On the Great A-Rod Debate

The subject of Alex Rodriguez and whether he is an overpaid athlete is currently 25% of what is talked about on local sports radio and 10% on national, so I feel oblidged to chime in. I'm not even a huge baseball fan, but the subject of performance in sport is universal and widely applicable, and I feel like most of the analysis here is off-the-mark. So here goes:

"A-ROD is TEMPORARILY OVERPAID"

A-Rod is temporarily overpaid. But he can redeem himself. Here's the rub:

The success or failure of a Major League Baseball team with a $200 million dollar payroll (OK.. $198m and change to be specific) to make the playoffs over the course of a 162 game season can't be pinned on one player. If anything, the failure of a team with this bankroll to make the post-season should be pinned on the GM and maybe the manager/coach (see: the New York Knicks). But this doesn't apply to the modern-era big-buck Yanks, because they almost always make the playoffs.

Once *in* the MLB playoffs, in a 5 or a 7 game series--and kudos to MLB for not following the lead of the NBA and NHL and adopting the interminable 7 game first round series--you can sure use marquis...or just above average... performances from your high priced studs. If a key starting pitcher or fielder falters or excels in a MLB playoff series, that can make all the difference.

In 2004 and 2005, A-Rod had a mediocre and a bad playoff series. He batted .258 against the Redsox in 2004 and an abysmal .133 against the Angels in 2005. This for a guy with a .307 career average. In case people forget, the Yanks had three close losses to the Redsox in that epic 2004 ALCS, and three close losses to the Angels last year. No telling if whether A-Rod had hit closer to his average in both of those series, Yanks would have prevailed and moved on. But here's the problem: he's paid friggen $25 million dollars to hit close to his average in those big games.

I don't know why this is so complicated. Sports (and CEO) salaries are disproportionately high, some more than others. But there is an internal logic (albeit a flawed one) to paying someone a gazillion dollars if the goal is to win a championship or post strong earnings. If the batting average drops in the big games, or if earnings plummet in the 4th Quarter, this is a problem for the players/people at the top of the food/pay chain.

As a New York sports fan, I don't care that A-Rod had strong playoff series with the Mariners, or that he had a 3-error game last week. I want to see him putting up big hitting numbers and good-enough fielding performances IN THE PLAYOFFS. Here's the good news for New York sports fans and A-Rod: he'll have plenty of chances to do this and come up big. Here's the bad news for New York sports fans and A-Rod: he'll have plenty of chances to do this and fail.

So... my jury is out. If the guy puts in strong playoff performances over the next few seasons and the Yanks win a Championship, great... way to go super-ridiculously-highly-paid professional athlete. You have done your job. If he does not, well... this is a problem, and I'll remember him as an overpaid athlete who couldn't hack it when the heat was on, even if he bats a career .300 and knocks in 700 HR.

But we're not there yet. To be continued...



I ain't gonna post a picture of A-Rod, so instead, I offer an image hearkening back to the days of yester-year when I actually cared as much about baseball as I do the NBA. Cheers.