Posnanski: Beltran got his money

tk13 · 01-11-2005, 02:31 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/10613478.htm

Nice guy, but money drove him

JOE POSNANSKI

Well, Carlos Beltran got his money. I always knew he would. A couple of years ago, I had a big e-mail argument with a Royals fan who felt absolutely sure that Beltran would never get the big money he and his agent were demanding.

“The days of those big contracts are over,” the fan wrote.

Yeah. Beltran will sign a seven-year deal today with the New York Mets for $119 million. That's $17 million per year until 2011. See, there's a classic line in “Citizen Kane” that goes, “Well, it's no trick making a lot of money, if all you want is to make a lot of money.”

Carlos Beltran was always going to get his cash.

For some reason, people did not want to believe that about Beltran. People wanted to believe he was about something more than money. I don't know why. Maybe it's because he's a nice, quiet guy. Maybe it's because he's fun to watch. Maybe it's because he's got a good smile. For weeks, you kept hearing reports that he really wanted to go back to Houston because he really liked it there, liked the fans, liked the town, liked his teammates, whatever.

He may have liked the fans, town, teammates and all that. In fact, I'm sure he did.

But there was no way Carlos Beltran was not going to get his money.

All of it.

That's not a knock on the guy. Not at all. Hey, this is America. You can take the highest-paying job. You can sell to the highest bidder. Go ahead. I'm just not sure why people expected anything else from Beltran. He never hid his priorities. He did not, as so many ballplayers do at contract time, tell tales about how he would play the game for free and how he would love to play with one team his whole life and all that stuff. No, Beltran was pretty up front about his goals in life. When asked whether he would consider taking less money to stay in Kansas City, Beltran scoffed.

“Would you?” he asked.

When asked whether he would be willing to play in New York, he praised George Steinbrenner. For you kids at home, here's a tip: When a ballplayer willingly praises George Steinbrenner, that's a pretty good clue that he would like to get paid.

More than anything, Beltran had Scott Boras as his agent. You don't hire Scott Boras to find you a nice town with nice people. For that, you call a travel agent. No, you hire Scott Boras to get you moolah, cashola, greenbacks. That's the only reason.

You don't hire a shark unless you want blood.

Beltran wanted blood. He wanted the very top dollar he could get. People who know Beltran best understand this about him. You heard people around town saying the Royals should sign him. Please. The Royals never had a chance. Beltran was always going to become a free agent. He was always going to see what he could get on the open market.

See, in baseball, money means more than money. It means respect. It means esteem. Money is a way to keep score. Everybody's making huge dollars — shoot, Derek Lowe will be getting $9 million per year — but only a chosen few make $16 million, $17 million, $18 million. Those are numbers for the superstars.

Those salaries are only for the best of the best.

Beltran has always wanted to be thought of in that class. I think he resented playing in Kansas City, away from the spotlight, away from the praise. He scored runs, drove in runs, hit home runs, he was almost impossible to throw out stealing, he chased down fly balls all over the park. Nobody seemed to notice.

So when he was traded to Houston and made his first playoffs, he made sure everyone noticed. He was as locked in as any player in playoff history. In 12 games, he hit .435, smashed eight home runs, stole six bases and scored 21 runs. Nobody had ever seen anything quite like it. Nobody had ever seen a player quite like him.

And he was going to cash in. For a while, nobody seemed willing to pay his price. The Yankees dropped out of the bidding. Anaheim, the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles — none of those teams wanted to play at this poker table.

Astros management wanted Beltran badly and probably overextended. You kept hearing the rumors than Beltran really wanted to stay in Houston, but I never bought it. He wanted the BIG money, not Houston's best offer. He wanted the splash. And this is where Boras comes in. Lots of agents know the market. But what Boras does better than anyone is create the market. Like him or not, Boras is a talented man. He pressures. He coaxes. He manipulates. He plays teams against each other. He convinces everyone that they cannot possibly live without his player.

The Mets came through. Seven years. One-hundred nineteen million. True, Carlos Beltran will now play for the other New York team. He will play in a lousy stadium by an airport. He will play for fans who will boo him the first time he takes a called strike. He will play for a team that has been an absolute mess.

But he got his money.

And that's what this was about all along.

