Harper actually loved his meeting w/ the Sox

[Texsox]

Just now, Balta1701 said:

For Bryce Harper, beating Giancarlo Stanton's contract was another key part of making him happy.

And you know professional athletes are competitive. 

[ptatc]

3 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

Yes, maybe he is selfish and greedy, but I have left places for more money. You can't blame anyone for taking the cash. Most people would. 

 

The reality is if you paid him $300 million or $330 million, it isn't going to make much difference in his life. It's all money he will never spend, but it is nice to have just in case, and most people if they are able, like to leave things to their heirs.

Nope. As I said he has every right to do whatever he wants. I, personally, have valued more time with family and happiness over the absolute highest paying job where I knew I wouldnt be as happy. 

Just a personal philosophy.

[ptatc]

47 minutes ago, Quin said:

Ok, this comparison is wack for reasons Soxfan outlined.

I can give a personal example. I work for a large journalism outlet. I make a good enough salary.

A Bloomberg PAC came recruiting me - this position would endure even if his campaign suspended. The organization has been around since 2018. Knowing people who have gotten positions within his campaign and PAC, it's an easy $50k (minimum) pay raise. But I decided I'd be happier sticking to journalism.

Before the pandemic hit, there was a good chance I was gonna be made a permanent full time employee where I work. Now hiring has been frozen. I've got 5 weeks to get something figured out. I kind of wish I took the money.

My personal dilemma was to stay in pro sports and be gone a lot, open up a group of clinics where the hours would be really long starting the company or go into academia and make much less money but make my own hours and be home with the kids growing up. I chose the latter and couldn't be happier.

[southsider2k5]

10 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

For Bryce Harper, beating Giancarlo Stanton's contract was another key part of making him happy.

THE key part.

[Texsox]

6 minutes ago, ptatc said:

Nope. As I said he has every right to do whatever he wants. I, personally, have valued more time with family and happiness over the absolute highest paying job where I knew I wouldnt be as happy. 

Just a personal philosophy.

What could a team do to offer him more time with family? I'm trying to think of a single factor that would be different in what teams would offer? 

[ptatc]

30 minutes ago, Texsox said:

What could a team do to offer him more time with family? I'm trying to think of a single factor that would be different in what teams would offer? 

Having the home team being in their hometown or a more comfortable town for them. The players can spend much more time with their families at home. Many make it a point to take their children to school on those days. Maybe it's in the same town as one of their parents, so when the player is out of town she has a support system in place.

There are many reasons.

[ron883]

In terms of guaranteed money, the deals may have been 70-80m apart realistically. He may have loved the White Sox free agent pitch, but anybody would choose dumpy Philadelphia over Chicago at that price. 

Edited May 7, 2020 by Yearnin' for Yermin

[Donny Lucy's Avocado Farm]

Did the Sox $$$ leak at all? Did they even extend an offer?

Bryce wanted to be the highest paid player, right? I don't think that JR and the Sox were willing to play that part, at least not in the 2018 off season.

In hindsight, I like how things turned out.

[southsider2k5]

3 minutes ago, Charlie Haeger's Knuckles said:

Did the Sox $$$ leak at all? Did they even extend an offer?

Bryce wanted to be the highest paid player, right? I don't think that JR and the Sox were willing to play that part, at least not in the 2018 off season.

In hindsight, I like how things turned out.

The leak was that they didn't make a formal offer.  No idea if that is true or not.

[wegner]

6 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

It is assumed that the White Sox fan base is pretty blue collar, but I read somewhere the reality is that it isn't. The average White Sox fan makes more money than the average Cubs fan.

Just by personal observation, the average Sox fan also has a higher IQ (especially baseball wise) than the average Cubs fan ?

[bmags]

2 hours ago, Texsox said:

What could a team do to offer him more time with family? I'm trying to think of a single factor that would be different in what teams would offer? 

never make the playoffs.

In that respect sox should have been pretty good at selling it.

[Texsox]

1 hour ago, ptatc said:

Having the home team being in their hometown or a more comfortable town for them. The players can spend much more time with their families at home. Many make it a point to take their children to school on those days. Maybe it's in the same town as one of their parents, so when the player is out of town she has a support system in place.

There are many reasons.

