# Highest paid player in baseball CHEATS. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 20, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210 "2004-10-20T13:46:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/61 "2004-10-20T19:29:33Z")
And why did they go get a shortstop to play third base? Because A-Rod is a damn goof fielder with astounding offensive numbers and young and limber enough to make the switch. Because A-Rod said, “If playing third will put me on the Yankees, I’ll play third.” And he’s a phenomenal baseball talent. He’s adapted beautifully to the position and he has magnificent range. You’re not locked into your rookie-year positon, you know. Just ask Craig Biggio or even Babe Ruth. I’d rather have a converted third baseman like A-Rod than a “true” third baseman like Russell Branyan. And I think I can confidently state that anyone who’d rather have Branyan at third than Rodriguez needs to stop smoking crack out of a lead-paint crack pipe. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/62 "2004-10-20T19:31:54Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > Because A-Rod is a damn goof fielder I noticed it in time. Fuck you all- it’s not a Freudian slip. Go A-Rod. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/63 "2004-10-20T19:33:14Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > I noticed it in time. > > Fuck you all- it’s not a Freudian slip. Go A-Rod. Which is to say, it’s a spelling error and nothing more. Fuck you all twice. And me once for being inarticulate. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/64 "2004-10-20T19:34:02Z")
Even if Boone hadn’t blown out the knee would the Yanks have kept him once A-Rod became available? I never thought (save one big hit) Boone was than good of a player. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/65 "2004-10-20T20:01:32Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > Gee, if they needed a THIRD BASEMAN why did they sign a freaking SHORTSTOP? Because there were no third basemen available, at least none that could hit like he can, and he’s a fantastically gifted athlete who would have no trouble moving to third. I don’t think they would have gone after him if Boone was healthy, they never made any overtures towards trading for him in the past. Hamlet, that’s exactly what happened, at least AFAIK. In theory, if a player could take less money as a condition of trade, it could turn into a tactic used to make overpaid players more tradeable. That is, make life lousy for said player so that they’ll give up the money to make a trade happen. Or say to them “You’ll never get on the field for this team, and we won’t trade you at full price, but take 10% less and you can go to that team and play every day.” ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/66 "2004-10-20T20:04:03Z")
WRT to keeping Boone, would you rather have Soriano and Boone or A Rod and Cairo? Cairo is a bit of a hole in your lineup, where Boone isn’t so much, but A Rod is more dangerous a hitter than Soriano, and a better fielder. I think it’s fairly close, but once you injure Boone, the A Rod picture gets way better. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/67 "2004-10-20T20:17:15Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > Grabbing a pitchers hand and putting a shoulder down to run over a catcher are not the same thing. The second is (a) allowed, (b) part of the game, and © helps your team win. Please see the note appended to rule [7.06](http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/official_rules/runner_7.jsp). Blocking the plate is against the rules; it is allowed by tradition, more or less. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/68 "2004-10-20T20:19:11Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > **Skutir**? _You’re_ that animated ball Fox uses to illustrate the freakin’ obvious about the game for child viewers with learning disabilities? You can go die now, please. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=3118362&postcount=1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=3118362&postcount=1) Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/69 "2004-10-20T20:24:31Z")
The Yankees made overtures to Boone about playing 2nd base when he returns. He refused. Boston flubbed picking up A-Rod. Yankees needed a third baseman. I might not have agreed with trading Soriano, as I hate giving up such a talented young player, but A-Rod is in the current baseball elite. Definitely in the top 10 current players, probably in the top 5. Is he expensive? When you have mediocre (by major league standards) players making $4 - $5 million annually, elite players are going to grab elite money. Texas wasn’t going to win, A-Rod wanted to go to a winner, and the player’s union wouldn’t permit him to go to teams that couldn’t afford him (yes, they do wield considerable say over a signed contract). ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/70 "2004-10-20T20:32:13Z")
Add in all the money that Soriano was getting, and the money they saved by voiding Boone’s contract (since he violated its terms by playing in the basketball game that injured him), and the money that Texas agreed to pay on A-Rod’s contract, and he doesn’t cost much more than the alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/71 "2004-10-20T20:33:44Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Please see the note appended to rule [7.06](http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/official_rules/runner_7.jsp). Blocking the plate is against the rules; it is allowed by tradition, more or less. Blocking the plate without the ball or without a play is against the rules. When there is a play, the catcher can indeed block the plate. From your link (emphasis mine): > [@](#): > > NOTE: The catcher, without the ball in his possession, has no right to block the pathway of the runner attempting to score. The base line belongs to the runner and the catcher **should be there only when he is fielding a ball or when he already has the ball in his hand.** ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/72 "2004-10-20T20:35:50Z")
