Think football salaries are out of hand? How does $1.35 million/week for ten years sound?

[EliteOne]

Construction of the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow.

Named after the Dodgers player Tommy John, who was the first baseball player to have this surgery in 1974, which involved replacing the ligament in the elbow of his pitching arm with a tendon from his right forearm.

 

[buckshot]

To provide a sensible answer to your question (boooo) I would suggest baseball very much plays third fiddle to the NFL and NBA over here, so yes quite a lot/most sports fans (especially younger ones) would know not only the two you mention but maybe a fair few basketball and not-actually-football players. I suspect recognition drops off a cliff for baseball, most of us if asked could name Babe Ruth and Shoeless Joe, maybe Try Cobb, and that would be our lot.

That said, yer man's new contract has made the news over here cause let's face it, it's barking mad.

Baseball has taken a hit but it's far from irrelevant. IMO it's the best sport ever invented followed by football. NFL and NBA are unwatchable because of all of the forced stoppages and commercials. Baseball is one of those games it takes some work to enjoy if you never played but once you figure out the nuances it's actually fascinatingly beautiful and complex. Plus it's great that there's a sport where you can see your team play 6-7 games every week.

 

[buckshot]

Le bron James? Just about. Patrick Mahomes? Absolutely no idea, just like the guy you're on about in the OP.

I don't think Ohtani can buy a new pair of underwear without Japanese media reporting on it.

 

[buckshot]

Named after the Dodgers player Tommy John, who was the first baseball player to have this surgery in 1974, which involved replacing the ligament in the elbow of his pitching arm with a tendon from his right forearm.

Pitching has evolved to the point that guys have turned into throwers instead of pitchers. Everything is max effort which has led to a ton of TJ surgeries. The theory is that your arm will be stronger than it originally was once you're fully healed. Guys used to be able to get batters out throwing 86-90 mph but now scouts are looking for 95+. In reality pitching isn't about blowing hitters away, it's about disrupting the hitter's timing. Unfortunately this is where we are now but I hold out hope that somebody with a brain will have some success with a team and a pitching staff that isn't constantly injured will emerge.

 

[EliteOne]

Pitching has evolved to the point that guys have turned into throwers instead of pitchers. Everything is max effort which has led to a ton of TJ surgeries. The theory is that your arm will be stronger than it originally was once you're fully healed. Guys used to be able to get batters out throwing 86-90 mph but now scouts are looking for 95+. In reality pitching isn't about blowing hitters away, it's about disrupting the hitter's timing. Unfortunately this is where we are now but I hold out hope that somebody with a brain will have some success with a team and a pitching staff that isn't constantly injured will emerge.

Very true. My 11 year old plays and is a lefty, and plays a few positions namely first base, outfield and he pitches. I always worry about him pitching that he doesn’t throw too many pitches. My husband was a coach and kept kids pitch counts low, like around 50. This past season my son joined a new team and there were kids who threw at least 90 pitches in a few games. And these kids are only 11/12 years old!! My husband won’t even let my son throw certain types of pitches, namely a curveball and a slider, anything that involves a twisting of the arm and putting stress on the elbow.

 

[mexico1970]

Dismissing something that millions of people love is naive. It's no different than Americans saying football is boring because "All the games are 1-0" (which is what I used to think). Then I thought about it for two seconds and realized that the most popular sport in the world is most certainly not going to be boring.

Real football is played worldwide for a reason, American football isn't that popular worldwide for a reason.

There is a reason why most sports fans in this country discount it, even table tennis gets more viewers worldwide and tennis, bloody tennis :)

 

[bluesince76]

What I don't get is it's a 10 year contract, yet he's 29. Injuries aside, is it really possibly to play top flight baseball at that level at 39?

Assuming no clauses in his contract, his earnings in 10 years will be worth less than now, but still a huge amount every week.

 

[Slipper One]

Baseball has taken a hit but it's far from irrelevant. IMO it's the best sport ever invented followed by football. NFL and NBA are unwatchable because of all of the forced stoppages and commercials. Baseball is one of those games it takes some work to enjoy if you never played but once you figure out the nuances it's actually fascinatingly beautiful and complex. Plus it's great that there's a sport where you can see your team play 6-7 games every week.

No, NLL and MSL (Lacrosse) is for North American sports. :)

From my perspective, I totally agree with you regarding NFL and NBA, but I’d add Major League Baseball as well. I think it’s a game I would perhaps have enjoyed playing, but far too tedious to watch. I’d also rate NHL much higher than baseball for spectator value.

Your second point would have similarities to cricket regarding the nuances of the game.

Baseball would be far more interesting if they didn’t wear gloves for catching and relied on the skill of the player.

 

[Mozzer]

Remember Mark and Lard's American Sports Network? Funny AF.

 

[Gabriel]

What I don't get is it's a 10 year contract, yet he's 29. Injuries aside, is it really possibly to play top flight baseball at that level at 39?

Assuming no clauses in his contract, his earnings in 10 years will be worth less than now, but still a huge amount every week.

Yes. Cabrera retired this year at the Detroit Tigers, aged 40 when the season ended. Ohtani could play that length of time, though I doubt he’ll be both pitching and batting by then.