I have to watch one of the NBA, NASCAR or FIFA I'm taking the NBA.

Guys driving in a circle for 500 miles, whoohoo.

Ok they’re all equally boring. 

[RarityFlaherty]

5 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

They aren't always about money.

When Ohtani went to the LAAoA do you think they had the highest bid?

Because they didn't.

I think you are overestimating how much loyalty players have for their employers. 

If you are all about the money and the Orioles can offer as much as the Yankees or Dodgers why stay in Baltimore when you can make more money (endorsements), be more famous and have a better chance of winning if you leave?

If I'm young and rich and can live in any of the cities with ML baseball teams I ain't picking Baltimore.

Now you’re just making arguments against free agency for me. Because you’re right, we aren’t really a great destinations for players, regardless of money. Maybe they shouldn’t be allowed to play for whatever team they want. 

[Aristotelian]

1 hour ago, Moose Milligan said:

I don't think the cap is a great thing.  In any sport, really.

I grew up a Redskins fan in the 80s and 90s.  For me, there was comfort knowing that guys like Joe Jacoby and Darrell Green were going to be on the team, year in, year out.  Gary Clark, Art Monk, etc.  Those guys were Redskins for life (I'm aware Clark and Monk played elsewhere at the end of their careers).  

Nowadays, there's no guarantee that an NFL player will spend their entire career with a team, all because of the cap.  

Let's do a reverse.  Imagine if Cal Ripken were a cap casualty before 1990 or so and he broke Gehrig's record in a Red Sox uniform?  Imagine if there were a salary cap when Brooks was playing and he spent the second half of his career playing for some dumb team like the Mets or the Phillies?

The cap doesn't do anything to create ingenuity and create different ways to look at the game in order to keep competitive.  There's a reason the Rays have been able to own the Yankees over the past few years, it's because they're forced to live within the constraints of their budget and make their dollar go further.  And they're not applauded for it, either, which is odd.  People just want to whine about teams spending money because the odds are their team isn't doing it.  Look no further than this board.  Had Angelos spent a lot of money over the course of his ownership here, we'd be singing a different tune.  

I'd rather remove money from the equation. I'd gladly trade the last 10 years of Cal's career for an even playing field. Imagine if the O's were the baseball equivalent of the Ravens (who still managed to sign Lamar). It's not like modern free agency has been great at incentivizing team loyalty. Certainly not to the Orioles. 

I'm not sure what you mean about ingenuity. It doesn't take a genius to sign Ohtani and Yamamoto to buy a WS. Both systems incentivize laziness in different ways.

[Malike]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

It's shocking how badly the Knicks are run that they can't become a destination spot for players.

Living in NY, I can tell you the shine of being a destination city hasn't been a thing in a long time. People are leaving in droves, not looking to come here.

[Number5]

3 minutes ago, Malike said:

Living in NY, I can tell you the shine of being a destination city hasn't been a thing in a long time. People are leaving in droves, not looking to come here.

It's a nice place to visit.  

[Malike]

Just now, Number5 said:

It's a nice place to visit.  

Yes, it's always nice to visit and then have the option of leaving.

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, Malike said:

Living in NY, I can tell you the shine of being a destination city hasn't been a thing in a long time. People are leaving in droves, not looking to come here.

I would think at NBA salary levels it would still have some appeal.

[Frobby]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

I would think at NBA salary levels it would still have some appeal.

Fun place to visit, wouldn’t want to live there, personally, no matter how wealthy I was.  But I’m sure there are many people who wouldn’t be anywhere else.  

[Malike]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

I would think at NBA salary levels it would still have some appeal.

It's not a great city to live in during the NBA season and there are plenty of other states that have much nicer climates and much more reasonable tax rates. The Knicks are a train wreck of an org, but NYC isn't as tempting by itself as it used to be. I read an article about SF having trouble getting players because of the city itself, not money or a bad org, just, nobody wants to live there.

[Jagwar]

It's really only like $600 mm with the Time Value of Money

[SemperFi]

2 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

It absolutely sucks. It's bad for the game. Part of why NFL and NbA are destroying MLB in growing their fan base is that every team has the same chance to win. That being said, the Dodgers contracts are just the latest example, not anything uniquely exciting. Some had suggested Shohei himself might get $1B due to his unicorn value as both pitcher and hitter. Definitely not going to let it ruin my holidays!

The NFL is unique in their business model and aspiration for parity. 

MLB may pay it lip service but revenue (and ultimately value) is driven by the major markets teams and that is not going to change.  Do you think parity in men's basketball is good for ratings (revenue)-please reference last years UConn/SDSU/Miami/FAU (-15% YOY and -40% peak).  

Some owners may grumble but they still accept their revenue sharing checks which is driven by larger market teams.  The MLBPA loves free agency as it sets prices.     

 

 

[Moose Milligan]

1 hour ago, Aristotelian said:

I'd rather remove money from the equation. I'd gladly trade the last 10 years of Cal's career for an even playing field. Imagine if the O's were the baseball equivalent of the Ravens (who still managed to sign Lamar). It's not like modern free agency has been great at incentivizing team loyalty. Certainly not to the Orioles. 

I'm not sure what you mean about ingenuity. It doesn't take a genius to sign Ohtani and Yamamoto to buy a WS. Both systems incentivize laziness in different ways.

I don’t think you understood the argument I was trying to make. 
 

And I know you didn’t understand what I meant about ingenuity if you thought about the rich teams signing expensive players.