01-11-2005, 02:31 AM	Topic Starter
tk13 ... Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $1972500	Posnanski: Beltran got his money http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/10613478.htm Nice guy, but money drove him JOE POSNANSKI Well, Carlos Beltran got his money. I always knew he would. A couple of years ago, I had a big e-mail argument with a Royals fan who felt absolutely sure that Beltran would never get the big money he and his agent were demanding. “The days of those big contracts are over,” the fan wrote. Yeah. Beltran will sign a seven-year deal today with the New York Mets for $119 million. That's $17 million per year until 2011. See, there's a classic line in “Citizen Kane” that goes, “Well, it's no trick making a lot of money, if all you want is to make a lot of money.” Carlos Beltran was always going to get his cash. For some reason, people did not want to believe that about Beltran. People wanted to believe he was about something more than money. I don't know why. Maybe it's because he's a nice, quiet guy. Maybe it's because he's fun to watch. Maybe it's because he's got a good smile. For weeks, you kept hearing reports that he really wanted to go back to Houston because he really liked it there, liked the fans, liked the town, liked his teammates, whatever. He may have liked the fans, town, teammates and all that. In fact, I'm sure he did. But there was no way Carlos Beltran was not going to get his money. All of it. That's not a knock on the guy. Not at all. Hey, this is America. You can take the highest-paying job. You can sell to the highest bidder. Go ahead. I'm just not sure why people expected anything else from Beltran. He never hid his priorities. He did not, as so many ballplayers do at contract time, tell tales about how he would play the game for free and how he would love to play with one team his whole life and all that stuff. No, Beltran was pretty up front about his goals in life. When asked whether he would consider taking less money to stay in Kansas City, Beltran scoffed. “Would you?” he asked. When asked whether he would be willing to play in New York, he praised George Steinbrenner. For you kids at home, here's a tip: When a ballplayer willingly praises George Steinbrenner, that's a pretty good clue that he would like to get paid. More than anything, Beltran had Scott Boras as his agent. You don't hire Scott Boras to find you a nice town with nice people. For that, you call a travel agent. No, you hire Scott Boras to get you moolah, cashola, greenbacks. That's the only reason. You don't hire a shark unless you want blood. Beltran wanted blood. He wanted the very top dollar he could get. People who know Beltran best understand this about him. You heard people around town saying the Royals should sign him. Please. The Royals never had a chance. Beltran was always going to become a free agent. He was always going to see what he could get on the open market. See, in baseball, money means more than money. It means respect. It means esteem. Money is a way to keep score. Everybody's making huge dollars — shoot, Derek Lowe will be getting $9 million per year — but only a chosen few make $16 million, $17 million, $18 million. Those are numbers for the superstars. Those salaries are only for the best of the best. Beltran has always wanted to be thought of in that class. I think he resented playing in Kansas City, away from the spotlight, away from the praise. He scored runs, drove in runs, hit home runs, he was almost impossible to throw out stealing, he chased down fly balls all over the park. Nobody seemed to notice. So when he was traded to Houston and made his first playoffs, he made sure everyone noticed. He was as locked in as any player in playoff history. In 12 games, he hit .435, smashed eight home runs, stole six bases and scored 21 runs. Nobody had ever seen anything quite like it. Nobody had ever seen a player quite like him. And he was going to cash in. For a while, nobody seemed willing to pay his price. The Yankees dropped out of the bidding. Anaheim, the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles — none of those teams wanted to play at this poker table. Astros management wanted Beltran badly and probably overextended. You kept hearing the rumors than Beltran really wanted to stay in Houston, but I never bought it. He wanted the BIG money, not Houston's best offer. He wanted the splash. And this is where Boras comes in. Lots of agents know the market. But what Boras does better than anyone is create the market. Like him or not, Boras is a talented man. He pressures. He coaxes. He manipulates. He plays teams against each other. He convinces everyone that they cannot possibly live without his player. The Mets came through. Seven years. One-hundred nineteen million. True, Carlos Beltran will now play for the other New York team. He will play in a lousy stadium by an airport. He will play for fans who will boo him the first time he takes a called strike. He will play for a team that has been an absolute mess. But he got his money. And that's what this was about all along.
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