Finding the Worst MLB Contract of the 2010's

[@evilpeach2]

The Mets paid Jed Lowrie $20 Million for 9 games, 8 plate appearances, 7 at bats, 4 strikeouts.

[@CardinalDoctor]

WTF? How?

[@evilpeach2]

@@CardinalDoctor He hit .267 in 2018 in Oakland at age 34 so it was enough for the Mets to sign him for 2 years $20 million. His legs basically gave up since he's 34 and he's been on the IL most of the time with knee issues.

[@KTF0]

Wait, he had at bats for the Mets?

[@CinemaDemocratica]

The Phillies paid David Robertson quite a bit of lettuce to throw about four pitches, too. :D

[@imre456]

The Mets and shit contracts are like PB&J

[@rrameir]

When you haven’t started the video yet, but you know your Boston RedSox are going to be mentioned more then once

[@SportStorm23]

appleman lol at least they have money to burn compared to other teams

[@lukedubois7679]

Prince fielder ring a bell?

[@rrameir]

Luke DuBois wtf?

[@benjamindavid5641]

Lol

[@slashismyhommie8182]

Ya...i think the recent 10+ year over 300M contracts are all bad. Even if they're great and "young" too much happens in the game, MVP players get injured and are never the same. Matt Kemp for example, and yes, Bauer even in roids wasn't better that season, east coast bias in those voting standards need to be addressed. Kershaw was ribbed of it least 2 cy young awards. Don't start with postseason mishaps, it's about the regular season and nobody discusses Peyton Manning and his postseason mishaps either. BTW Kershaw has that one post season where he was lights out before a team used techniques via buzzers and trashcans to relay off speed pitches to the batters and he had zero swing and misses on his curve which that year he had one of the highest swing and miss rates on. But Hey, even though the other team has an illegal advantage the dodgers justdidnt do enough, right guys? Sorry the Dodgers didn't choose as an organization to cheat at the plate, at that disadvantage they still made it to game 7 against buzzing and beating cheaters. Hey, why was game 7 in Los Angeles? Cause they were the best team that year. And I kind of wish now they did cheat. Cause knowing the world series title wasn't going to be stripped and zero players punished (although let's all be honest, if an LA team is accused of that shit it's blacksox all over again and then some). Anyways ya, #beamastros

[@outtaherebaseball3205]

This was really interesting! Howard always makes me sad cause after he tore his achilles, he and the phillies went so far downhill

[@SportStorm23]

Outta Here Baseball thanks! It’s really a shame what happened to Howard

[@MrLeoni2]

@@SportStorm23 Especially as Howard was a very nice guy and a fan favorite. But, as a Phils fan it's something to expect. The Phils are like the Cubs before the 2010s, the team most likely to be the NL's doormat, especially from the 20s to the 40s.

[@paulbbryan]

He tore his achilles in 2011, his left meniscus in 2013, and he re-injured that knee in 2015. His huge deal meant the Phillies didn't have any promising prospects at the position until Tommy Joseph came up in 2016, and he wasn't too much better than Howard hitting .200. And those of us in Philly just wanted to see our World Series heroes while we were on the obvious decline after the front office decimated our development system. I gave the management group the benefit of the doubt for years but I'm losing patience with them. Bad time to be a Phils fan.

[@MrLeoni2]

@@paulbbryan On the contract, the Phils just wanted him lockred in as he was still a good hitter. Or, he was until the injuries and the opposition putting the shift on him. As for prospects, that's on management, and I doubt Ryan being given a low or high contract has anything to do with that, that have to do with scouting of future players, and whether the prospects are used as trade bait. And sadly, management just plainly sucks right now.

[@destructocid]

Howard was really overrated. He had like 4 or 5 good years. Struck out a ton and was a complete rally killer for the majority of his career.

[@thelendalrock8675]

Famous last words “ maybe Chris Davis will win mvp”

[@josephtelegen8754]

Except no one other than the maker of this video thinks that's remotely possible. What a joke.

[@dmvjosef]

@@josephtelegen8754 nobody ever thought Chris Davis could win the mvp dumbass

[@Dub0r]

What really hurt Ryan Howard was the implementation of the shift. He just could not figure out how to hit to all fields.

[@MotorCityPhoenix313]

he should have bunted down the opposite direction until they stopped lol. it's not rocket science

[@aaronk8371]

He also tore his Achilles in the last ab of the 2011 NLDS. He wasnt the same after that.

