More To The Team Than One Great Star

Wed., Dec. 13, 2000

By D.F. Oliveria daveo@spokesman.com (509) 319-0354

To hear the sports analysts describe it, Major League Baseball suffered irreparable damage Monday when Alex Rodriguez signed with Texas for an amazing $252 million over 10 years - more than doubling the previous highest baseball contract.

At least, the experts say, Seattle’s run as a good team is over.

After all, Rodriguez’s departure - some use the word “betrayal” - marked the end of the Big Three: Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and A-Rod. In the space of 28 months, the M’s were forced to deal Johnson to Houston, Griffey to Cincinnati and lost A-Rod to free agency.

Few baseball teams could suffer the loss of one of those superstars, let alone all three. But don’t reach for the sackcloth and ashes yet. Seattle advanced to the second round of the American League playoffs this fall without Johnson and Griffey. And the Mariners can contend for the A.L. West pennant even with Rodriguez wearing Texas red.

Unquestionably, The Big Three saved baseball in Seattle. The Mariners might be playing elsewhere without the 1995 stretch drive that fell two games short of the World Series. Since then, Seattle has become one of the best organizations in baseball because it has a strong management team, led by club chairman Howard Lincoln, general manager Pat Gillick and manager Lou Piniella.

Seattle management made a legitimate offer to keep Rodriguez - $95 million over five years - but wisely backed away from mortgaging the future on one player when Texas proffered the moon. Rodriguez’s contract is worth $2 million more than Rangers owner Tom Hicks paid for the team and its ballpark three years ago. It’s an absurd amount. And it does make you wonder what it will take for baseball to bring salaries within the realm of sanity, as the National Football League has done with its system of salary caps and revenue sharing from team to team. But who can blame Rodriguez for taking the money and running?

Seattle still has a bright future as the result of a key free-agent signing this fall - that of Piniella, to a three-year contract. One of the best in the business, Piniella has built a good team. It has five strong players from the Johnson and Griffey trades: center fielder Mike Cameron, third baseman Carlos Guillen, and pitchers Freddy Garcia, John Halama and Brett Tomko. It has veterans Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner, regional products John Olerud and Aaron Sele, and Japanese imports Kazuhiro Sasaki and Ichiro Suzuki. Finally, with Rodriguez opting for Texas, the M’s have millions of extra dollars to spend on free agents.

Don’t be surprised if the M’s finish ahead of A-Rod’s new club.

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