In an announcement hastily given by New Orleans Crawdads GM Mike Voelker, it was announced today that Catcher
Champ Kind was signed to a 3 year contract extension... nearly a month ago.
"Well, to be quite honest, I'm not sure what the hell happened. I'm sitting here, looking at the calendar, it's August 21, and I'm looking at the press release we have, and it's dated July 22. How it managed to not be ready for me until today, I have no idea, but rest assured that I have fired several members of the PR department."
Kind, 26, had one year of arbitration left before free agency, and the team wanted to get something done before that. "We feel that it's a very fair deal for all involved, and it allows us the financial ability to pursue other players as necessary."
The slugging catcher has 21 home runs and 63 RBI on the season, though his average currently sits at a lowly .234, and his OBP is a dismal .270. "I just been slumpin a bit this year, I'll pick it up" said the large man with the white cowboy hat on. The previous two seasons as a starter, Kind batted over .300 with OBPs of .346 and .336 respectively. His slugging is also down, but Crawdads brass feel that he will bounce back soon. Fans sure hope so, and rumors of the upcoming Champ Kind BobbleHat day have caused quite a buzz