The Phillies today resigned a scrub back-up catcher by the name of Pete LaForest . He signed for a "paltry" $390,000. I don't think that the Phillies need a back-up catcher as I think Chris Coste will do fine and Jason Jaramillo should be ready to go sometime this year as well, but it's not like $390K is a major cost in the budget of a baseball club.
While I harbor no ill will towards Pete and his family, it just amazes me how much money a borderline major leaguer can make. I know $390,000 is the current major league minimum, so it's not like the Phillies could pay him any less if they wanted to do so.
Yet, I have to think that even a borderline major league player is still more talented and athletic than 99.99% of the population. I also suppose that I'd rather see a hard working scrub get some scratch than an overpaid has-been.
I know my trash man works just as hard as Pete and probably gets more dirty (depending on how gritty Pete is). But the big difference between the two, is that my trash man is easily replaced. If he accidentally gets smooshed in the truck compacter, many will apply for his job the next day and get trained for a week and I won't notice any difference in how my trash is disposed.
Now, while Pete is what you'd call replacement-level (ie. not very good) and there are other guys in the league that could be signed to do the exact same job and at the same level of performance, there are but a small handful of guys who can. So I suppose that counts for something.
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1 comment:
hehe, smooshed
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