Wanne Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Report: Astros ask Bagwell to retire ESPN.com news services Jeff Bagwell intends to play for the Astros this season, but the team isn't sure that's the best financial decision. The first baseman has played his entire career in Houston and leads the franchise in home runs (449) and RBI (1,529), but missed much of last season after shoulder surgery. "Nothing is going to keep me from attempting to play baseball next season," Bagwell told the Houston Chronicle. The team, however, wants him to announce he can't play anymore, he and agent Barry Axelrod told the paper. Then the Astros would be able make an insurance claim for $15.6 million of the approximately $17 million he is owed in 2006. Wow!...due $17M next year?!?....OUCH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sox It To Em Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 $17M? No wonder the 'Stros want out of that contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buehrle>Wood Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Why would it be fraud? They would be asking an insurance to cover for Bagwell not playing but still being payed. They would need some money to compensate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanne Posted January 11, 2006 Author Share Posted January 11, 2006 QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 03:25 PM) Why would it be fraud? wants him to announce he can't play anymore, So who decides he can't play anymore...if he wants to and can?...just so they can cut a contract? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RME JICO Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 The point is that Bagwell is going to play regardless of his injury, even though he cannot throw a ball over 100 feet. The Astros feel that this is not acceptable for $17 million, since they want a healthy player for that amount of money. If he says he cannot play due to injury, the Astros would not be liable for all that money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan562004 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 If you read further in the article it says they want him to go to Birmingham AL to meet with Dr. James Andrews so he can declare him unable to play. The deadline is Jan. 31 for them to file the claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalapse Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 How can James Andrews proclaim Bagwell unable to play if he just had a heart attack 3 days ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan562004 Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jan 11, 2006 -> 11:49 PM) How can James Andrews proclaim Bagwell unable to play if he just had a heart attack 3 days ago? "To that end, the team has asked Bagwell to visit orthopedist Dr. James Andrews' office on Thursday in Birmingham, Ala., the Chronicle reported. The deadline for the insurance claim is Jan. 31." that's the quote from the article, so I assume that means that one of his associates will perform the exam since it says his "office." I know a few of the WWE wrestlers have been going in there the last few days, so I assume his office is up and running... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samclemens Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 its been a good career bagwell. time to hang em up and give some kid a chance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BHAMBARONS Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 QUOTE(SoxFan562004 @ Jan 12, 2006 -> 01:04 AM) "To that end, the team has asked Bagwell to visit orthopedist Dr. James Andrews' office on Thursday in Birmingham, Ala., the Chronicle reported. The deadline for the insurance claim is Jan. 31." that's the quote from the article, so I assume that means that one of his associates will perform the exam since it says his "office." I know a few of the WWE wrestlers have been going in there the last few days, so I assume his office is up and running... Yeah his office is ran out of St. Vincent's hopsital here in Birmingham while Dr. Andrews won't be seeing anyone his staff will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 The results of Jeff Bagwell's examination by Dr. James Andrews aren't yet known. Bagwell doesn't believe the tests he was put through will necessarily give the Astros the answers they seek about his surgically repaired right shoulder. "I threw 20 balls and took about 15 swings on videotape and went and saw Dr. Andrews, who was a heck of a trouper for seeing me in his hospital bed after a heart attack," Bagwell said. "We had a good conversation. He examined me, and that's about the extent of it right now." Bagwell's throwing and hitting motions were recorded using motion analysis software that required him to put dozens of sensors on his body. GM Tim Purpura expects to have some findings in a few days. Per Rotoworld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanne Posted February 5, 2006 Author Share Posted February 5, 2006 *bump* This is gonna get ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLAK Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 QUOTE(Wanne @ Feb 5, 2006 -> 02:10 AM) *bump* This is gonna get ugly. Its interesting already and as you say, could be a real mess if he thinks he can play and the team doesn't. Feb. 2, 2006, 1:06AM Bagwell policy a rarity Most companies unwilling to insure hefty contracts By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Looking to insure the five-year, $85 million contract the Astros were set to give Jeff Bagwell in December 2000, former Astros president of business operations Bob McClaren quickly realized there weren't many companies willing to offer such policies. Thanks to some multimillion-dollar payouts in recent years, there are even fewer insurance companies willing to insure contracts like Bagwell's. In most cases, there are several companies taking on the insurance risk for such contracts. As of Wednesday, Astros owner Drayton McLane was out of town and unavailable to say how many insurance companies held the contract on the policy. In baseball, the last big insurance payout was given to the Baltimore Orioles, who insured the five-year, $65 million contract they gave slugger Albert Belle before the 1999 season. Belle played in 1999 and 2000. He showed up to spring training in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with the Orioles in 2001, but a degenerative hip condition made him physically unable to perform that spring. The Orioles recouped between $27.3 million and $35 million of Belle's guaranteed