Comments on: Albert Pujols’ contract is worth up to $265.75 million

By: cintiphil

cintiphil — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:54:10 +0000

The only thing which is an argument against your numbers is that Albert had a “poor” year in 2011, and Prince had a very good one. Also, Albert had slipped a little each year in some areas for the past three. Not that his numbers were poor, but his past 3 years were not the same as the first 8. Take a look at K’s and double plays etc. He is not the same man as in 2008 and before. I would say lets take a look at his numbers at the end of 2012, and it may determine a trend or not. Also, Prince has been improving in that same period.

By: westcoastredbird

westcoastredbird — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:54:48 +0000

I agree! This is a non story.

By: isujames

isujames — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:16:13 +0000

who gives a @#%*!!!!!!!

By: thoran85

thoran85 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:58:40 +0000

Fielder has been better then Albert the past three seasons? I think not.

HR: AP 136, PF 116
RBI: AP 352, PF 344
AVG: AP .313, PF .286
WAR: AP 21.6, PF 15.3

World Series Titles: AP 1, PF 0

Judging by the numbers, I would say you are mistaken.

By: letsgosharks

letsgosharks — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:51:29 +0000

Just think,now Abert can afford a season pass to Disneyland.

By: cosanostra71

cosanostra71 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:42:55 +0000

good thing he isn’t playing in LA then

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:32:12 +0000

Howard’s contract is far worse than A-Rod’s or Pujols’.

By what possible measure has Fielder been better over the last three years?

By: andyreidisfat

andyreidisfat — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:29:44 +0000

You think teams would learn watching arod fAll apart while making insane money . I know the phillies did that’s why Howard only got 5 years .

For angels fans sake I hope albert takes them to a title during the first 5 years because if not this franchise could be stuck with no money to pay anyone else.

I really don’t understand why their isn’t much heat on this guy just like lebron. IMO his leaving st Louis is much worse. They just won the series, he was a god in that area, and they offered a deal that wasn’t much different when you consider Cali has crazy stAte income taxes.

The other thing that really bothers me is that fielder over the last 3 years is just a flat out better player thAn albert, he is younger and will cost less and we are sure about his age isn’t signed yet. If I were a gm I would have signed fielder way before I signed Albert. I guess the name on the back really is more important these days

By: cur68

cur68 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:10:02 +0000

Yeah, makes sense I guess. Given that its AP that’s how I’d word it.

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:02:57 +0000

That’s the way I read it too, kopy. Pretty damn sure that’s right.

By: coloredink5

coloredink5 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:01:03 +0000

i dont alex rodriguez will get close to the record because his body is breaking down from the steriods he took and since he is getting older he will most likley not be able to be hitting homeruns for much longer

By: phukyouk

phukyouk — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:33:47 +0000

they make a drug for that….

By: Ari Collins

Ari Collins — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:32:38 +0000

Agreed he probably needs to hit 70 HRs over the next two years. Considering he hasn’t done that over two years since ’07-’08, I’d say the chances are slim.

I really thought he’d be the next one to break Bonds’ record. His dropoff since ’07 has been dramatic.

By: sippindasyzurp

sippindasyzurp — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:23:00 +0000

I could see him getting hurt, thats what seems to happen to everyone who signs a huge deal like this… Or his bat will go limp..

By: kopy

kopy — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:12:42 +0000

Maybe it’s not $875k for each award, but a clean sweep of all 6 awards would net $875k. For example, $300k for MVP, $200k for Silver Slugger, $50k for All-Star, etc…

That’s the way I read it when it says, “$875 in total incentives.” Can’t be sure though.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:58:25 +0000

I just…can’t even fathom what it would be like to have his paydays. To play baseball. I know, revenue streams, billionaire owners, etc etc etc…this deal, despite all that, blows my mind.

The budget of the wedding I’m paying for myself, because of our broke families, is basically what this man would earn in approximately 1/10th of 1 plate appearance in 2021.

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:53:51 +0000

The next 2 years will determine how likely he is to break the record. IF he can get a combined 60 to 70 HR’s for the 2012 and 2013 seasons he should be able to do it. That would put him at somewhere around 695 through the 2013 season with 4 season left on his contract to hit between 65 and 70 HR’s or 15 to 18 per not impossible.

If as phukyouk said he has another 15 or so HR season in the next 2 it will be very, very tough. Not impossible but very tough. Unlike phukyouk I think he will do it. But we’ll see, that’s what makes baseball so much fun.

By: phukyouk

phukyouk — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:39:14 +0000

doubtful… this is the year that will tell if Arod will break the record. if he has another 15-20 HR season he can kiss that record goodbye. if he is in the 30-35 range hes got a shot. I honestly do not think he is going to be able to do it

By: rsnorth

rsnorth — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:32:15 +0000

The way A-Rod’s collapsing he may be lucky to reach 700!

By: thefalcon123

thefalcon123 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:30:34 +0000

I would hold off on crowning A-Rod the new home run king. Using Bill James’ Favorite Toy, A-Rod currently has a 22% chance getting to 763. Joe Posnanski has echoed this.

A-Rod will be 35 this year. His skills are in clear decline and he’s having a pretty hard time staying on the field. He hasn’t had 600 PAs since 2007 and his OPS has dropped each of the past 5 seasons. Does the following seem like pretty reasonable scenario for A-Rod in terms of future home runs

Age 36: 30
Age 37: 25
Age 38: 24
Age 39: 23
Age 40: 17
Age 41: 13

Given his health and rate of decline, those numbers seem reasonable to generous. Very few players last until 41, and even fewer hit 23 home runs when they’re 39 years old. Well, add them up, and it’s 761 homers.

A-Rod can certainly do it, but it’s faaaaaaaaar from a forgone conclusion.

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:21:17 +0000

Thank you. I was hoping someone else didn’t think it was a stupid idea.

By: thelucasjj

thelucasjj — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:17:14 +0000

A-Rod will most likely have broken through 763 by the time Pujpls gets there. So they will be rewarding him for being second all time, if he even gets there.

By: cur68

cur68 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:17:11 +0000

Actually, not at all a stupid question IMO. Phat Al could easily do that: MVP, ALCS MVP, World Series MVP, Gold Glove 1st base, Silver Slugger, & All-Star. He damn qualified for all last year, but for injury. In terms of the popularity contests (MVP etc) its just a matter of popularity with the voters. A healthy, productive Albert Pujols is a pretty popular guy with the baseball press. Does he get the dough X 6 in the not-unlikely event of all that?

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:05:28 +0000

Aaron, does he get $875K for each of those awards in any given year? For example: If he won the MVP, ALCS MVP, World Series MVP, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and All-Star selections. That’s 6 awards, if he won all 6 say in 2012 is it 6 times $875K = $5,250MM possible each year. Or can he only get $875K regardless of how many he wins in any given year. I’m not sure your article clarifies that. Either that or I’m not not seeing it.

Forgive me if that’s a stupid question.

By: saints97

saints97 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:02:54 +0000

How long before the close up that personal services contract loophole? All that is is deferred money that needs no immediate funding and does not count against the luxury tax. How long before the Yankees are committing to $100,000,000 a season for several free agents’ personal service contracts so that they can lock up players for reasonable money now, and avoid the luxury tax altogether?

By: Loose Changeup

Loose Changeup — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:51:30 +0000

In 2021, you won’t be able to live in LA for less than $12MM/year, so $30MM isn’t all that much