Dallas – Starting pitchers reek of importance. They are the sun of baseball’s universe. Momentum begins and ends with them. Perhaps only a hockey goalie has as much impact on any game’s outcome.
So why is it most people think baseball executives took a puck to the head every time they reward a future ace with a monster contract?
Simply put, big-name free agents have proved a poor investment the past five years, leaving a trail of fired managers, overworked trainers and frustrated fans in their wake.
That explains why moments after announcing the signing of pitcher A.J. Burnett on Tuesday, Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi found himself defending his decision to give the sport’s most coveted free agent a five-year, $55 million contract.
“It’s a leap of faith anytime you get into one of these things,” Ricciardi said. “Once the market got established, it’s like when your kid wants to go to Harvard. You have to find the money to send them or you don’t. Either you are in or you are out.”
No one disputes Burnett’s talent. He throws a 98 mph fastball and has a slider that turns batters’ knees into Jell-O. But he has a pedestrian 49-50 career record and was 0-6 in his last seven starts last season.
“It was crazy going through that stretch and all this. I know I am (under .500), so to get this (contract) is mind-boggling to me,” Burnett said after receiving the largest free-agent starter contract since Chan Ho Park’s five-year, $65 million deal in 2001. “I think it’s going to be a fun five years.”
The challenge is daunting, with history screaming of the risks involved of avoiding injury and meeting expectations.
Of the six starters awarded the biggest free-agent contracts the past five years, only two posted a winning record with the teams that signed them – Kevin Brown (58-32, 2.83 ERA) with the Dodgers and Pedro Martinez (15-8 in his first season with the Mets).
Park labored for 22 wins with the Rangers before getting shipped to the Padres last summer for Phil Nevin in a swap of bad contracts. Denny Neagle produced 19 victories for the Rockies for $48 million. Darren Dreifort cost $7 million more and totaled 10 fewer wins with the Dodgers.
Notice a trend? Did we mention Mike Hampton, given the longest and most lucrative deal for a starter – eight years, $123.8 million – cost the Rockies 2.43 million per victory?
“You know what? Everybody and their brother wanted Mike Hampton. There were 20 teams that would have spent close to what we did,” said Royals manager Buddy Bell, who held the same position in Colorado when Hampton signed.
“The reason for that was his makeup, his toughness, his playoff experience. I thought Colorado would be a piece of cake for him.”
Hampton was traded after two seasons, his career a snapshot of why opening the vault for starters can be so dangerous. After a revival in Atlanta, Hampton will miss next season because of elbow surgery.
Park, Dreifort, Hampton, Neagle and Brown spent significant time on the disabled list, including 10 trips for Brown over the life of his seven-year contract.
“I think everybody gets scared by the health issue,” said Ricciardi, who like his predecessors, will take out insurance on Burnett to help recoup some costs if his pitcher gets hurt. “We did our homework. We had a scout at every one of his starts last year. And he’s young, and that’s a beautiful thing.”
Age, unfortunately, is not a statistic that counts when evaluating the success of the contracts. Only wins and losses will determine if this was money well spent or a crippling miscalculation.
“I don’t have an answer for why I am worth it,” Burnett said. “Ultimately, I have to prove it.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5447 or trenck@denverpost.com.