> [@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup](#): > > Add in all the money that Soriano was getting, and the money they saved by voiding Boone’s contract (since he violated its terms by playing in the basketball game that injured him), and the money that Texas agreed to pay on A-Rod’s contract, and he doesn’t cost much more than the alternatives. Very true. Steinbrenner got A-Rod cheap. Soriano wasn’t earning big $$ yet, although. He is poised for a big payday either this offseason or next. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/73 "2004-10-20T20:39:11Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Please see the note appended to rule [7.06](http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/official_rules/runner_7.jsp). Blocking the plate is against the rules; it is allowed by tradition, more or less. In any case, I was talking about the difference between a play at the plate and interference, which analogy someone else made. You’re allowed to run over a catcher who is blocking the plate. You’re not allowed to grab his arm and wrench the ball out, as A Hole did. I notice Yankee fans are given to personal attacks. I’ve made none, but pointing out the ugly truth of their teams invites name-calling and death-wishes in mere seconds. What a bunch of class acts. “Greatest fans in sports,” indeed. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/74 "2004-10-20T20:50:50Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > I notice Yankee fans are given to personal attacks. I’ve made none, but pointing out the ugly truth of their teams invites name-calling and death-wishes in mere seconds. What a bunch of class acts. “Greatest fans in sports,” indeed. Yes you did: > [@skutir](#): > > Yankees fans care nothing for the game, anyway. If A Rod pulled out a sock full of pennies and smashed Mientkiewicz in the head, they would clap for his competitive fire. I’ve decided that Yankees fans are just a bunch of bandwagon jumpers and aren’t even baseball fans. If they were, they would be disgusted at the Bronx Bankroll the way the rest of us are. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/75 "2004-10-20T20:52:46Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Yes you did: That’s not personal, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/76 "2004-10-20T21:01:44Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Hamlet, that’s exactly what happened, at least AFAIK. In theory, if a player could take less money as a condition of trade, it could turn into a tactic used to make overpaid players more tradeable. That is, make life lousy for said player so that they’ll give up the money to make a trade happen. Or say to them “You’ll never get on the field for this team, and we won’t trade you at full price, but take 10% less and you can go to that team and play every day.” Despite your attempt to make it sound somehow admirable rather than an attempt to keep salaries high, I’ll still continue my dislike for the modern game of moneyba… errrrr, I mean baseball. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/77 "2004-10-20T21:09:57Z")
Alls I know as a Mariners fan is this: If I hear some announcer say “A-Rod to Olerud for the out” _one more time_ I’m going to fucking _scream_. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/78 "2004-10-20T21:18:17Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > That’s not personal, is it? To a lifelong (over 3 decades) Yankee fan, yes it is. I, too, started following the team during the ‘Horace Clark’ years, when my age was measured in single digits. I remember watching the Yankees play at Shea Stadium as the home team. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/79 "2004-10-20T22:05:17Z")
There is something interesting to this fiasco: ARod had to slow down because the first baseman was on the basepath, without the ball. What if, and I was hoping he would, ARod would have run into the first baseman, and they both stumble, then the pitcher tags ARod out. That would be obstruction, and ARod would be awarded first, jeter to second, right. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210/80 "2004-10-20T22:11:31Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > To a lifelong (over 3 decades) Yankee fan, yes it is. I, too, started following the team during the ‘Horace Clark’ years, when my age was measured in single digits. I remember watching the Yankees play at Shea Stadium as the home team. Well, I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. My hatred is general, not specific. I hate the motherfucking Yankees and their goddam fans, but that doesn’t mean I hate YOU. heck, I have friends who like the Yankees and they know I don’t mean I hate THEM when I rant about the goddamned Yankees and their motherfucking fans. If you’ve been a fan for so long you should be used to it, since the Yankees are a love-em-or-hate-em team. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-paid-player-in-baseball-cheats/270210.md?page=5)