contract from the insurance policy. "These days there are even fewer such companies willing to insure such contracts," said McClaren, who now serves as a consultant to the Astros as well as an agent to Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Bracey Wright. "Any time that there is a recovery under a policy like this, it impacts the market, either makes it more expensive or possibly an insurance company gets out of the business because of potential risks. "There are not many companies that provide sports disability insurance. My recollection is you have to search very hard to find them. There's only a very few number of companies. I would suspect there are fewer today than there were just a few years ago. In Jeff's case, if this is a claim that is successful, that's a big number and certainly gets everybody's attention." On Friday, the Astros filed the insurance claim to recoup $15.6 million of the $17 million Bagwell is set to earn this season. Based on Astros medical director David Lintner's findings after reviewing Dr. James Andrews' examination of Bagwell's right shoulder last month, the Astros have made a case to their insurance company that Bagwell is a disabled player. Bagwell has vowed to be at spring training for the Astros' first full-squad workout on Feb. 24. "Absolutely," Bagwell's agent, Barry Axelrod said when asked Wednesday if Bagwell still planned to be at spring training. "He's ready to play — or he will be." A key question Ultimately, the medical community will decide this claim as long as Bagwell doesn't play in the regular season. As of Wednesday, Astros president of business operations Pam Gardner was still unsure if the club could recoup on the insurance claim if Bagwell plays in spring training. "A lot of the issues are brought from the standard player contract that allows a player to be cut or released," Rick Horrow, one of the foremost authorities in the business of sport, said Wednesday. "There's very specific medical criteria a team's doctors use, and their ruling usually carry the day." Horrow, the president of Horrow Sports Ventures, is the author of When The Game Is On The Line and a visiting expert of sports law at the Harvard Law School. A contributor on sports business for CNN, CNBC and Fox Sports Radio, he has written extensively on insurance in sports. In 2001, he pointed out that the "St. Louis Cardinals cashed in on their $12 million revenue insurance policy with Aon Corp. paying for Mark McGwire's injury absence" during the 2000 season. "The Cardinals paid approximately $500,000 to renew the policy, figuring that McGwire was responsible for drawing some 600,000 fans each season," wrote Horrow, who gave the Chronicle permission to quote his work. "The policy insured the Cardinals for about $20 in revenue for each lost fan for as long as McGwire was sidelined. Experts estimate the Cardinals recovered more than $4 million (in 2000). Orlando Magic officials relied on injury insurance covering at least the first year of Grant Hill's seven-year, $93 million contract. Not an easy sell Horrow and McClaren both agree that these days it's more difficult for teams to find companies to insure contracts like Belle's and Bagwell's. "Sometimes you have a contract that is so large, they'll only provide a percentage of the compensation that they were to receive," McClaren said. "I saw one time in a basketball scenario they would only pay 40 percent of a player's compensation. Usually they won't cover 100 percent due the player. Also pricing may be a factor. "They'll say, 'We'll cover this player but it will be at this price.' The price the club will have to pay is prohibitive. It will be so expensive the club will make the decision they'd rather take the risk instead of paying the expensive premium. You factor in all those issues, and it is not an automatic situation that you sign a player and go out to get disability insurance." Because most Major League Baseball and NBA contracts are guaranteed, players in those leagues are less likely to get their own disability insurance. But there are a few instances when some baseball players pick up disability insurance for themselves. Axelrod used young Astros ace righthander Roy Oswalt as an example of a player who might consider disability insurance. Oswalt is in the final year of a two-year, $16.9 million contract. He's not eligible for free agency until after the 2007 season. As one of the top pitchers in baseball, the 2005 NLCS MVP stands to make anywhere from $11 million to $16 million a year in free agency as long he remains healthy and doesn't have a dramatic falloff in production. Oswalt could benefit So a year from free agency, it wouldn't be a surprise if Oswalt took out a disability insurance policy protecting himself in case of a severe injury. "It is expensive," Axelrod said. "It's not something that you run around buying all the time." Many years ago, Axelrod had a client take out disability insurance that specifically covered hunting accidents because that player's contract precluded him from hunting. At this point, Bagwell and Axelrod don't agree with the Astros' assessment of Bagwell's physical state. But Axelrod, McClaren, Horrow and Gardner can definitely agree on one thing. "Like any insurance there's a cost that goes with it," Gardner said. "You just weigh the risk with what the policy can provide for you. I don't know that any insurance is inexpensive. There are so many risk factors." [email protected] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q: Can the Astros win their claim if Bagwell plays in 2006? A: No. They must prove Bagwell is a disabled player, which they could not do if he were to play. Q: What other contracts do the Astros have insured? A: The team insured the six-year, $85 million contract outfielder/first baseman Lance Berkman signed last March. Q: When is the earliest the Astros can recoup the insurance? A: Bagwell must miss the entire season in order for the Astros to collect on the policy. Q: Can the Astros recoup if Bagwell voluntarily retires? A: No. The only way they can collect on the policy is if Bagwell is ruled medically unable to perform. Q: Is the Astros' claim ruined if Bagwell participates in spring training? A: That is unclear at this point, although Bagwell has said he intends to attempt to play during spring training. Q: Is Bagwell's contract guaranteed? A: Yes, it is. All multiyear major-league contracts are guaranteed.One-year deals awarded through arbitration are not guaranteed, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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