Having been a sports fan for 53 years I’ve seen many changes in college and professional sports. While I understand how the economy has changed drastically since 1971 and sports salaries are much higher than years gone by, the recent free agent signing of Juan Soto became the highest salary of any professional athlete in history.
When learning of the numbers Soto is getting, I find it disgusting. Without trying to get too political or lean on social issues, considering all the problems in the world, Soto is after all playing a sport. Sure, this is his chosen profession so like any job he should earn a salary but $765 million for 15 years? To me that’s a little over the top.
When Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had set the record which has now been broken by Soto. The Japanese import signed a deal paying him $700 million for 10 years with a 97% deferral for 10 years. Soto has no deferral in his contract he signed with the New York Mets.
After learning the millions Soto will make, I looked at his stats and it left me scratching my head. While he has respectable stats, they are far from superstar numbers. How can I make that judgment? By comparing him to Baseball Hall of Fame greats. Can you imagine if Babe Ruth was playing in the current era? Truth be told that athletes are different these days. Today’s players are more athletic. Training is better, there are better facilities, but in my opinion, sports have become such a big business as the true integrity of sport has diminished.
These days it’s play for the money first, thinking about winning is secondary. Back in earlier days athletes played for the love of the sport and were paid far less but that can be attributed to the economy. Still, Soto’s $765 million contract is too much. Ridiculous even. Between Ohtani and Soto, their career numbers are close. Does that mean Ohtani was overpaid as well? See their comparison below.
But when it comes to comparing Soto to some of those hall of fame greats, the numbers tell a different story. Let’s start with one of the greatest players ever, the “Sultan of Swat,” Babe Ruth. Like Ohtani, Ruth played both ways. He was a great pitcher but an even greater home run hitter. With that said, Ruth’s career batting average was .342. Soto’s thus far? .285. Soto has seven years on the books with three different teams. Over those seven seasons his per season home run average is about 29 dingers per year.
As for Babe Ruth his career spanned 22 seasons with three different teams and he was the original home run king until Hank Aaron broke his career record. With his 714 home runs, Ruth averaged 32 home runs per season but keep in mind he was a pitcher first. Ruth didn’t become a regular batter until the 1919 season when he went from playing in 95 games the year before to 130 in 1919. Take away those first five seasons and the 20 home runs he hit, his average then becomes 40 home runs a season.
In those next 17 seasons after 1918 Babe Ruth averaged 123 RBIs per season. Soto? Just 84. Ruth’s average of hits per season was 157 in the 17 years we are talking about where Soto’s number is 133. What about comparing Ruth’s great teammate and also a hall of famer Lou Gehrig? In a career spanning 17 years that was cut short because of illness, Gehrig had a lifetime average of .340 to Soto’s .285. The “Iron Horse” had better RBI numbers, a better OBP, slugging average and on an average banged out 160 hits per season.
To make this a more modern comparison, let’s use the late Pete Rose. Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame but his gambling addiction cost him there. Still, he is one of the greatest players ever. “Charlie Hustle” played 24 seasons with three different teams and to this day is the only player I know that ran to first base on a walk. Rose is the all-time hit leader and averaged 177 hits per season. While not a home run hitter, his WAR number is far above Soto’s 36.4. Rose had a career mark of 79.5.
The bottom line for me is this…I understand million dollar contracts but when it comes to Soto’s deal and Ohtani’s deal it just seems a little much. If the New York Mets do not win the World Series with Soto in the lineup, then was it really worth spending all that money to get him to sign? The amounts of money being spent especially in baseball just seems silly. Then you have the Bobby Bonilla contract. In 1992 the former Pittsburgh Pirate then New York Met signed a deal that from when he retired in 2001 pays him $1.2 million every year for 25 years that began in 2011. So he gets millions until 2035 despite not being anywhere near a baseball diamond.
By the time 2035 rolls around Bonilla will have earned close to $30 million. Dumbest contract ever? Probably.
