There’s a fine line between loyalty for the sake of loyalty and keeping someone around just because they’ve been around for so long. But when you have a person that has been working hard, remained productive and is a strong asset for your company, YOU KEEP HIM! That has nothing to do with a free economy or Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand—it’s called common sense. So when the Angels decided to part ways with Garrett Anderson, it looks like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim might have bigger problems with common sense than just the name of their team.
Atlanta Brave: Garrett Anderson?
The contract Anderson signed with Atlanta is for a single season and only $2.5 million. If he was offered the same contract by the Angels, it would have put him somewhere between Justin Speier and Juan Rivera on their payroll. That would have been a bargain for a guy that has been a staple of the franchise for over a decade. The $2.5 million would have been just over 2% of their total payroll next season. Are you telling me that Garrett Anderson isn’t worth that to the Angels? That’s just sad.
I get it—this is big business baseball. Teams will always want the next great thing. But it sure seems like it would be good business to bring back someone that your teams can identify with. It would be worth more than just the .300 average and the never-ending string of doubles Anderson annually produces. It’s bringing back a guy that has meant so much to the organization, before AND during their recent run of success.
There’s no question that guys like Kirby Puckett, Cal Ripken Jr., and Tony Gwynn are loved in their respective cities. Do you think it’s solely because of their statistics? No, it’s because the fans in their cities grew up with them. They felt like they could identify with their own personal superstars. When they retired, they rode off into the sunset with dignity and an aura of allegiance to the teams we love. People destroy players for having no loyalty to their teams these days, but it’s a two-way street. It’s awfully hard for a guy like Garrett Anderson to finish his career with the Angels when they aren’t even willing to offer him a 1 year, $2.5 million contract. In today’s baseball reality, that’s less than a relief pitcher! I think that’s the amount of money Mark Teixeira will get from the Yankees for just showing up to spring training.
Speaking of Teixeira, his time with the Angels last season is the perfect case study. Teixeira is an unbelievable hitter—but does anyone in Anaheim have any kind of attachment to him? Of course it’s about winning and losing, that much is obvious. But passionate sports fans aren’t only passionate because of 100 win seasons. If that were the case, there wouldn’t be any Pirates fans. Fans are passionate and continue to throw down hard earned money because they feel like they have a connection with the players. It’s players that have been with the organization for years that help harbor these emotions, not guys that come over at the trading deadline and are with the team for 3 months.
If you look up the Pacific Coast, you can see that the Mariners did what the Angels should have done. When Ken Griffey Jr. was presented with deals from the Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners, he took the opportunity to return to where his career started 20 years ago. He’s obviously in the twilight of his career, but there’s more to the signing than just base hits and home runs. Even though he’s bounced from Seattle to Cincinnati to Chicago, he’s always FELT like a Mariner.
No matter where he's been, Griffey has always seemed like a Mariner
Yes, baseball is a business—and its good business to bring Junior back. For a team that had a rough season last year, Griffey is a reason for Seattlites to come back to Safeco Field. Think about it from a front office perspective: you can’t build a contender overnight; but you CAN bring back a fan favorite. Not only will it bring in some revenue for the team (which they can use to bring in players next season), but it gives the APPEARANCE that they care about the fans and history of their team. Sometimes, appearance is as important as reality. Even if those aren’t their motives, it certainly doesn’t hurt.
There really is no downside for Anderson or Griffey’s original teams to bring them back for another season. The fans like both players, neither are expensive in today’s baseball landscape and they have the potential to bring in revenue for fans that have an emotional attachment to them. But most of all, it is just the right thing to do. Sometimes, there are more important things in sports than the bottom line. Our favorite teams play on our passion and emotions—and it’s the players that we build emotional attachments to.
So to any teams out there listening: Mix in a little loyalty. Not only will it be refreshing, but you never know—it might even help make a buck or two!
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