Pudge back for 2008
Dombrowski decided to exercise the $13 million option on the 14-time All-Star catcher for next season. So now that we know Pudge will be back, it’s time to look at some other glaring deficiencies. (Inge, Inge, Inge, Inge).
Pudge - age 35, batted .281 with 31 doubles, 11 home runs and 63 RBIs in
2007, the final season guaranteed on the four-year, $40 million contract Rodriguez signed in 2004, back when nobody wanted to play for Detroit for any amount of money.
If Detroit had not exercised the option, they would have paid $3 million to buy it out and make the 12 time Gold Glove winner a free agent.
Nobody can question his resume - Rodriguez has a career batting average of .303 with 288 homers and 1,182 RBI over 17 seasons with the Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins and the Tigers. 12 gold gloves, 14 all star appearances including his 4 years in Detroit.
To quote the Grand Architects -
“This was a major decision and yet once the season ended, it became an easy one because we still think he’s one of the top catchers overall in the game,” Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“People just throw around other options like you can get anybody to catch, but there are not a lot of future Hall of Famers available,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland told the AP. “To me, this was a no-brainer and I’m tickled to death to have him back.”It eases our mind to know who our catcher is going to be next year. That’s one less headache for us right now.”
Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente and Rodriguez are the only three players in baseball history with at least 12 Gold Gloves and a career .300 average or better. Pretty impressive, although after 2008 his career average is likely to fall below .300
Rodriguez has caught 2,061 games, including at least 123 each season in Detroit, to trail only Carlton Fisk (2,226) and Bob Boone (2,225) in terms of longevity behind the plate.
“We know he can still be an effective catcher next season,” Leyland said. “After that, we can get an idea of where his career is headed and he can, too. This is a great deal for both sides.”
I’m not a huge fan of Pudge, but I have to say, re-signing him definetely makes sense.
