$17,146.
That’s how much Miami Marlins’ outfielder Giancarlo Stanton will earn per inning over the next 13 years of his $325 million contract — the largest in both value and length in baseball history.
Stanton will make that paycheck to play 162 games of baseball per season, not counting bonuses and endorsement deals.
Making $17,146 per inning in a nine-inning game is staggering, and it is too much for a professional baseball player to make.
The MLB needs to find a way to curtail absurd spending on players before the price for an average player becomes too high and the price for a premier player is astronomical.
While $17,146 probably wouldn’t be able to buy a new car, or pay a full year’s Penn State tuition bill, $154,320 per game easily could.
In August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that raising a child born in 2013 to the age of 18 would cost about $245,000. So essentially, Stanton makes more than half of what it costs to raise a child to college age in just nine innings of baseball.
I’m not saying that Stanton is the greediest man on earth, or that the Marlins are just tossing money out the window, but there’s a little bit of both going on there.
Sure, Stanton is an unbelievable talent, but is a .271 career hitter who has yet to hit 40 home runs in his five-year MLB career worth that exorbitant fee?
I get that professional baseball players sacrifice a lot during a grueling 162-game season and that the Marlins make a lot of money by having Stanton on the team.
Also, professional baseball careers are short, usually lasting less than 20 years, so players need to make their money when they can.
But that doesn’t detract from the notion that baseball players ask for too much money and that teams are willing to give it to them.
Stanton will only get older, and while the 25-year old is entering the prime of his career, when the contract runs its course, he will be 38 years old.
That’s taking a huge risk on a guy who — hopefully won’t — but could get injured, decline in talent or have some other unforeseen circumstance take him out of the game.
For instance, the New York Yankees signed infielder Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $275 million contract in 2007.
In the first four years of his contract, Rodriguez produced, batting .270 or better with 30 or more home runs each season. But after that, while his average still hovered around .270, for the next two seasons he hit under 20 home runs.
In 2013, Rodriguez got injured and played just 44 games. In 2014, he was suspended for the entire season because of steroid use and did not play.
When he returns in 2015, the 39-year old is owed $61 million dollars between then and 2017.
Both Rodriguez and Stanton will make a disgusting amount of money for unguaranteed production.
It also falls on the players who hold out for large amounts of money.
Aaron Rodgers, arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, makes just $22 million, and while football has a much shorter season than baseball, the physical toll is just as bad if not worse.
Why players feel entitled to negotiate for so much money is something that I will never understand. While I’d like to make money and look out for myself and my family, I can’t even imagine what I’d do with the close to $25 million Stanton could make each year.
I’ve crunched the numbers and decided that I would play professional baseball for about $100,000 a year. Enough to support myself and give a little back to my family.
Of course, I’m a 21-year old who hasn’t played in three years and never hit a home run in my entire baseball career not counting Wiffle Ball.
I also hit a meager .262 my senior year of high school and unfortunately was not immediately drafted into the MLB or offered any college scholarships.
But the fact remains the same: I’d play for less, and professional players should too.
