Born there but grew up in New Braunfels, graduated from Canyon High School in 94. Got a good friend who coached basketball at Canyon for years, there is no doubt where he grew up and is "from". I guess we could all say we are "from" where we were born, in which case i am from San Antonio, never lived there past day 3 or so though
The old regime didn't. The new regime did, but clearly at a very low cost. I wish I knew what they offered. I think he'd have taken a discount, but desparation from the Rangers set up a perfect storm of staying close to home, competing for a WS, and getting paid.
Didn't you and I discuss this earlier? There was no indication, from either party, that he was willing to take a discount - at least, not the discount the Astros were willing to offer. He signed a large contract; I can't imagine the Astros were offering... half of what he got. And frankly, nor should they - he's a luxury. No way you overpay Lance Berkman to try and (initially) goose attendance while he blocks Singleton, et al. Like I said - no bad guy here; everyone acted properly according to their own priorities.
We did. I thought he'd ultimately take $5 Million from the Astros. Thought it would take $10M from any other team, but that they wouldn't pay him that much. Mostly believe we were the only team it wouldn't take large $$$ to convince him to play. The one team I said could change things was the Rangers if they lost Hamilton. It did end up taking $10M, and it came from the Rangers who go desparate after losing Hamilton. Berkman isn't healthy (80% according to him). Astros already had signed Pena and drafted Frieman in the Rule V, plus Wallace is a draft pick by Luhnow, so it was hard to envision Astros trying to offer him too much money.
According to Berkman, the Astros never made an actual offer. http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...s-never-made-an-offer-but-he-understands-why/ But he also says:
Berkman was adament he wasn't interested in playing at a discounted rate. The Astros knew they weren't going to get near his zip code...
I don't trust anyone who doesn't like Berkman. Yes, it was a shame to see him go but that's just sports in the modern era.
Milo Hamilton started the vitrol about Berkman not getting in as good of shape as he was in when he went to St. Louis with these comments: "Why did you think it wasn’t necessary to get in shape your last couple of years as an Astro? And now to a team you didn’t even know, a manager you didn’t play for, you felt it was your responsibility to get in great shape? And it’s paying off. Lance, I love you. But wouldn’t it have been great to have given that same dedication to the Astros and your owner here that you did in two short months to the Cardinals?" What Milo was discounting when he said it was Berkman was injured during that time and players tend to be in very good shape when they are coming off of injuries due to all the rehab. Unfortunately, what you get when those words are said is the media picking it up and amplifying it to the point that it is believed by some people to be the truth. Some people will swear it is still the truth and have nothing to fall back on as proof other than innuendo. Berkman is a classy player who sometimes puts his foot in his mouth with some of his comments. But, beyond that, Berkman didn't and doesn't deserve criticism about how he approaches or plays the game for any of the teams he has played for imo.
He actually said: "It just depends on what kind of money they are talking about," Berkman said. "Am I going to come back for a couple of million bucks, no. "If they want to pay me close to what I feel like my value is in terms of what I bring to the table, I mean if they're going to ask me to be there and hit third and play every day and DH every day, I want to be compensated like a guy who is a Major League three-hole hitter. "Obviously, I would be willing to take a little bit less because it's my hometown and for the opportunity to get back to the Astros organization. I'm just waiting for them to make some sort offer and go from there." http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2012/11...ssed-interest-in-rejoining-the-houston-astros I think if the Astros had a spot for him, the plan was to wait until ST before making an offer, because they weren't going to be where is asking price was.
IS in the same class especially when you talk about production and the way he carried himself on and off the field. The work ethic is a debatable issue.
Berkman never wanted to leave, even initially declining to accept the trade to the Yankees before relenting, and saying he accepted because he realized it was the best thing for the Astros. After the season Berkman called the Astros to see if they were interested in bringing him back, and they said no. So Berkman took a deal with the Cardinals. This time he said he would take a slight discount, but the Astros just weren't interested unless it was substantial. Lance was the hitter that Bagwell was, just not the base runner or defensive player.
^^^ Exactly the point I am trying to make when the comparisons are stated about Bagwell. I cannot do that, but that wasn't my point. Bagwell never came out saying he wanted to be traded, Berkman did.
Bagwell has a significant advantage in WAR (76.7 to 45.6 - using Lance's Astro tenure only). Otherwise, their numbers are eerily similar: Bagwell: .297/.408/.540/.948; 149 OPS+ Berkman: .296/.410/.549/.959; 146 OPS+ Bagwell had 2,700 more plate appearances - but if you project Lance's Astro pace using Bagwell's total plate appearances (9,431), the counting numbers are practically identical: HR: 449 | 458 RBI: 1,529 | 1,531 R: 1,517 | 1,416 XBH: 969 | 1,021 And while Bagwell undoubtedly was a better fielder/runner, you can't discount Berkman's markedly better (albeit in a much smaller sample size) postseason success. He was a monster in October. Berkman feels like a guy fans wildly underrate. I look forward to eviscerating Barry Bloom when Berkman is Hall eligible and fails to get in.
Berkman was a monster in the postseason. Bagwell was Tim Bogar in the post season. Berkman had 50 games and 220 ab so it isn't like he had 30ab or something.
