Don After waiting for many years, the New York Met has welcomed a new player.
Though it may seem unlikely, the Mets’ ridiculous 25-4 loss to end July might rank as the second-most embarrassing event to befall the struggling team this season. Which is the first? Something that will linger until 2035 in the franchise.
“I’m going to be very patient, because good things come to those who wait.” Bobby Bonilla, the man who negotiated one of the greatest contracts in baseball history, said as much.
That’s great for him, not for his old team. The New York Mets have been the face of dubious decisions for the better part of thirty years. After becoming entangled in the Bernie Madoff scandal, Matt Harvey was allowed to continue and pitch the ninth inning in Game 5 of the World Series in 2015 (he had thrown more than 100 pitches by then!). It was over for him! True enough, I’m still getting over this.
The agreement
The New York Mets have repeatedly put themselves and their patient fan base through a lot, but one choice is so awful that it has gained national recognition.
Bobby Bonilla Day, which is observed on July 1st every year, honors the day the New York Mets are required to pay the former outfielder $1.19 million. For an athlete of today, that might not seem like a lot of money, but Bonilla is an athlete from the past. The man has not played a game since 2001. The most startling revelation of all is that Bonilla will require $1.19 million from the Mets each year up to 2035.
How did this come about? Bonilla agreed to a deferred contract with the Mets in 1999. The $5.9 million that was outstanding after a year would be paid off by 2035, with interest totaling $30 million. Why, then, would the Mets take this action? Ignorance? Perhaps, perhaps not.
It is true that teams occasionally withhold money from contracts. They choose to pay a player later so they can use it for more beneficial purposes, or at least more beneficial in their eyes, than paying them now. That’s it, then. After 19 years as a Mets player, Bobby Bonilla will earn slightly more than $1 million annually for the next 17 years.