[@briskryant1286]

At least he has WUPHF.com

[@kevingohdcantgo10_0]

Stealthy Mongoose he wouldn’t make it to first base

[@TryPuttingItInRice]

@@MotorCityPhoenix313 his ego got in the way of thinking reasonably

[@xGodofAcidx]

Chris Davis tried to give this video a thumbs down, but he clicked and missed

[@jaksongeisler6308]

Chris Davis winning MVP, that’s like saying I will become president

[@braedenjones8182]

Never say never

[@de132]

You got my vote

[@johndim11]

Les Moore you’d have to be a bigger dumbass than all the GM’s who penned these contracts if you vote for Biden.

[@donkeykong1234]

@@johndim11 wow, you went out of your way to bring politics into a baseball video.

[@chriswilliams4700]

You have to remember how much Howard was being payed when he won the Rookie of the year and MVP. He was being payed by the minimum, so I look at it as him getting the money he deserved when he was younger

[@DrGuessFilms]

The Red Sox cut Sandoval. They could never have traded that contract.

[@thepiper5522]

As noted, Sandoval was released by the Red Sox, leaving them on the hook to pay for the entire contract, around $90 million for -1.6 Bwar and only one full season of play. I'm not saying it was any worse than the Howard contract, just that it affected the team through the end of the 2020 season taking up payroll space that could've been used to not trade Betts, etc.

[@sporer_]

I think Tomas' struggles can be boiled down to him using an invisible bat

[@7varm2]

Hey, we don’t speak of that Dbacks regime. They were horrible. Tomás, the Swanson trade, the Shelby Miller trade, cutting will Harris, the Didi Gregorious tarde...

[@SportStorm23]

Paco they’re looking better now at least

[@7varm2]

SportStorm yes Mike Hazen has done a wonderful job as our GM

[@yankees2864]

Paco I still thank you guys for the Gregorius trade. Until 2019 that is.

[@widudeisgod]

Im guessing chris davis before watching

[@ReverendBenzo]

Oops

[@brandan7095]

Howard wasn't a bad player the shift and hi injury in the 2010 playoffs derailed his career. He was never the same

[@brandonbari40]

2011*

[@t0ny1189]

Jordan Zimmerman is in the last year of a 5 year/$110 million deal with the Tigers... since he's been in Detroit hes 25-41 with a 5.61 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and WAR barely above 1 lol...He started 2020 on the IL and still hasnt been on the mound once (which is probably good for us)

[@joshuapatrick682]

Hosmer has definitely taken a life. You look into those eyes and you know they've seen the reaper...

[@jimmysgarage9068]

I know that Mo Vaughn's contract with the Angels in 99 was historically bad also. He played a couple years with the Angels, then got shipped off to the Mets and got paid the past 2 years for basically not playing at all.

[@Eibarwoman]

2 years and 3 months later, Hosmer has accumulated about 2 WAR on top of his 0.4, not exactly great but looks like he might at worst break even.

[@matts82581]

I was curious if James Shields' contract (4 years $75 million)with the Padres would show up. Started during that time, he didn't do very well and we got Tatis Jr. for him in the trade.

[@MrLeoni2]

Man, I knew Howard's contract ended up being bad, I just didn't know it would end up being the worst of the 2010s. E-yikes!!!

[@SportStorm23]

MrLeoni2 I was definitely surprised too

[@MrLeoni2]

@@SportStorm23 Well, I can't wait to see you explain it in a future video, and not just because I've been a Phillies fan since 1969. (Oh, the pain, the pain.)

[@samuelrs5138]

@@MrLeoni2 Phillies had a really nice 00's

[@MrLeoni2]

@@samuelrs5138 Yes, they did.

[@Z1ggy6969]

I feel like if he hadn't have cut out contracts that haven't expired, Pujols would definitely top the list. Dude flat fell on his face after leaving StL

[@momdidntloveme8955]

The Red Sox didn't trade Sandoval, they waived him and the Giants signed him to a near minimum deal. Big difference in who's paying that big check

[@floriancleyet9588]

You deserve more views and subscibers

[@SportStorm23]

Fox McCloud I appreciate that

[@zachleary108]

There's a great analysis article out there on how "the shift" ruined Howards career. It breaks it down year by year. When Statcast metrics started becoming an every team thing and they shift was put on his every at bat - he tanked.

[@ReklawLah]

The Mets are STILL paying Bobby Bonilla over $1m per year, and will through 2035. That is, by far, the worst contract ever signed.

[@joshuapatrick682]

before i watch i am betting its about chris davis....the shift and statcasts' first victim...

[@7varm2]

What would be interesting is a graphic with all contracts signed in the past “a” years that lasted for a minimum of 3 seasons. That way, you could find a best fit line and compare these horrible contract numbers to an average

[@vamp9713]

Good video, keep it up, man!

