Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
What if there were a couple dozen of these guys in MLB---itinerant free agents. They just keep in shape and are available on a temporary basis to fill in wherever they are needed. .
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The owners should root for such a situation because it would drive down the cost of signing such players if there was a pool from which to select rather than one isolated superstar. At the moment, Clemens has no competition and thus may set his price as high as he likes.
It may well be the coming thing. Pitchers are remaining more effective at advanced ages...look at all the geezers around who not only still have jobs, but are still among the upper tier of their profession. If Maddox and Clemens and Johnson and Moyer and Schilling et al can still get batters out at age 42 or 43....then the idea that they can still get batters out at age 45 or 46 if they work part time will make sense. I would imagine that the same thing would apply to position players who may become 45 or 46 year old part time designated hitters as long as they can still rake. Franco is the pioneer in this area.
Modern conditioning and nutrition have fixed it so that an athlete's career may be several years longer than it was in the past. Modern salaries have fixed it so that they are highly motivated to continue playing for as long as possible. All the pieces for an age of GeezerBall are in place.