Aging sluggers not likely to find financial happiness this offseason

http://baseball.about.com/b/2008/10/...-offseason.htm

Quote:

---

And while a few free agents could get huge deals - CC Sabathia and Francisco Rodriguez immediately come to mind - there are many others in a similar quandary to Griffey this offseason, such as Jason Giambi, Brian Giles and Pedro Martinez. Even Manny Ramirez might not get what he made this past season. The Dodgers would likely give him a big deal with a lot of money up front, but not the long-term contract he's likely to seek.

---

Agreed

I didn't know Pedro was a slugger ;)

But anyway I see the point, Aging Veterans are not going to get a pay day they once demanded, let alone the market for Veterans are pretty much gone.

I wonder how many older players there are now verses 5, 10 even 25 years ago....maybe do a list from 36 and older club each season...I am pretty sure there are more 36 and older group then there ever was, another thing you can think about is the percentage of 36 and older group instead of just a number count. There are more majorleaguers now then in 1988 for example.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by boomboom

I didn't know Pedro was a slugger ;)

---

Are you kidding? He's a lifetime .100 hitter with 6 doubles and 2 triples! He's a speed demon. :D

Quote:

---

There are more majorleaguers now then in 1988 for example.

---

Well, that's because there are more teams now than in 1988. With 25 men per active roster, and 4 teams added since then, that's probably why. Good idea on comparing how many older players there are today compared to then though. I would agree with you and think there are more players that play longer today than there were then. I'm sure money has a huge part in that.

That is why I picked the year ;) "1988" , or 1977-1992, verses 1993-1997, or 1998-current.

Here's the 2007 roster of players 40 and older:

Player Born Status
1B Julio Franco, N.Y. Mets Aug. 23, 1958 Active
LHP Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Nov. 18, 1962 Active
LHP David Wells, San Diego May 20, 1963 Active
LHP Randy Johnson, Arizona Sept. 10, 1963 DL
LF Barry Bonds, San Francisco July 24, 1964 Active
LHP Kenny Rogers, Detroit Nov. 10, 1964 DL
RHP Roberto Hernandez, Cle. Nov. 11, 1964 Active
CF Steve Finley, Colorado March 12, 1965 Active
2B Craig Biggio, Houston Dec. 14, 1965 Active
RHP Mike Timlin, Boston March 10, 1966 DL
LHP Tom Glavine, N.Y. Mets March 25, 1966 Active
RHP Greg Maddux, San Diego April 14, 1966 Active
RHP Jose Mesa, Detroit May 22, 1966 Active
1B Jeff Conine, Cincinnati June 26, 1966 Active
LF Moises Alou, N.Y. Mets July 3, 1966 Active
RHP Tim Wakefield, Boston Aug. 2, 1966 Active
RHP Woody Williams, Houston Aug. 19, 1966 Active
RHP Curt Schilling, Boston Nov. 14, 1966 Active
LHP Rheal Cormier, Cincinnati April 23, 1967 Active
SS Omar Vizquel, San Francisco April 24, 1967 Active
RHP John Smoltz, Atlanta May 15, 1967 Active
RHP Doug Brocail, San Diego May 16, 1967 Active
CF Kenny Lofton, Texas May 31, 1967 Active
LHP Mike Stanton, Cincinnati June 2, 1967 Active
LF Luis Gonzalez, L.A. Dodgers Sept. 3, 1967 Active

Baseball's Over 40 All Star Teamhttp://baseball.suite101.com/article..._all_star_team

while a little outdated, 2007 gives an idea of how many older guys there are. I will look around for more info...

griffey's coming back to the M's
frank thomas there's about a 37% chance he's back

Griffey will easily find a team that wants him, but he's going to need to take an extreme pay cut. He has no defensive value anymore and he's no better than an average hitter at this point. The Mariners are a good fit for him as they're not contending next year, he's an upgrade at DH for them (and it's hard not to be when they're DH was Jose Vidro), and he'll cause ticket sales to go up.

Griffey wants to end his career with the Mariners.

They obviously won't be making the money they once made. What 36 year old pro athlete made more money at 36 than 26?

However, there still has to be a happy medium of veterans to young players, so there won't be any epidemic of 36 year old veterans retiring due to lack of jobs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by YEAH DAAAAWG

They obviously won't be making the money they once made. What 36 year old pro athlete made more money at 36 than 26?

---

I'd actually bet that a good amount of players did/will, at least in baseball...:p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HoustonGM

I'd actually bet that a good amount of players did/will, at least in baseball...:p

---

It's a generalization, but I think the point is apparent :).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HoustonGM

I'd actually bet that a good amount of players did/will, at least in baseball...:p

---

well change that numbers from 26/36 to 29/39 and there will be an obvious drop (and with his history, Jr may as well be 49)