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By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

very year during Major League Baseball’s

free agency season, fans of small market

teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee
Brewers and a host of others live in fear as the
squads at the top of the salary structure, (think
Philadelphia, Boston and the Yankees)
basically pick and choose the best players
available from the free agent crop and
tender them offers at rates that the small
markets couldn’t hope to match.

You see it almost every year. Last
season it was C.C. Sabathia, who departed the
Brewers to sign a long-term, big-money deal with
the Yankees; this year it was Roy Halladay, who
Toronto was forced to trade away for a relative
pittance to the Philadelphia Phillies after it became
crystal clear that Halladay had no intention of
remaining a Blue Jay once his contract expired.

It was also generally assumed that the next
superstar to leave for the bright lights would be
the current reigning American League MVP, Joe
Mauer, the 26-year-old catcher who the Twins
selected first overall back in the 2001 draft. Mauer

set the baseball world on fire last season, as he
anchored both Minnesota’s offence and defence in
a remarkable campaign in which he won the AL
batting title for the third time, picked up his third
Silver Slugger award and earned his second Gold
Glove trophy.

It seemed only a matter of time however,

until Mauer was wooed by New York or Boston
and the Twins were left in the dust. However, that
all changed last week when Minnesota bucked
hard against the established salary status quo and
decided to make a statement. To the shock of just
about anyone who follows America’s pastime,
Minnesota came out and proudly announced
that Joe Mauer would be a Twin until Kingdom
Come...or, at least until 2018, for the tidy sum of
$184 million.

Yes, you read that last part right; Mauer signed
on for the next eight years at an incredible average

TOR Se Cul

Small marketi:Minnesota spends, like a big market team

 

of $23 million per season. It wasn’t incredible

that Mauer received that kind of money; after all,

he was sure to vault into baseball’s elite upper

financial echelon with the numbers he’s been

putting up, it was truly remarkable though that he

received that kind of dough from Minnesota.

Isn’t this the same team that has always been

figurehead for the term “stingy?” Isn’t
this the same crew that spent $65

Hopefully the Mauer deal, as astronomical as it is, is a sign that million total on player salaries last
teams like the Twins just aren’t going to take it anymore.

year, and now they’re paying one guy
(admittedly, one very good guy) over
a third of that?

Yes, the Minnesota Twins have made a fairly
big statement alright, and no matter what your
opinion is on sky-rocketing salaries for athletes,
this is good for baseball. As much as I love the
Yankees (and I do), I can fully understand the
frustration experienced by the bottom half of the
MLB franchises. It must be infuriating to watch
your teams best and brightest walk off with
significantly bolstered bank accounts every year
to the same teams. Hopefully the Mauer deal, as
astronomical as it is, is a sign that teams like the
Twins just aren’t going to take it anymore.

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