Was Dustin Pedroia's deal selfish?

mattvegas — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:10:40 -0000

Believe it or not, there is a reporter who thinks Pedroia is selfish with his new contract. While this is not strictly Cub-related, it does have to do with baseball. On ESPN’s First Take this Thursday morning, Skip Bayless and a reporter from the Detroit News, Rod Parker, were discussing Dustin Pedroia’s decision to take less money to stay in Boston. His reasoning was that he liked living there and knows he will always have a chance to win with a proven organization. Bayless seemed to get it. A player made his own choice to play where he wanted to play. I was horrified at what this Parker had to say. He called Pedroia selfish, because his agreeing to take less would cause owners to offer less to other players. He, Parker said, has a responsibility to go out and get as much money as possible.

Undoubtedly, Pedroia could have gotten more, but since when is taking $40.5 million for 6 years selfish? And there’s no complaint with Pedroia. It’s with Parker. Had he thought through anything he said? Or did he just have to have something to say no matter how foolish? Isn’t a player being selfish if he takes so much money a team has nothing left to pay someone else? Pedroia is getting as much in return as he wants. He put a value on where he is playing and the chance to win. That evens it out for him. No reporter is in a position to tell him he should do otherwise. I thought the whole idea of free agency was to give players the choice on where to play. Instead, Parker wants to demand that he follow his mandate for how to make a career decision. Parker and his attitude are everything that is wrong with professional sports today.

SB Nation User Blog: mattvegas

Was Dustin Pedroia's deal selfish?