leemajors
01-30-2007, 11:49 AM
doesn't have much to do with baseball, but do these two really not like each other that much?
http://www.newsday.com/sports/printedition/ny-spken285070436jan28,0,6206525.column?coll=ny-sports-print
We know too well how much money baseball players make, but let's remember that not all of them are obscenely wealthy.
With a minimum salary of $380,000 this season, no one is starving. Yet there are plenty of people in Newsday's readership who bring home more than that, and who, like ballplayers, wouldn't frown at the opportunity for a few more bucks.
It's with that in mind that this space is struck by something that happened with the world champion St. Louis Cardinals in the days immediately after they won their stunning title.
Tristar Productions, a leading memorabilia producer, attempted to market several items with a "team signing" - baseballs, pictures and what-have-you featuring autographs from all 25 players. It didn't happen, a person familiar with the situation told Newsday, because the Cardinals' stars - in particular, Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen - couldn't agree on an asking price.
The person said Pujols wanted to make more than Rolen and Rolen wanted to make the same as Pujols. Spend five minutes in the clubhouse and you'll realize that Pujols and Rolen aren't very close. A second person in the loop nonetheless insisted that Pujols' demands had nothing to do with Rolen.
In any case, that meant young players such as Game 1 winner Anthony Reyes and closer Adam Wainwright couldn't pick up an extra payday.
Bobby Mintz, Tristar's vice president, responded, "I'd rather not go into specifics on what players wouldn't participate. But a lot of the key players, we had a problem with." Attempts to reach Dan Lazano, Pujols' agent, and Seth Levinson, Rolen's representative, for comments were unsuccessful.
Mintz emphasized it wasn't personal. "It doesn't mean we have less affinity for them," he said of the Cardinals' superstars. "We just agreed that we couldn't all agree."
Yet sometimes it can work out better. As the Astros were playing the White Sox in the 2005 World Series, Houston's three most famous players - Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Roger Clemens - agreed to charge a higher rate for autographs, but then pooled those payments and divided them equally among the 25 players.
"They were giving a larger share of their money to the guys that needed it more," Mintz said. "That's how Roger and 'Beedge' and Bags are. They wouldn't have it any other way."
Too bad the Cards' stars couldn't see things similarly.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/printedition/ny-spken285070436jan28,0,6206525.column?coll=ny-sports-print
We know too well how much money baseball players make, but let's remember that not all of them are obscenely wealthy.
With a minimum salary of $380,000 this season, no one is starving. Yet there are plenty of people in Newsday's readership who bring home more than that, and who, like ballplayers, wouldn't frown at the opportunity for a few more bucks.
It's with that in mind that this space is struck by something that happened with the world champion St. Louis Cardinals in the days immediately after they won their stunning title.
Tristar Productions, a leading memorabilia producer, attempted to market several items with a "team signing" - baseballs, pictures and what-have-you featuring autographs from all 25 players. It didn't happen, a person familiar with the situation told Newsday, because the Cardinals' stars - in particular, Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen - couldn't agree on an asking price.
The person said Pujols wanted to make more than Rolen and Rolen wanted to make the same as Pujols. Spend five minutes in the clubhouse and you'll realize that Pujols and Rolen aren't very close. A second person in the loop nonetheless insisted that Pujols' demands had nothing to do with Rolen.
In any case, that meant young players such as Game 1 winner Anthony Reyes and closer Adam Wainwright couldn't pick up an extra payday.
Bobby Mintz, Tristar's vice president, responded, "I'd rather not go into specifics on what players wouldn't participate. But a lot of the key players, we had a problem with." Attempts to reach Dan Lazano, Pujols' agent, and Seth Levinson, Rolen's representative, for comments were unsuccessful.
Mintz emphasized it wasn't personal. "It doesn't mean we have less affinity for them," he said of the Cardinals' superstars. "We just agreed that we couldn't all agree."
Yet sometimes it can work out better. As the Astros were playing the White Sox in the 2005 World Series, Houston's three most famous players - Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Roger Clemens - agreed to charge a higher rate for autographs, but then pooled those payments and divided them equally among the 25 players.
"They were giving a larger share of their money to the guys that needed it more," Mintz said. "That's how Roger and 'Beedge' and Bags are. They wouldn't have it any other way."
Too bad the Cards' stars couldn't see things similarly.