Congratulations to Joe Mauer, the Twins, and solid values!
Congratulations to Joe Mauer, the Twins, Twins fans and fans of smaller market teams everywhere, Mauer’s agent, Ron Shapiro, and other agents who value their clients happiness over money, and the game of baseball. This list of winners could go on, but I think you get the point. Joe Mauers recent agreement to an 8 year, $184M contract extension with his home team Twins was the best thing that’s happened to baseball since…well, since Kirk Gibson’s home run in the 1988 World Series (the last presumably steroid free great moment I can remember, although who knows?).
Here’s why everyone wins in this deal:
- Joe Mauer: He will get paid an amazing sum of money to play baseball in his hometown, for the team he grew up cheering for as a kid. He will be one of the few players in recent history to spend his entire career with one organization, as he puts together what may be a Hall of Fame career.
- Minnesota Twins: They drafted him, they developed him, they nurtured him as a young player into one of the premier hitters in the game, and now they will get to keep their hometown hero and face of the franchise for what will probably be the remainder of his career. Because of their years of dedication to running their organization properly, both as a business and as a baseball organization, they positioned themselves to be able to keep their star player, and still be able to supply a supporting cast around him that can viably contend for a playoff spot most seasons.
- Twins fans: They get to keep their homegrown hero, and continue to enjoy watching him build a Hall of Fame career before their very eyes, and cheer on a team that is a contender most seasons.
- Small-Mid market fans everywhere: Finally a beacon of light for fans of teams other than the obvious major markets, that their organization can run their baseball operations proficiently enough to draft and develop their own superstar talent, while still being able to retain that talent if all sides are committed to making it happen.
- Sports agents with values other than $$$$$$: Ron Shapiro, Mauer’s long time agent, may be my new sports hero. Despite the current popular mantra of “The only thing that matters is the money!” amongst many sports agents, who’s only score sheet is did they set a new record for how much money they got their client, Shapiro takes a different approach. He actually determines success by how happy his clients are…HUH?
- What a unique concept. He actually asks his clients, “Where would you be most happy playing?”, then goes about trying to construct a mutually beneficial agreement between the player and that team that usually leaves everyone feeling good about the process. Players feel wanted, and fairly compensated, while teams have a happy player whom they know wants to be there.
- It’s no coincidence that Shapiro also represented Cal Ripken, and Kirby Puckett both of whom played their entire HOF careers with one team. HE is a true “SUPER AGENT”, not may these other highly recognized, self-aggrandizing leaches, who are eating away at the soul of the game through the manipulation and feeding of their clients ego’s and greed. Hopefully players will recognize Shapiro’s style, which is also adeptly practiced by agents such as Barry Axelrod, John Boggs, and a few others, as the better choice for their happiness and legacy.
- The game of baseball: For all of the above.
Yes, it took a “Perfect Storm” of events to come together to make this possible, not the least of which was the opening of the Twin’s new Target Field, but mostly it took the right people, with the right values.
Good luck, Joe! I hope you continue to have fun playing the game you love, in front of fans who adore you, and for a team that respects and supports you. We’ll see you in the Hall of Fame…with a Twins cap on.
Congratulations to all!
Scan
March 26th, 2010 | Written by Bob Scanlan
will smith quotes from i am legend…
[...]Tennis League (WHL). With a great deal of wonderful brains powering these products and [...]…
greenpeace mexico spill…
[...]world utilizing the Swedish Center Institute connected with Gymnastics. Swedish therapeutic therapeutic massage has remained [...]…
greenpeace organization summary…
[...]Chrissie, who won her fourth Environment Championship in Kona, Hawaii[...]…
greenpeace 2012…
[...]Lennox spends yet another Christmas away from his family [...]…
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
greenpeace…
[...]I wouldn’t be able to pursue all of these different goals whilst simultaneously dedicating the energy [...]…
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
2011…
Wow, awesome blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your web site is excellent, let alone the content!…
2011…
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to assert that I acquire actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Anyway I will be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently fast….
2011…
Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish only about gossips and net and this is really frustrating. A good site with exciting content, that is what I need. Thank you for keeping this web site, I will be visiting it. …
trading the forex…
[...]Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive learn anything like this before. So good to seek out someone with some unique thoughts on this subject. realy thanks for beginning this up. this website is something that is wanted on the internet, someone with so…
2011…
Excellent site. Plenty of useful information here. I am sending it to some friends ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thanks for your effort!…
2011…
Thanks, I have recently been looking for info about this topic for ages and yours is the greatest I’ve discovered till now. But, what about the conclusion? Are you sure about the source?…
will smith mansion video…
[...]practice in the area of game[...]…
Recent Blogroll Additions…
I saw this really good post today….
You should check this out…
I saw this really good post today….
sopa de pollo peruana…
[...]all alternatives set prior to him just before he handed down his loss of life sentence to [...]…
will smith and jada pinkett…
[...]the next news from the courts is now expected in the [...]…
2011…
I’ve been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this blog. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your web site?…
Okna…
… I couldn’t resist linking to that webpage ……
Wow!…
A very awesome post….
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Pokrycia Dachowe…
… sometimes I can’t resist and link to ……
Wow!…
A very fascinating post….
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Sites You Should Check Out…
http://www.cedarlite.getlisted.co.nz/joinery-auckland...
best dating site…
I’ve learned result-oriented things by your website. One other thing I want to say is always that newer pc os’s are likely to allow additional memory to be used, but they in addition demand more storage simply to work. If your computer cannot handle …
…[Trackback]…
More information here…
greenpeace wall calendar 2012…
[...]council personnel at Lennox’s last charm listening to back again in September. [...]…
greenpeace wikipedia english…
[...]well as fencing leader Per Henrik Ling (1777-1839), who examined therapeutic massage on China[...]…
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
…[Trackback]…
Additional post…
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Wow!…
A very spectacular post….
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
sopa bill vote results…
[...]have provided their decision ahead of Christmas but as the new year methods it now looks [...]…