Loyalty is a rarity in sports these days.
In the new age where free agency and greedy agents rule the sports universe, demanding players to make career moves just to grab the extra bundle of cash, to treat franchises as toys in your game of Pass Go and Collect $200, one familiar face steps out of the pack and forgets the money in honor of unity, loyalty and a drive towards a common goal.
You know the baseball goal: win the World Series. We did that just this past October in case anyone forgot. Mike Lowell was on that team. It coincided with the biggest season of his career: his walk year. Following the long months of the season, Mike Lowell could become a free agent and sign with the highest bidder. Lowell had a career season and a great reputation around the league to boot. He was set to cash in.
Buster Olney reported this morning that Lowell had re-signed with Boston for three years and 37.5 million dollars. In todayǃÙs market that is a very reasonable agreement for a 34-year old playing a premium position coming off a year in which many labeled him the team MVP on the field and in the clubhouse. There is no statistic to measure the influence Mike Lowell had on the Boston Red Sox drive to the World Series title in 2007. He was the biggest surprise of the season, a guy who overcame not only testicular cancer back in his Marlin days, but overwhelming waves of doubt that he could ever hit at a high level again.
Mike Lowell has transformed from a “salary dump” to a World Series MVP. Now he happens to be the toast of the town.
Reports then began to surface this morning that Lowell was aware of an offer from the Philadelphia Phillies: a four year, $50 million dollar contract to play third base. With the Theo-imposed deadline nearing, Lowell had a decision to make. He could sacrifice a greater chance at another ring and move to a new city while collecting $13 million more over another guaranteed year, or remain in Boston where the stadium is packed every night and you have an uncontested bond and familiarity with teammates, fans and the area, granted for slightly less money.
ItǃÙs refreshing in the current state of free agency, in the current world of Scott Boras and Alex Rodriguez, that Mike Lowell sticks to his guns and stays with Boston. ItǃÙs not like Mike Lowell will suffer from any financial difficulties with the contract the Red Sox offered him and he ultimately signed.
From a pure analytical standpoint, the deal will probably be an issue in the last of the three years. That is the risk you have to take in todayǃÙs market. The same goes for the last two years of deals signed by Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera in New York. LowellǃÙs BABIP was insanely high in 2007 but nobody truly expects him to match those numbers once again. Improvements in players like J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo, Ellsbury over Crisp and Manny Ramirez will make up for any slight decrease in production.
By Theo Epstein and owner John Henry convincing Lowell that Boston was the place for him, Epstein was able to keep top prospects Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury rather than trade them for Miguel Cabrera. He was able to sign the 34-year old Lowell to a reasonable contract and keep the glue of the team around for three more seasons.
Consider me pleased with the final result. Consider me impressed with the loyalty of Mike Lowell in the face of a few million more.
Consider the Boston Red Sox the favorites to win the World Series again in 2008.