Derailing the Team's Train or Legit Concerns with Management?

Contracts are a tricky thing for many sports fans to understand. To most of us, one million dollars a year for five years would be a nice salary to go out and play a sport we love, heck most of us would do it for half that. However, when it comes to professional athletes, one million is often a small number for stars.

The average salary for Americans is around 32.4 thousand a year. It is almost laughable how much of a shadow professional sports put over that average. The average salary for a professional male golfer is just under one million. The average NHL salary is around 1.5 million. NFL players average 1.75 million every season. Then the average takes a big jump for baseball up to an average of 3.4 million a year. The largest average comes in at a whopping 5 million for NBA players.

Of course, those are just the averages. In the MLB, Alex Rodriguez rakes in $29 million a season from the Yankees. Four of Forbes "Highest-Paid Baseball Players 2013" are members of the Yankees staff (A-Rod, Derek Jeter, C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira) totaling just over 100 million dollars, that's just under half of their entire team salary ($203 million).

During the All Star Break, a small controversy from last season was brought to the forefront again in the Cincinnati Red's clubhouse: Brandon Phillips was put on the backburner by the front office while they went after Joey Votto with almost everything they had. As a veteran player and not one to shy away from media, Brandon said the honest truth.

“I just feel like they didn’t have to sign Joey (Votto) to that contract (10-year, $225-million extension). He still had two more years on his. And for (the front office) to go out there and sign him before they sign me, and they knew I was going to be a free agent? I understand Joey’s a good player. He’s one of the best players in this game. But I feel like I am too. I told them that this is where I wanted to be. I begged them. I told everybody I want to finish my career here. And then they give someone a contract who didn’t ask for nothing?”

“To this day, I’m still hurt. Well, I don’t wanna say hurt. I’ll say scarred. I’m still scarred. It just sucks that it happened, for (Castellini) to sign somebody for $200 million, there must be a new vegetable or fruit coming out that we don’t know about. For him to do something like that and tell me they didn’t have any more money, that’s a lie. But what can I do? I just feel like it was a slap in my face … But how can someone slap you in the face with all that money. It’s a nice slap in the face.”

Some people have come out and attacked Phillips for being a "crybaby" while others say he is slapping the fans in the face by saying that that 75 million dollar contract is a slap in the face.

However, I think he raises a valid point. Why was Joey sought after with such force when his contract was not about to expire and Brandon was left with the "scraps" from that deal when he was about to enter into free agency?

Before I dive into the heart of that question I want to say that I am a huge fan of both of these men. They are both tremendous athletes and quality guys. Both of them are talented and sure to be Hall of Famers down the road. These two players compliment each other better than any other 3-4 combination I've seen.

Now, as to why did Joey receive almost 150 million more than Brandon? Was it simply because first basemen are often the ones making the most money on any team? According to BusinessInsider.com, the top five first basemen make an average of 22.1 million a year whereas the top five second basemen are making 14.1 million.

Put aside the averages of the top positions for a second and look at the two players simply as athletes.

It is feasible to argue that Brandon Phillips is at the top of his position defensively. He is also so athletic that he can play shortstop, third base and the outfield if called upon (although I don't think he has ever played the OF in the majors). He is also one of the most entertaining athletes in the game making unbelievable plays all season, every season.
As can be seen by his numbers this year, batting fourth in the Reds lineup, Phillips is a guy who approaches the plate looking for any way to get runners across the plate. He won't hit for a high average (he owns a .273 average on his career) but he will put the bat on the ball and get runners home.

As for Joey, we have a premier first baseman. He's committed just 48 errors in his career and owns a .993 career fielding percentage. He's picked up some of the style and flair that his counterpart at second shows everyday and is routinely able to make double plays or catch a stray throw that would get by lesser first basemen.
His approach at the plate is far from what Brandon does though. He looks to get on base anyway possible and, from time to time, take the ball yard. He will hit for a high average (.316 career), get on base from walks more than he will plate runners (72 BB per year) and is a power hitter at first (launching an average of 21 bombs a year).

After this analysis of the top two Reds players (excluding pitchers) in the franchise right now, let's revisit the question: Why was Joey sought after with such force when his contract was not about to expire and Brandon was left with the "scraps" from that deal when he was about to enter into free agency?
We know that the top first basemen make almost 8 million more a year than the top second basemen which fits into the salary of these two (Brandon makes 10 million a year while Joey makes 18.9 million).
Because the market for first basemen is so high, it only makes sense that Votto would get a bigger contract than Phillips. However, how much bigger and longer should that contract be?
After looking at the two players, I would argue that Brandon should be making around that 14 million mark while Joey should be around 20 million. Of course this would mean a shorter contract for Votto that would look similar to Brandon's (6 years) possibly around seven or eight years instead of ten.

Of course, as a currently unemployed college student, $75 million over six years doesn't sound like a bad deal, but that's not the point. If you want to compare the two contracts you have to forget about your own situation and even about the money entirely. Is Joey Votto really better than Brandon Phillips by 200%*? For that matter is Joey Votto even 65%** better than Brandon Phillips?

I'll let you answer those questions yourself, but for Joey's part, he remained completely professional and understanding after hearing Brandon's comments.

From what I gathered, Brandon’s reaction was totally human. It’s a feeling I’ve felt before, it’s a feeling most people have felt before.

Brandon’s a teammate I’ve played with six, seven years now and I love playing with him. I really have an immense amount of respect for him. Those comments have nothing to do with me. It doesn’t change a single thing, it makes me like him more, to be honest with you. Not many players are very honest, usually they give catch phrases, similar to what I’m doing right now. He’s a refreshing guy because he is honest and he does tell people how he feels. You can tell how he feels in that given moment and that’s a great thing. It’s great playing with someone like that. Variety is the spice of life and I love playing with Brandon.

The smiles and the high-fives and everything we share on the field are genuine. That’s how we feel about each other. That’s how it’s going to be going forward. We play together for this city, we’re tied together because of our contracts, because of the uniform we wear and because of the championship we’re trying to seek out for Cincinnati. I know Brandon feels that way and I feel that way also. That’s really all that matters.

Now, let's get back to baseball and make the push for October after the All Star Break.

Side note: 37 days until College Football! Who's excited?

*The percent of Brandon's contract that Joey is getting (6 years 75 million vs 10 years 225 million)
**The approximate percentage of Brandon's contract that Joey will be getting over 6 years (6 years 75 million vs 6 years approx. 124 million)