[@SportStorm23]

vamp9 thank you!

[@brianlee401]

Pablo Sandoval was DFA’d by the Red Sox and then signed a minimum deal by the Giants. He was not traded.

[@oscaro.350]

As a Yankee fan the moment I heard Jacoby Ellsbury I started laughing played decent from 2014-2017 then hasnt played

[@briangarcia5567]

Can't accumulate negative WAR if you take 3 whole years off lol. Man I hated that signing right from the jump.

[@erickennedy5993]

That was worst contract ever

[@matthewcollins8602]

Kind of strange seeing Ronald Acuna at the beginning of the video though considering the Braves probably have the best contract with Acuna in MLB currently.

[@Owenthebaseballguy]

Bro you deserve so much more support

[@SportStorm23]

Walk- Offs I appreciate that, thanks!

[@mrmacross]

At least Fielder's contract was partially insured, so no team was responsible for the entirety of it. That makes the deal a lot less horrible than Chris Davis'. He could put up a 10 WAR season in 2021 it'd still be a really bad contract.

[@reedermh]

True. Texas pays part, Detroit pays part, and the insurance company pays part.

[@oldfrend]

as of 8/27 chris davis is hitting .122 and has -0.9 WAR in 49 ABs. howard doesn't stand a chance XD

[@CinemaDemocratica]

I liked this video, and I want to congratulate you for scripting it -- this puts you streets ahead of the competition on this platform. If I may offer you a note, I think the overall quality of the finished product would be nudged just that little bit over the bar if you put the script through one more editorial revision, perhaps with someone else's eyes on it. The intro, in particular, could probably have been tightened without you feeling like you'd betrayed any of your initial vision. Hopefully you've got someone you trust who will take a peak at your best "final" draft, and then take whatever that person offers you in the best possible spirit. #mytwocents

[@t-squared6406]

when I think about this,I think about Mets and Royals player because their window closed fast and I am sure someone got paid,the Mets had too many pitcher injuries,the one who has to be overpaid without looking at numbers is Matt Harvey,or even the Padraes,they went out and bought names and really paid them,but I don't know where all this would fall in this topic.

[@andrewbloom7694]

I wouldn't worry about Stanton/Pujols on there, they clearly weren't the worst. Edit: yeah. Stanton especially i don't really get why people think hes been bad. He has 23 WAR, a 139 OPS+, and 224 HRs over that contract so far! Across 2021-2022, he averaged 516 PAs/season and had a 126 OPS+, so he's STILL going too.

[@yankees2864]

I HATE Jacoby Ellsbury. He is the reason we couldn’t pay for good talent until 2020. Thank god Cashman is a genius and we got amazing home grown players.

[@mastershake8018]

Except now we have fuckin Stanton. 300 mill for a man made of glass.

[@oscaro.350]

@@mastershake8018 FR Stanton needs to go we have gardner clint frazier mike tauchmann aaron hicks & judge we dont need stanton

[@mastershake8018]

@@oscaro.350 I have no hope for a WS win with this team until we get some more players like DJ and some better arms. Happ gotta go.

[@Prince-to5cf]

You are a New York Yankee's fan and you are saying they couldn't pay for something? Yikes.

[@samuelrs5138]

The Yankees might have the worst leadership in baseball, they are lucky to be in the market they are.

[@caponebd7941]

As a Phillies fan I clicked this video to see if Howard’s contract was as bad as it felt. Glad to see the numbers backed it up

[@TG-ld8hl]

This video doesn’t even take into account Ryan Howard’s horrible mismanagement of the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company

[@davidmacgown321]

Which version of WAR do sabermetricions generally use?

[@mjt7231]

I was 2 seconds in and thought Ryan Howard has to be in this video. The end of his career was such a shame. After his Achilles. He was never the same. The years leading up to that contract he was an absolute force.

[@tjalbury3271]

Stanton has the worst contract in baseball and its not even close. The Yankees will never win while he is there

[@christopherkohut8495]

I feel like you are doing a massive disservice to Ryan Howard by not even mentioning the fact that he completely ruptured his Achilles in the 2011 nlds

[@what8333]

I wonder where hosmer is now cause of his breakout season this year

[@benjamindavid5641]

The problem with averaging war tho is that one website could have a formula that gives players more WAR which means that that website would have more power

[@IcePlays]

That is not how averages work

[@alexhussey7836]

It’s divided by two. Both wars have equal weight

[@benjamindavid5641]

Ice u dont get my point

[@benjamindavid5641]

Alex Hussey if one website gives an amazing player an 8 WAR for the season and one gives a 3 to a player of the same caliber then the one that gives the 8 will have more weight. Thats the problem

[@alexhussey7836]

JCPOTATOBENJY Ya If one site gave a 3 and the other gave an 8, the average is 5.5. Thats (8+3)/2. Both 3 and 8 are 2.5 away from 5.5; that’s what makes it an average. You could say that the score of 3 weighs down the average war (-2.5) just as much as the 8 boosts it up (+2.5); that’s what makes it an average. If one had more weight it wouldn’t be an average.

