BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Fanhouse: Will Ichiro’s New Contract Ruin Baseball?

Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand

Friday, July 13, 2007

Fanhouse: Will Ichiro’s New Contract Ruin Baseball?

Samson and Deliria…

According to Marlins President David Samson, it will. Samson, who works for a franchise who has had two fire sales in the last ten years, is incredulous at reports of Ichiro’s reported $100 million five-year contract. In an interview with Dan Le Batard on his radio show, Samson let loose with cries of fiscal irresponsibility (the Ichiro discussion starts about four minutes in).

“Le Batard: It’s dumb, right?

Samson: I would say it’s the end of the world as we know it. If Ichiro’s worth 20 million a year, I am speechless by that contract, I’m hoping that that report is false. Because there’s no chance that a top of the lineup, forget that, there’s no chance anybody’s worth that. And Ichiro, who’s led his team to zero? Nothing? I hope you’re wrong, Dan.”

Thanks to robinred

Repoz Posted: July 13, 2007 at 12:47 AM | 44 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: business, mariners, miami

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

1. robinred

Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:13 AM (#2439321)

Repoz passed on the REM reference in the lead-in. Too easy, I guess.

I think Suzuki will age well, as I said on the thread yesterday.

2. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:19 AM (#2439351)

Didn't A-Rod's contract already ruin it?

3. robinred

Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:25 AM (#2439388)

Didn't A-Rod's contract already ruin it?

That's what's cool about baseball: it can be ruined over and over again by so many different things.

4. Buzzards Bay Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:36 AM (#2439454)

Gm's have to win and send economics smoke signals to each other at the same time
tough trick
as age and production drops become more mainstream and 'accepted' Gm's will have a true foil in this type of player

5. Eric Chalek (Dr. Chaleeko) Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:37 AM (#2439462)

Didn't A-Rod's contract already ruin it?

Didn't Kevin Brown's contract already ruin it?

6. Every Inge Counts Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:39 AM (#2439473)

Didn't A-Rod's contract already ruin it?

Didn't Kevin Brown's contract already ruin it?

Didn't Darren Dreifort's contract already ruin it?

7. McLovin Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:40 AM (#2439484)

Didn't the Marlins already ruin it? Twice?

8. robinred

Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:42 AM (#2439498)

Bill James ruined it before any of these contracts were signed.

9. Frisco Cali Posted: July 13, 2007 at 02:13 AM (#2439609)

It was ruined when foreigners started playing.

10. jwb Posted: July 13, 2007 at 02:17 AM (#2439619)

It was ruined when foreigners started playing.

That was a long, long time ago.

11. Best Regards, Larry M. Posted: July 13, 2007 at 02:21 AM (#2439624)

Didn't Alexander Cartwright ruin it?

12. Teheran's Uranium Enriched Missiles Posted: July 13, 2007 at 02:25 AM (#2439629)

Didn't David Samson already ruin baseball in Florida?

13. Banta Posted: July 13, 2007 at 02:27 AM (#2439631)

Didn't introducing overhand pitching already ruin it?

14. RB in NYC (Now with New iPhone!) Posted: July 13, 2007 at 02:27 AM (#2439633)

What's the Gene Mauch line? "Baseball and Malaria keep coming back" or something like? Frankly, I see no reason to listen to anything Samson has to say.

15. phredbird

Posted: July 13, 2007 at 02:33 AM (#2439640)

when i was in college, all i heard about was how wayne garland's contract ruined baseball. i don't know why but it seemed like it freaked out every writer who covered baseball ...

16. Dag Nabbit apealing [sic] his own check swing Posted: July 13, 2007 at 03:22 AM (#2439686)

Paying ballplayers ruined it. Give me a good 'ol time with the Knickerbock club out in Hoboken anytime. Quite a swell way to spend a gay afternoon.

17. Keith Law Posted: July 13, 2007 at 03:25 AM (#2439688)

Did anyone hear the interview? Samson calls him "ee-CHEE-ro." How can you be involved in MLB and not know how to pronounce the guy's name?

18. Devin has a deep burning passion for fuzzy socks Posted: July 13, 2007 at 03:30 AM (#2439692)

Did anyone hear the interview? Samson calls him "ee-CHEE-ro." How can you be involved in MLB and not know how to pronounce the guy's name?

Well, Loria keeps the pronounciation guide on the top shelf, so standing on the chair isn't enough for him to reach it. [/brattain]

19. JoeHova Posted: July 13, 2007 at 03:32 AM (#2439694)

How can you be involved in MLB and not know how to pronounce the guy's name?

Joe Buck has been calling him "Itch-a-ro" as long as I can remember.

20. Eraser-X is emphatically dominating teh site!!! Posted: July 13, 2007 at 03:44 AM (#2439699)

Well, it's not Buck's "Itchy-ro"...

21. Johnny B. Wong Posted: July 13, 2007 at 04:01 AM (#2439707)

Itch-a-ro

I've got my celebrity endorser lined up, now I just have to create my product.

22. Eraser-X is emphatically dominating teh site!!! Posted: July 13, 2007 at 04:41 AM (#2439723)

Oops, stuck post--twelve minutes too! Sorry JoeHova!

23. MM1f Posted: July 13, 2007 at 05:13 AM (#2439730)

"Did anyone hear the interview? Samson calls him "ee-CHEE-ro." How can you be involved in MLB and not know how to pronounce the guy's name?"