Players that we would be discussing have the financial resources to move their families plus friends, girlfriends, pets and anyone else to live anywhere near their team. They would be taking their kids to a private school of their choosing. No doubt there is a chance they would not enjoy a city or actually have a hometown team. But how many free agents do you think that could possibly include? If you are playing the game and become a free agent, money and time are easily the biggest differences between offers. Chicago versus Philly? New York versus Pittsburgh? Milwaukee versus Houston? It seems like most free agents face a situation between two cities that they have no connection to. 

I absolutely agree with what you are saying for most people. Harper for example could say he wants to play in his hometown and I am certain the Aviators would love having him on the roster. However, the As would eventually buy his contract and force him to move to Oakland. Then it would be retire or go play in Oakland. It's such a weird situation for them. 

[ptatc]

2 hours ago, Texsox said:

Players that we would be discussing have the financial resources to move their families plus friends, girlfriends, pets and anyone else to live anywhere near their team. They would be taking their kids to a private school of their choosing. No doubt there is a chance they would not enjoy a city or actually have a hometown team. But how many free agents do you think that could possibly include? If you are playing the game and become a free agent, money and time are easily the biggest differences between offers. Chicago versus Philly? New York versus Pittsburgh? Milwaukee versus Houston? It seems like most free agents face a situation between two cities that they have no connection to. 

I absolutely agree with what you are saying for most people. Harper for example could say he wants to play in his hometown and I am certain the Aviators would love having him on the roster. However, the As would eventually buy his contract and force him to move to Oakland. Then it would be retire or go play in Oakland. It's such a weird situation for them. 

They will have the financial resources but that doesn't make it not a pain in the rear to do, especially if its to be near family. It's not necessarily his family that comes into play. His wife would be the one stuck at home with kids and it's probably more important that she has a supports system nearby for emergencies and not need to fly any where for help. The fact that he could get generational wealth AND not need to do all of things can be a factor.

 

However, back to my original point, the pursuit of every last cent in lieu of a happier more enjoyable lifestyle isn't my personal philosophy and I disagree with those who have that philosophy or attitude.

Edited May 7, 2020 by ptatc

[Texsox]

4 minutes ago, ptatc said:

They will have the financial resources but that doesn't make it not a pain in the rear to do, especially if its to be near family. It's not necessarily his family that comes into play. His wife would be the one stuck at home with kids and it's probably more important that she has a supports system nearby for emergencies and not need to fly any where for help. The fact that he could get generational wealth AND not need to do all of things can be a factor.

 

However, back to my original point, the pursuit of every last cent in lieu of a happier more enjoyable lifestyle isn't my personal philosophy and I disagree with those who have that philosophy or attitude.

I agree about the pursuit of money. I just think that once on the arena of being a professional athlete they are often choosing between two places that are not home. Harper, for example, couldn't stay in Las Vegas to be near his hometown.  Would Frank Thomas been happier in Atlanta to be near home? IDK. I guess the closest I can think of was Buerhle flirting with the Cardinals every once in a while. But with the very limited choice they have in cities to work, and the very few differences between employers, money becomes a bigger factor.  Calling him greedy for taking the highest bid between two cities that are equal is unfair. 

[Thad Bosley]

3 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

The leak was that they didn't make a formal offer.  No idea if that is true or not.

So they flew Thome down to Vegas for this meeting, Harper “raves” about the meeting, there are Bryce Harper banners making loops around the United Center at the time, the typical big spending ball clubs are all on the sidelines, he would have filled a huge hole on and off the field, and they DIDN’T make a formal offer after all of that?  
 

How is that possible?

[Balta1701]

1 hour ago, Thad Bosley said:

So they flew Thome down to Vegas for this meeting, Harper “raves” about the meeting, there are Bryce Harper banners making loops around the United Center at the time, the typical big spending ball clubs are all on the sidelines, he would have filled a huge hole on and off the field, and they DIDN’T make a formal offer after all of that?  
 

How is that possible?

They started off thinking that Machado could be had for $175 million and Harper for something like $200 million. When they sat down with Boras, whether they made an official offer or not, it was clear by the end that it would take a Giancarlo level deal to sign him, so the White Sox never made a formal offer. 

By the time things got serious with Harper, as usual Boras leaked all the teams that were remotely involved to try to make sure that the bids were pushed as high as they could be, and the White Sox weren't even mentioned by the people Boras leaks to. They were never close. 

