Sports have become a money game; there is no doubt about that. In the past 20 years we have seen dramatic changes in salaries in all of the sports leagues. However, the one league I have found most interesting is Major League Baseball. During this post-season we have seen the Machado and Harper race in full swing. Which in turn is showing the money flying everywhere. No longer is it just the big name teams the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers going after players, it is these smaller teams too. At the end of the day teams are willing to pay the big bucks for these great players.
The way we look at the payment in sports nowadays is unbelievable. Players like Giancarlo Stanton signed a 13 year $325 million dollar contract, now we are hearing that Bryce Harper could be baseball’s first $500 million dollar man with Manny Machado close behind him. It is amazing to see how much the pay scale how changed over these years. To put it in perspective the former MLB great Barry Bonds once signed a record-breaking contract of 6 years $43 million. When breaking it down, many wonder if it is worth it to pay for these superstars. Rather if the money can be spent elsewhere. In my opinion there’s only one Bryce Harper and Many Machado, but pieces can work out better than one player. One player however can a good team to amazing.
The team that lands Harper or Machado will take their team to the next level. However, in professional sports today I believe we are over paying players. MLB teams can definitely build better teams without these superstars. A good team can win a World Series, as long as they can come together. Like stated before the Harper’s, Machado’s, and Trout’s are unique players that can push a team over the limit of greatness. They can be pieces that help form a champion. But, at the end of the day Money Ball does work and teams need to start moving forward with this. If not, salaries will just keep getting larger and larger. Issues will arise, which as fans will cost us more money.