Eh, not a big deal. Why does John Miller insist on calling Andruw "ahhhn-drew"? Not only does Andruw say its "Andrew" but its illogical to think that changing an "e" to a "u" at the end of a name would change how you pronounce the first letter, in this name at least.

24. Gambling Rent Czar Posted: July 13, 2007 at 05:56 AM (#2439739)

Wow, just wow.
I just listened to about 20-25 minutes of this douche and some of his interviews. Not only is my brain fried from listening to this dumbass, but I couldn't help but come away thinking .... This...THIS is the president of an MLB baseball team??? I would be furious if he ran the Padres.
Sure it is ok to be fan of the movies, but to hijack a weekly sports show and ramble on about absolutely nothing but stupid movie trivia, and to try and crack lame jokes left and right is beyond obnoxious .. He doesn't even talk about the team .. EVER!!
In 30 minutes (3 different interviews) I don't think he mentioned the Florida Marlins once.

all I can say is wow .. .. just wow.

25. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: July 13, 2007 at 12:25 PM (#2439781)

I'm sick and tired of players like Ichiro and Albert Belle ruining baseball

26. andrewberg Posted: July 13, 2007 at 12:33 PM (#2439788)

I think what samson meant to say is that the Ichiro contract will ruin baseball... unless the city of Miami publicly funds a new stadium for the Marlins. That, and that alone, could undo the damage caused by Bill Bavasi and his henchmen.

27. Eric Chalek (Dr. Chaleeko) Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:10 PM (#2439800)

Joe Buck's pronunciation of Ichrio just ruined this thread!

28. Misirlou's got a busy day, he's wearing a vest Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:20 PM (#2439809)

but its illogical to think that changing an "e" to a "u" at the end of a name would change how you pronounce the first letter, in this name at least.

Tell that to the women of the world.

29. alio intuito Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:25 PM (#2439810)

It was ruined when foreigners started playing.

It was ruined when they started paying players to play.

30. Golfing Great Mitch Cumstein Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:31 PM (#2439817)

Is Samson as much of a douche as he appears in this interview?

31. AROM Posted: July 13, 2007 at 01:33 PM (#2439819)

It was ruined when foreigners started playing.

You mean us Irish?

32. Estranged O Posted: July 13, 2007 at 02:04 PM (#2439834)

Didn't Abner Doubleday already ruin baseball?

33. G.W.O. Posted: July 13, 2007 at 05:40 PM (#2440053)

Jane Austen ruined baseball

34. aleskel

Posted: July 13, 2007 at 05:48 PM (#2440060)

Wow, the "ruined baseball" just gave me a flashback to those MLB ads from the late 90s:

voiceover: "baseball ... baseball's just dead"
player (Smoltz, maybe?): "hey, if baseball survived those old Astros uniforms, it can survive anything"
(cue 30 seconds of footage of the late '70s Astros)

man, that was fun

35. Kris Posted: July 13, 2007 at 05:55 PM (#2440065)

I'm pretty sure it was Neon Deion who declared that baseball can survive anything after surviving the old Astros uniforms. could be wrong, but it was one my favorite commercials.

36. Loren F. Posted: July 13, 2007 at 05:57 PM (#2440068)

Am I the only one who thought those Astros uniforms were so Ur-70s-bad that they were good?

37. aleskel

Posted: July 13, 2007 at 05:59 PM (#2440070)

huh ... maybe it was Deion. Somehow I remembered it being a white guy.

Another great one from that series of commericals:

voiceover: "too many teams wear pinstripes now"
(cue 30 seconds of footage of various teams wearing pinstripes)
cubs player: [looks down at uniform] "okay, maybe that one's true."

38. Eric Chalek (Dr. Chaleeko) Posted: July 13, 2007 at 06:00 PM (#2440071)

Indoor stadiums and plastic grass ruined baseball.

39. RMc is the loyal supporter of the MLB event Posted: July 13, 2007 at 06:39 PM (#2440109)

Voiceover: "The baseball season is too long."
Tony Gwynn, in dugout: "No, it's the off-season that's too long!"
(camera switches to show Tony's POV, looking out at the field, which is covered with snow)

Great stuff.

40. aleskel

Posted: July 13, 2007 at 07:15 PM (#2440141)

man, MLB had some terrific ads back then (can you say "back then" about 10 years ago?)

I loved the one where they had players singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame, one line at a time, in different languages (including Graeme Lloyd's Australian accent). I wish they would resurrect that one.

Of course, its funny now to remember that the player who sang the last line ("at the ooold baaall gaaaame") was Mark McGuire, who was supposed to be the iconic figure.

41. Walt Davis Posted: July 13, 2007 at 11:22 PM (#2440356)

but its illogical to think that changing an "e" to a "u" at the end of a name would change how you pronounce the first letter, in this name at least.

Being Miller, I assume he's going for the "correct" Spanish pronunciation of "an" (as in Angel). Of course then Andruw's last name would be something like Ho-ness.

42. Eraser-X is emphatically dominating teh site!!! Posted: July 13, 2007 at 11:31 PM (#2440379)

You mean like "Ned Holness"?

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

<< Back to main

Friday, July 13, 2007

Fanhouse: Will Ichiro’s New Contract Ruin Baseball?

Reader Comments and Retorts

Support BBTF

Bookmarks

Hot Topics