[@nate.t1739]

The Royals are currently paying Ian Kennedy 18 mill a year to sit in the bullpen.

[@scottyjbd]

Gotta thank Boston for paying for Pablo Sandoval to come back to the Giants for 3 years 😂

[@guppy719]

Contracts ending in the 2010s would have been better since it would give a full decade of contracts.

[@ThekiBoran]

Barry Zito?

[@paulbrower4265]

I was looking at Jordan Zimmerman of the Detroit Cocker Spaniels baseball team.

[@The_Directorate]

What about Jordan Zimmermann?

[@SportStorm23]

Ay o he’s on the first chart, I just didn’t mention him. Check the link of data in the description

[@SmittyCBaseball]

Great content keep it up

[@LocalShark22]

SportStorm: “[The Hosmer signing] was a blunder by the Padres.” Eric Hosmer while putting up a positive WAR in 2020 and starting strong in 2021: “...And I took that personally.”

[@brandonbari40]

And now he’s in Boston.

[@dillonmundy]

I knew Desmond was coming.... What a terrible sign. Bet you're pretty happy about it

[@SportStorm23]

Dillon Mundy Hosmer could be worse in the coming years

[@joshuapatrick682]

9:09 yeah but Trout did almost half of Davis' number just recently and no one is booing him yet.

[@onlydesigner8247]

Stanton only bad because he injured every 2 seconds

[@Junkiescum]

Yeah I wouldn’t put him with Chris Davis or Albert Pujols yet, he’s raking this season

[@JH-ij2nm]

Pleasantly surprised homer Bailey wasn’t mentioned

[@egg723]

Hey i wanted to give ya a tip; fWAR for pitchers uses FIP rWAR uses RA/9 For pitchers you have to use fWAR because rWAR uses unearned runs against a pitcher which isn’t truly fair to the pitcher. Just a tip

[@williamkovatch3427]

Watched this backwards. I saw your Ryan Howard video first. If I hadn’t, I would have been upset and annoyed by your take. Howard’s career turned out the way it did in large part because of his Achilles’ tendon injury. I think it’s somewhat unfair to single him out without noting his injury. Plus, you do seem somewhat judgmental over the fact that players are out to make as much money as they can, giving very little care to whether their contract shackles a team. Literally, that’s capitalism.

[@bobanderson6656]

Yep, that's capitalism. The teams are the ones dumb enough to pay it.

[@joni1405]

Yep. It's their job. You should try to make as much money from your job as you can. You don't owe your employer to take less than you're worth.

[@danmathis1696]

How did dan uggla or b.j. Upton NOT make this list lol

[@sethtate2079]

Right...... Uggla would at least get on base with walks though.

[@willieg7895]

I always thought some the worst signings ever were kevin brown, mo vaughn, and cj wilson. All 3 are out of baseball now,, and all of the back ends of these contracts were bad because all 3 players regressed and declined when they got older and cj wilson didn't play at all during the last year of his contract and retired after that at age 36.

[@greatloverofmusic1]

It might have seemed that way at the time, but Brown was very good: 27.4 WAR (Fangraphs).

[@zackmulhollan6333]

The reason $ per WAR wouldnt make sense is WAR can be negative or zero, so you will get divide by zero cases

[@mrmacross]

You could do the reciprocal, then, and do WAR per $10,000,000 spent.

[@bigman8130]

Isn’t Tomas’s average war -0.8?

[@thedistrict95]

Hanley Ramirez and Sandoval, I shudder at those names. I'm surprised that Carl Crawford isn't here

[@senororlando2]

@7:00 the word is “liability”

[@lanesalbacka1821]

Sandoval wasn't traded. The Red Sox straight up released him.

[@richardgomes8112]

Yup then giants signed him for vet minimum in 2017 and still on the team hit 14 homers on the bench last season

[@treeleavesofficial9460]

I'm skeptical of the Mookie Betts contract

[@Josh2DaBeckett]

What about Carl Crawford?

[@daltonfarris]

Bullshit, I'll take Howard right now with that contract over Dexter Fowler's. Howard would still give you 20 homeruns... Great video though, I can't argue with the stats but Howard is at least a st. Louis native.

