Why a David Ortiz Arbitration Hearing is Bad for Business
Photo courtesy of abconline.com
David Ortiz is sensitive. Behind that gregarious, carefree veneer, the big bodied Ortiz is like a child. He vies for your attention. He needs your love, and the second he feels as though your eyes are not on him, that your admiration isn’t there, he becomes defensive.
Ortiz must feel respected. Always. For the 36 year old, respect is measured in years and dollar signs.
Ortiz is perpetually unhappy with one-year pacts. He wants to a member of the Red Sox this year and know that he is wanted back next year. And I get that. To a certain extent. I don’t care if you’re a professional baseball player or a guy working in a call center for an insurance company–everyone wants job security. Ortiz, however, doesn’t want to sacrifice money for added years. Inking a two-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $18MM earlier in the offseason was not an attractive option for the designated hitter. By signing that deal, Ortiz would have theoretically taken a $7MM pay cut based on the club option that the Red Sox exercised gifted Ortiz in 2011 worth $12.5MM. The only thing this offseason that would have satisfied Number 34 was a two-year contract worth roughly $25MM. Again, years and big dollars are necessities. When Ortiz feels as though he is not receiving the “respect” he deserves, he acts out.
He may even flirt with joining the Yankees.
Yeah, this whole arbitration hearing is going to go real, real well.
As of today, the Red Sox have filed at $12.65MM. Ortiz and his agent are asking for $16.5MM. That is a difference of close to $3.85MM. It is a significant gap to say the least. Last season, Ortiz made $12.5MM courtesy of the early Christmas present that former GM Theo Epstein and the Red Sox handed the DH in November of 2010. By all accounts, it was a gross overpayment for a soon-to-be 35 year old whose performance wasn’t exactly…let’s say…peaking. It was a way for Red Sox brass to say ‘thank you, David, for everything you’ve done since coming to Boston.’ He wasn’t supposed to have the type of season he had. He was supposed to make it an easy decision to waive good-bye. He made it very difficult, basically impossible for the Red Sox to let him walk. Offensively, in 2011, his performance was actually on par with his pay. Ortiz was machine-like at the plate posting a .309/.398/.554 line.
Let’s contextualize that. The only way to do so is to go back to 2007 when Ortiz recorded a .332/.445/.621 line. It is the last season that Ortiz performed like…well…Oritz. Pitchers still possessed that almost tangible fear when the 6’4″ Dominican strutted towards the plate. Manny Ramirez served as a pretty good tag team partner in the middle of the Red sox lineup as well.
In the following three seasons, Ortiz struggled. Did he end up hitting more than 20 homeruns each one of those three years? Sure. But he swung at bad pitches and became increasingly susceptible to left handed pitching. Former manager Terry Francona, in the interest of trying to win ballgames, was forced to pinch hit for Ortiz at certain points. He had lost the swagger that so many of us had grown accustomed to.
I’m not sure if it was the addition of Adrian Gonzalez, his patient approach, and willingness to shoot the ball into gaps on the left side rather than rolling over an outside pitch. I don’t know if it was an adjustment he made in the offseason. It could have been a one-season fluke. No matter what, Ortiz was a bad man in 2011. The left handed hitter’s OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) was a robust .953, his best since that memorable 2007 campaign. Jacoby Ellsbury, who finished second in MVP voting last year, posted an OPS of .928, almost 20 points lower than Ortiz’s. It’s safe to say he had a successful year at the plate.
It is important for every non-pitcher to perform well at the dish, but it is especially vital to a guy like Ortiz who does not contribute defensively on the diamond.
So when it comes to the impending arbitration hearing, therein lies the rub.
In 2011, the top eight designated hitters, including Ortiz, made an average of $7.16MM. Ortiz and his agent believe that because Ortiz made $12.5MM last season and produced at a high level, he deserves a significant raise.
Wrong.
A small raise? Maybe. But another $4MM on top of the gift that the Red Sox wrapped for Ortiz last offseason? Good luck with that.
If Ortiz and his camp cannot come to an agreement with GM Ben Cherington and the Red Sox prior to a hearing that is believed to be scheduled sometime in the middle of this month, the arbitrators will be forced to choose one figure or the other. In other words, if a hearing occurs, Ortiz will make $16.5MM or $12.65MM in 2012, nothing in between.
The Red Sox have not gone to an arbitration hearing since 2002 with Rolando Arrojo. It certainly seems like that streak is going to come to an end in couple of weeks. However, if there is anyway the Red Sox can come to a resolution with Ortiz, it would be for the best.
Ortiz’s ego is not built to withstand the type of arguments that will ultimately be made against him in a hearing. I would be happy if both sides came together on a one-year agreement worth around $14MM. That way, Ortiz can head to Spring Training with a sizable raise without having to listen to reasons why he is not worth what he is asking for.
Ultimately, if this situation cannot be resolved, it could get ugly. I don’t believe there is any possible way an arbitrator rules in Ortiz’s favor. Designated hitters just simply do not get paid close to $17MM. That’s reality.
Let’s hope Ortiz and the Red Sox reach a middle ground very soon.
Good article. Most ballplayers want to be paid for performance until their performance begins to slide. Then, they want to be paid for their reputation.
You’re right. Arbitration is a particularly bad process with Ortiz. He’s proud and sensitive, much like Pedro. The arbitration process is one in which management has to minimize and denigrate the player’s performance and value to sway the arbiter. There’s no way that a player’s ego can go unscathed and I suspect Ortiz will come away with some lingering resentment.
Aceves signing for 1.2 mil might turn out to be one of the best signings of the entire offseason. Nice job by Ben n Co. not going to arbitration with him while still staying around the 900k they proposed to the arbitor. If he can be as good as last year he is a vast upgrade over some of the other pitchers we have that will/have floated between long relief and the #5 spot in the rotation. In all Aceves is a guy that any team would love to have for the services he provides and the flexibility in which he provides them. For a guy who hung around the mexican leagues til he was 27 he has shown that despite a slower maturation into an MLB-level pitcher that he’s got the somewhat difficult to attain “it factor” to remain a fixture in the USA for years to come.
the it factor is not a green card and that news was courtesy of yahoo sports
It’s isn’t just Ortiz. Arbitration is bad for everyone.
Good comments all around. Sorry I haven’t responded sooner. I’m still licking my wounds from last night. The good news is that it’s almost baseball season.
Arbitration is always something that is best avoided, however, Ortiz is tough because he is just so easily offended. I hope they reach an agreement and soon.
I read a piece by Nick Cafardo saying that the heard from arbitration experts that Ortiz has a good chance to win in a hearing. I could be an idiot, but I just don’t see that happening.