Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. And that’s aside from any pensions, social security (ha!), or other savings the former player might accumulate over that time.

The problem is that so many players blow their salaries on fancy jewelry, expensive cars, and other flashy things. Paying them more money won’t give them a better future. They’ll buy fancier things. That’s something I’ve noticed, even with myself. I make almost twice as much as I made in 1997. I was saving probably 25% of my income then. Today, I’m saving just about the same dollar amount–maybe just a little more. My spending habits increase with my salary. And that’s true of most people I know.

Freddie Patek and Willie Aikens were both minor stars for the Royals in the 1970s. Aikens spent his money on cars and jewelry. He was broke before his career was over. He left baseball in 1985. Became a drug dealer. Now he’s in prison.

Patek took the money he had and opened a car dealership. He’s had a hard time financially the past few years, but that’s because of medical expenses his daughters incurred. They’d put a hardship on almost anybody. But Patek did all the right things. Were it not for his extraordinary circumstances, he’d be a moderately wealthy man.

Cash in while you can? Sure. But don’t count on it solving all your problems, and don’t get so greedy that you destroy your sport along with it. The players who are making $2 million a year and having financial problems would have financial problems whether they made minimum wage or $25 million a year.

One thing I am trying to do is see more minor league games. It’s cheaper to take the family, I get to sit closer to the field, and the players seem to still have a little bit of the joy of the game showing.

Steve, I think I disagree with you a little bit. I think the idea that the players (or anyone!) should cash in while they can is good, solid advice. If someone offered me huge bucks to do something I have a talent for, I certainly wouldn’t turn them down, just because it’s a lot of money.

And Joe Morgan does work now, after his career. I can tell that he has put effort into becoming a good broadcaster. Just listen to the people like Mike Piazza that sit in the booth during the All-Star game exhibitions. They sound terrible! Being a good broadcaster is a lot harder than it looks (sounds?) and I think Joe Morgan should get some credit for the work he has done.

But I still stand by my comments. We’ll all be doing this again in 2006 if the “modified cap” doesn’t rein in these runaway salaries. Both sides need to make some fundamental changes in philosophy to keep this game alive.

The players say they have to cash in on their careers when they can. At the same time, they say the average career of an MLB player is five years, and most farm players don’t get into the bigs. Sounds like most baseball players should have a *backup plan* called “getting a job”. That’s what most class A/AA/AAA runts do when their careers are over. Shouldn’t the guys in the majors? Hell, they get a pension, and they have lucrative promotional and broadcasting opportunities after their careers are over. And they’re WHINING? I’m usually OK with Joe Morgan, but he makes the “cash-in while you can argument” from the broadcast booth to supposedly counter the view that players are rich brats. That’s hypocrisy to me. Here’s a guy still cashing in on his career talking about how there’s basically no life after your career is over. Huh? Frankly, the players sound a lot like Mike Tyson to me right now. “I have to feed my children. I need another 10 million.” Yeah, right, whatever.

Joe Morgan should take a look at Larry Patey. Larry used to play for the St. Louis Blues. He had a decent career in hockey, from what I know of him. But now he sells real estate, and he’s pretty good at it. Larry doesn’t whine, and he’s made something of himself after his playing days were over. He’s an example of, dare I say it, a real man.

Why should baseball players be exempt from working after they’ve had their fun, and have been paid for it to boot?