[@thetank5642]

(I’m a casual) Why is Geancarlo Stanton’s contract bad?

[@daltonlambert1409]

Because he is made of glass and is going to be paid a lot into his late thirties while already being injury prone. It’s a get what you pay for situation; the player is sooo good right now but they know durability is an issue so they sign a massive deal for 10+years the team is getting a superstar now and gambling that it might end up paying 30$million a year for 3 or 4 years for complete garbage in the end. It’s a gamble

[@HayabusaRyu]

This is why you stick to 3-4 year deals with options.

[@lakemonster10]

As an orioles fan it’s hard to believe Davis contract isn’t as bad as howards

[@willm3027]

Was it Barry zito?

[@diamondelite372]

Hosmer is doing better now isn’t he?

[@LtDansLegs69]

The length of Albert pujuols contract when he was already into his 30s was maybe the dumbest shit ive ever seen

[@davidbluhm4813]

Hosmer take looking better a couple years later :)

[@hmhm856]

no love for Jason Bay with the Mets?

[@the_gingerrican]

Did you forget about Jacoby Ellsbury?

[@majinpollo3940]

Hosmer is hitting the ball like his old self now😁

[@greatloverofmusic1]

Honorable mention: B.J. Upton $75.25M for approx 2.2 WAR

[@camdenembrey8735]

Eric Hosmer in 2020 is starting to look pretty good

[@pauljimerson8218]

Nothing can ever top Bobby Bonilla day

[@andrewbloom7694]

Oh boy. The rockies are gonna be mentioned I can tell

[@reacher8446]

Half of AP's War was from 1 season. The half is from 2 other eh seasons. Other then that....He has been replacement or well below. I would take Josh Hamilton's contract over AP's if I had the choice. At least his was over quickly. And the Angels didn't run him out there year after year after year to stink up the joint and hit his milestones. All the while sucking the life out of the team with the greatest player in the game since him. He's not just low value for the money. He's actively hurting the team while he is on the field. And he does just enough in traditional stats like 22-24 Homeruns per year to pretend he is still producing. Meanwhile he's the slowest guy in the leage and his defense has gone to hell. And he moves to damn slow to even twist an ankle.

[@bP-yr3po]

Bobby Bonilla got paid for me to watch your video

[@PlanetPerxGaming]

How about jordan zimmermans 5/125 the tigers gave him to be injured and be a minor leaguer

[@lucasborja3797]

FanGraphs is the most complete one, you should always tend to use that one

[@FloridaHockeyFan]

What about the Chris Davis contract..

[@abstractlycalculated]

Not over yet

[@tankwfw]

I can't believe Elsbury's contract has been positive

[@basedpliskin]

Elsbury was one of those players who we as baseball fans swear was garbage when in actuality he was at least serviceable and just marginally above replacement level.

[@cristianbarajas9170]

Where's Eric Hosmer at??

[@richardgomes8112]

San Diego

[@spoogsq836]

hes hitting really well this season, and is definitely a factor.

[@cristianbarajas9170]

@@spoogsq836 It was a tough 1st 2 years tho. He some how had negative WAR last year despite having 99 RBI's

[@matt2906683]

Wait...how in the world does the Ellsbury contract look so good in this graph? As a Red Sox fan I'm still laughing in my sleep for how much the Yanks got f...ed for signing him

[@alexmalecha478]

Just looking at the title I already know the whole video is in Chris davis💀💀💀

[@CadChamberlain]

4:14 well i think i found his issue, he didnt use a bat

[@gopher6532]

lmaoooooooooooooooooooo

[@BenK-dw7gc]

Haven’t watched it yet but I’m expecting to hear Chris Davis

[@BenK-dw7gc]

1:10 Oh

[@BenK-dw7gc]

8:56 There he is

[@DudetaketheBus]

Forgot about Carl Crawford?

[@mpaulm]

Homer Bailey’s deal is pretty bad too.

[@scottkalinowski1326]

what the hell do they do with 300 mill?

[@schweppley1614]

I’m thinking of a person that starts with C and ends with a Hris Davis

[@elguetto04]

I think you are biased with Pujols...

[@alarydavidnin]

Being objective you have to take in account that Pujols contract WAS NOT for sport reasons, it WAS business reasons. The Angels were about to sing a televison deal for 700m and they requested a Superstar that made ratings. The team value also rised over 200m in just 2 years. So it was a SUCCESSFUL contract for what it was meant to.

[@ericbancker6963]

I havent watched the video, but its Jacoby Ellsbury without a doubt.