SAME OLD SAME OLD
By Murray Chass
December 7, 2010
As the Hall of Fame was once again rejecting Marvin Miller as a member, the Boston Red Sox were negotiating a trade for Adrian Gonzalez, a player his team couldn’t sign, but, of course, Miller did not have a sufficiently major impact on baseball to be elected to the Hall.
As the Hall was rejecting Miller for the fifth time in eight years, the Washington Nationals were signing Jayson Werth to a 7-year, $126 million contract, using free agency to improve their chances of escaping from the nether regions of the National League. But Miller’s efforts in players’ gaining rights and freedom were not instrumental in that aspect of baseball’s development in the last quarter of the 20th century.
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OF AGE AND MONEY
By Murray Chass
December 3, 2010
Two news reports on the same day this week raised questions not of critical importance but of matters worthy of discussion and debate:
Is Jamie Moyer, the ageless marvel of the pitching profession, out of his mind for planning to follow ligament transplant elbow surgery with a year of rehabilitation at the age of 48 and a resumption of his career at 49?
Did Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado’s dynamic young shortstop, sell himself short by letting the Rockies lock him up for most of the rest of his career for just under $16 million a season?
These matters, of course, are personal to the players involved in them, and no one should presume to tell them what they should do. But baseball, more than any sport, produces great debates and everyone has an opinion.
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NO CALLS FOR WILLIE UNTIL BUCK STOPS THERE
By Murray Chass
November 28, 2010
When last season began, Major League Baseball had eight minority managers. After an off-season in which there were 11 potential openings for managers, the 2011 season will begin with six minority managers. It wasn’t a good winter for black, Latin and Asian managerial candidates.
It especially wasn’t good for Willie Randolph. The former manager of the Mets not only didn’t get a managerial job, but he also didn’t get even an interview for a managerial job.
“I didn’t get a call,” Randolph said.
Randolph didn’t get a job either until last week.
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