[ptatc]

3 hours ago, Texsox said:

I agree about the pursuit of money. I just think that once on the arena of being a professional athlete they are often choosing between two places that are not home. Harper, for example, couldn't stay in Las Vegas to be near his hometown.  Would Frank Thomas been happier in Atlanta to be near home? IDK. I guess the closest I can think of was Buerhle flirting with the Cardinals every once in a while. But with the very limited choice they have in cities to work, and the very few differences between employers, money becomes a bigger factor.  Calling him greedy for taking the highest bid between two cities that are equal is unfair. 

I never said he was greedy, although if he took the most money just because it was the most money I think it would qualify. However, we will never know for sure. My only response close to the was when someone said he wasnt being greedy he was only  setting the bar higher for others, my response was that those arent mutually exclusive.  

This all started when someone stated the attitude should be to go for the most money. I disagree with that attitude or philosophy. 

[soxfan49]

I know the easy answer is "40 million" but what's the difference between 330M and 290M? Like, can you really not do EVERYTHING you want and buy ANYTHING you want with both?

[soxfan49]

17 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

The leak was that they didn't make a formal offer.  No idea if that is true or not.

Perhaps Boras said Philly was offering 330 so the Sox didn't even bother.

[Squirmin' for Yermin]

14 minutes ago, soxfan49 said:

I know the easy answer is "40 million" but what's the difference between 330M and 290M? Like, can you really not do EVERYTHING you want and buy ANYTHING you want with both?

uhhh a massive difference.. 40 million difference actually (without including inflation).. 

[Balta1701]

59 minutes ago, soxfan49 said:

Perhaps Boras said Philly was offering 330 so the Sox didn't even bother.

Philly didn't offer $330 until March or so, that was the "put this on the table and we'll get it done" day. The White Sox's meeting with him was in December. The rumor at the time was the White Sox hadn't spoken to Boras since early January when things were getting finished.

[soxfan49]

54 minutes ago, Squirmin' for Yermin said:

uhhh a massive difference.. 40 million difference actually (without including inflation).. 

I literally just said it's a 40 million dollar difference, but the thought process doesn't change: there's no way you can't go on unlimited vacations, buy 2-3 houses/condos and buy 5 cars with 290 million. 

[HollywoodTim]

I am so glad Harper did not sign here.  His fake personality is just so annoying.  I can never forget the hair flip thing he did after homering against the Cubs in the payoffs.  It was like 3-2 and the pitcher just set him up and he had to swing, and the pitcher lays a meatball right down the heart of the plate, and Harper hits a slam.  Most veteran hitters in the league probably hit that pitch out, but when he does it, he has to make himself into an Herbal Essence commercial of fake-ass celebration like he's Fabio and he just switched somebody to margarine off butter or something.  I hate that guy.  If I was a pitcher I'd just throw at him because he sucks.

Wasn't he also the pro-babies in the dugout guy who kissed LaRoche's ass for all that stuff?  I'm glad he is no where near this team.  

[Richie]

On ‎5‎/‎7‎/‎2020 at 9:06 AM, ptatc said:

While he certainly has the right to do it, I would say there is something wrong with that attitude. Sacrificing happiness for every last cent isn't the way I would choose  to go. I know that is extreme but as an attitude or philosophy I would disagree.

But... how did he sacrifice happiness? This would imply he disliked his Philly visit and thought he would be less happy there. He's still playing professional baseball either way. Not to mention, he went to a team far more ready to contend at the time. I would be willing to bet if you talked to him - he liked the Philly visit too. 

"I liked my White Sox visit" does not = "I liked it more than Philly"

 

[Richie]

6 hours ago, soxfan49 said:

I literally just said it's a 40 million dollar difference, but the thought process doesn't change: there's no way you can't go on unlimited vacations, buy 2-3 houses/condos and buy 5 cars with 290 million. 

Now, take out half for taxes and his agent. The money undoubtedly sets you up for life. But it's not to the point where 40 mil doesn't make a difference. He could want to open up businesses when he's done, he could want to set his kid's lives up with a trust fund, etc. 

We all try to optimize our earning potential within our given profession. Whether that's as a bartender or a successful big business owner. I'll never understand why athletes doing so makes them any less of a human being. 

There's also nothing that says he would have RATHER been here. He simply says he "liked it" here. People "like" job opportunities that they pass up in favor of another all of the time.