MLB 2023 Season

[Cobra Mgr]

Happy Bobby Bonilla day.

I had no idea Bonilla also gets half a mil from the O's til 2029.

Why doesn't every ballplayer hire Bonilla's agent?

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Happy Bobby Bonilla day.

I had no idea Bonilla also gets half a mil from the O's til 2029.

Why doesn't every ballplayer hire Bonilla's agent?

If I‘m still around in 2036, I will be sad to see this go, sort of.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Happy Bobby Bonilla day.

I had no idea Bonilla also gets half a mil from the O's til 2029.

Why doesn't every ballplayer hire Bonilla's agent?

I’m pretty sure this arrangement was cheaper for the Mets and Orioles as well. Just put a bunch of money into a mutual fund - the amount you might have paid Bobby Bo for a normal contract, for example - and just pay him with the profits. It clouds the water when the Mets dump their money into a Ponzi scheme but that’s not an issue with the setup, it’s an issue with them investing poorly.

Terry Pluto’s collection of oral histories about the ABA, Loose Balls, indicates players were offered these kinds of deals pretty regularly for this exact reason: they looked gaudy and massive but were actually cheaper than paying out all at once.

https://www.jewsinsports.org/basketball_ID_310.html

The USFL handed out a number of these sorts of deals, too, most notably if memory serves to Steve Young and Jim Kelly (in their cases, they wound up not even having to honor like 28 of the 30 year contracts because they folded). I realize that the narrative is “lol that’s a dumb deal”… and that’s right, just kind of dumb for Bobby Bonilla to accept it.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

I’m pretty sure this arrangement was cheaper for the Mets and Orioles as well. Just put a bunch of money into a mutual fund - the amount you might have paid Bobby Bo for a normal contract, for example - and just pay him with the profits. It clouds the water when the Mets dump their money into a Ponzi scheme but that’s not an issue with the setup, it’s an issue with them investing poorly.

There's indeed every chance that the Mets put that bunch of money into Bernie Madoff's non-existent funds and then had to pay up double into the compensation fund.

But the idea was nice enough, and let's be honest, what's $1.2M a year getting you in MLB these days? Not even two minimum salaries. Who cares?

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

If I‘m still around in 2036, I will be sad to see this go, sort of.

Jeez, from your post, it just occurred to me that, yes indeed, Bonilla's contract (he last played in 2001) may outlive me. Probably will, in fact. A guy that stopped playing over 20 years ago will still be getting a paycheck when I am a distant and fuzzy memory.

But enough of that morbid nonsense. What sports are on the telly today?

[Déjà Bru]

But before telly sports, I will support the 2000 Mets team management in one respect.

You say, "Why would the Mets pay out nearly $30 million in coming years to save less than $6 million today?" I don't have the capability of explaining the concept of the time value of money or how net present value is calculated, but in 2000, the deal apparently made financial sense.

I set up a spreadsheet using the PV function in LibreOffice Calc. Part of the deferral process was paying $0 for the first 10 years. When I plugged in a discount rate of 8% (from the ESPN article: "a negotiated 8% interest"), the calculated present value (as of 2000) of the future payment stream was extremely close to the original deferred payment.

[Westheim]

This is the middle year of the payment period. What does $30M get you now? Four months of Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer, basically. And being behind the Marlins.

Back in 2000, the deferred payment gave the Mets room to sign Wade Hampton, win a pennant, and when Hampton left for Colorado, a compensation pick which they used to draft David Wright.

In essence, the Mets are paying more than they would have had to with an interest rate pegged to whatever federal interest rate they would have fancied, since we've basically had 15 years of next to no interest now, but to be honest, I'm fine with all of this.

And it's not like we wouldn't have anything to laugh about with the Metsies without that deal, either.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Westheim

In essence, the Mets are paying more than they would have had to with an interest rate pegged to whatever federal interest rate they would have fancied, since we've basically had 15 years of next to no interest now, but to be honest, I'm fine with all of this.

That's a good point. For much of this period so far, interest rates have been very low. I plugged in 2% and 1% and the value of Bonilla's later payments increased to much more than the original deferred payment.




The theory is, if the Mets were to make only those lower rates of interest on their original savings, the fact that they are now paying Bonilla those deferred amounts means they are net out of pocket.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Westheim

This is the middle year of the payment period. What does $30M get you now? Four months of Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer, basically. And being behind the Marlins.

Back in 2000, the deferred payment gave the Mets room to sign Wade Hampton, win a pennant, and when Hampton left for Colorado, a compensation pick which they used to draft David Wright.

Whilst I appreciate the nod to South Carolina's own Wade Hampton, the 1-year pitcher who so notably raved over that highly-respected Denver school system was Mike Hampton. Pardon the nit-pick.

(How did you hit on Wade Hampton, perchance? I live in South Carolina and I barely know of the guy. That is rather deep Americana, I say.)

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Whilst I appreciate the nod to South Carolina's own Wade Hampton, the 1-year pitcher who so notably raved over that highly-respected Denver school system was Mike Hampton. Pardon the nit-pick.

(How did you hit on Wade Hampton, perchance? I live in South Carolina and I barely know of the guy. That is rather deep Americana, I say.)

(facepalms)

One, I'm crap.

Two, especially with names.

Three, I'm a bit of a Civil War nut.

Four, I *do* know the differences between Rich Hill, A.P. Hill, and D.H. Hill, author of math books still delightful

Five, I'm really that crap.....

[Syd Thrift]

Six, at least you didn’t introduce the SUPER LUSER Braxton Bragg into the mix…

[Cobra Mgr]

Never heard this story about Papi & Pedroia.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Never heard this story about Papi & Pedroia.

Why is that story so relatable to me...?

Originally Posted by Westheim

(facepalms)

One, I'm crap.

Two, especially with names.

Oh right.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

Alek Manoah got absolutely manhandled in his first appearance in rookie ball: 2.2 IP, 10 ER. It’s getting like that Chuck Knoblauch joke from back in the day…

Better his next outing @ AA.

[Westheim]

With the Snakes-Mets game that is on later and ticking off the former, I will have seen all 30 teams in a game this season.

From fuzzy memory, that doesn't happen every year. Usually the AL West is notoriously elusive to me.

[Cobra Mgr]

Why does the O's play by play guy sound so much like Joe Buck? It is really annoying me.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Why does the O's play by play guy sound so much like Joe Buck? It is really annoying me.

Isn't that the guy that at the same time looks like he's 12 years old?

[Le Grande Orange]

Terrible season watch update:

Oakland currently on pace to finish near the 2003 Detroit level (43-119 .265).
Kansas City currently on pace to finish just above the 2019 Detroit level (47-114 .291).

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Isn't that the guy that at the same time looks like he's 12 years old?

IDK. They showed him once & he looked under 30. Never said his name. But I can't stand Buck. Just the sound of his voice irks me now. And this guy kept me thinking Buck even though he never said anything w/Buck's know-it-all superiority snarkiness. Just the sound. I'm like Pavlov's dog.

Oy vey.

[Westheim]

Did a bit of Wikipedia/Google now, and the guy's name is Kevin Brown (no Wikipedia article for him though, so he's not important), and he was alleged to be 32 in 2022, which I want proof of.

I also prefered Gary Thorne.

By a lot.