That really surprised me. What's even cooler is that barring injury, his best years are ahead of him.
Are we still paying him sh*t next year? We only payed him, what? 500,000 last year? 800,000 at the most.
After 2001 (which was essentially Berkman's rookie year), the Astros signed Berkman to a 3 year 10.5 million dollar contract. With baseball's collectvie bargaining agreement, the Astros did not have to sign Lance to such a lucrative contract. Both sides benefited. Unlike football, baseball contracts are guaranteed. While Berkman "only" made $500,000 in 2002, he is due 3.5 million in 2003 and 6.5 million in 2004.
I posted this merely to show happiness that the Astros apparently have a young superstar who may win MVPs down the road. Now it's become a referendum on his salary? Berkman signed a new cntract and is quite happy with it from all reports.
Berkman is going to be a MVP with in the next 2 to 3 years! I plan to name my first born after him! He is the future of the 'Stros.
Lance representin' Rice strong. It is great to not only have a player of Lance Berkman's caliber, but for him to be a home-grown talent is even better. Thank you Wayne Graham for finding this guy!!!!
Congratulations to Lance! With players like Berkman, Biggio, Bagwell and Oswalt the Astros are easy to root for.
Hunsicker said the team will not sign Dotel to a long term deal in which he asked for so after next season he will be a free agent. The Astros have to be one of the worst franchises in baseball histrory. I won't be surprised if they let Berkman walk once his contract is up. If he keeps hitting 35+ homers then you know he won't play for chump change. The organization would be much better if McClane sold the team to someone who wanted to win.
There are so many of these guys around, it is amazing that it doesn't happen more often. Just today I had 3 guys come to my door and ask me if they could buy a baseball team from me which would lose them millions of dollars every year. Poor guys.
The Astros signed Berkman to a long term extension a couple of months ago. It comes complete with a huge pay raise. You really should learn to pay attention.
I just don't think its right seeing a player who's nearly carrying a team getting payed the minimum. Just doesn't seem right. If he's happy with his new deal though, I'm more than happy.
How is signing a 3 year deal worth 10.5 million dollars playing for the minimum? The contract was structured so that the first year was $500,000. If Lance had a career ending injury today, he would still be paid (note the spelling) the remaining 10 million. The Astros were not obligated to sign him to any deal after his excellent 2001 season. Baseball's labor agreement gives the team a lot of control over the first 4-6 years of a players contract. There is a basic set structure and then the player becomes eligible for arbitration. Berkman would still NOT be eligible for arbitration yet the Astros rewarded him with a larger contract.
Here we go again. The Astros won their division 4 out of the past 6 years and are one of the worst franchises in baseball history? They generally have one of the best (if not the best) minor league systems in the game. How is 10 million dollars over the next two years "chump change" for Berkman? By the way, do you have a link to the Hunsicker quote? How are the Cardinals as an organization? Pujols was rookie of the year in 2001. Last year the 2nd leading vote getter for MVP earned $600,000. He has NOT been signed to a longer term deal by the Cards, so if he suffered a career ending injury today he would get ZERO dollars. According to this article, Pujols will probably get around 1 million for 2003 while Berkman (a very comparable player in terms of offensive stats and major league service) makes 3.5 Million. Note that the article states that the Cardinals are only required to pay Pujols $300,000. This is similar to what the Astros would have been required to pay Berkman in 2002 and may be the same for 2003. Berkman barely missed being qualified as a rookie in 2001 (the year Pujols was) due to an inane baseball rule concerning service time in the majors accumulating even if you are in the minors. http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2002/11/11/story2.html
I apologize for posting about something I obviously knew little about. I'll try to refrain from that in the future. My misspelling of the word "paid" is embarassing.
Lil francis, Where did you hear hunsicker say this about Octavio. Oh and his arm might fall off soon, and hell likely want a closers role, something we can't give him. It's also just arbitration, we have his rights for at least a couple more years.
How is 10million over 3years "great" money for a guy who can be one of the best offensive players in the game? Berkman deserves the big time money if he has another year like he had this year. Berkman is no Hildalgo. I think he will break every offensive record the Astros have and he should get paid for it.
Wow I guess you told me huh Yeah the Astros will keep losing money as long as they have a man who is afraid to get some big time players. People in Houston don't even talk about the Astros anymore. The Rockets and Texans have taken over because they have people in their front office who want to win. When you've been around 40years and still have not won a playoff series thats a disgrace.
