The money MLB teams are throwing around these days is staggering. It seems all it takes is one or two productive years and a player can be set for life. But last week, things got entirely out of hand. The San Francisco Giants signed 27-year old starting pitcher Matt Cain to a 6-year, $127.5M contract, making him the highest paid right-handed pitcher in baseball history. You have got to be kidding me! “Big Sugar” as he is known in his hometown of Dothan, Alabama, has certainly squeezed all the sweetness out of Giants GM Brian Sabean. How in the hell does a freakin pitcher like Matt Cain deserve to become the highest paid RHP of all-time? This is an embarrassment to baseball!
To answer my own question, I went straight to MLB stats because I really didn’t know much about Matt Cain (see his stats yourself). In fact, that’s my first point….shouldn’t the highest paid RHP in the history of baseball at least be somebody we all know well? After carefully examining MLB stats, I thought I would instantly see why Cain can command this kind of cash. What I found truly amazed me, and I wanted to share it with you. First of all, in his 7-year MLB career, Matt Cain is just 69-73. He’s not even a 500 pitcher! About the only noteworthy stat I can find on this guy is that he’s averaged 216 innings pitched each year over the last five years. For this he gets over $20M/year? So, I dug a little deeper. Is 200 innings pitched in a season becoming an uncommon achievement these days? You’ll be interested to know it is NOT! Over each of the last five years, there have been no fewer than 33 MLB pitchers that have thrown at least 200 innings. Certainly nothing extraordinary about Matt Cain in this regard!
Matt Cain was a first round pick (25th overall selection) in the 2002 MLB draft. He’s a two-time All-Star. He has a 90-94 mph fastball, a curve, slider, and change. He’s never won more than 14 games in any one season. In the Giants recent World Championship year (2010), he was 13-11, with a 3.14 ERA over 233 innings…….beating the Phillies in the NLCS and also notching a victory in the World Series against the Rangers. Certainly nothing spectacular there……… that’s the kind of performance one would expect from a #2 starter. However, for those two post-season wins, he carries a 0.00 ERA and 0.938 WHIP. So, to his credit, he has been dominant in very limited post-season action. In 2011, the Giants finished out of the playoffs eight games behind the Division-champion Diamondbacks, and Cain was a mere 12-11 with a strong 2.88 ERA (8th lowest in the NL). Still, I am not seeing anything earth-shattering here.
His contract contains an extension clause that, if exercised, would raise his total to $141M over 7 years. His contract also included a $5M signing bonus, and he can earn an additional $500K for winning the Cy Young and $250K for being chosen as the NL MVP. Does his contract really need to “add something” for performance awards he damn well better capture anyway for what he’s being paid! This is ludicrous! Wonder what Tim Lincecum feels about Cain’s contract? He’s been the #1 starter for the Giants since arriving in San Francisco, the same age as Matt Cain, is 69-41 over his 5-year career, already has two Cy Youngs under his belt (2008 and 2009), has been a 4-time All-Star, has been the NL strikeout leader in three of the last four years, and “only” got a 2-year, $40.5M contract back in January. Just think too about what it’s now going to cost (as a result of Cain’s megacontract) to retain the much more established LHP Phillies star, 28-year old Cole Hamels (see his stats), when his current contract expires after this season. The absurdity of Cain’s contract will have damaging economic impacts throughout the game, and if Bud Selig is awake he better start thinking about team salary caps to avoid total League disparity.
I’m stunned, confused, and outraged. If somebody out there can explain why Matt Cain deserves this kind of money, please enlighten me!
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Hey Pieved!
Who the heck is Matt Cain? This has to be some kind of joke, or belated April Fools prank. Matt Cain isn’t a pitcher I even recognize on the Giants staff. I do now after reading your rather in-depth article. This is almost scary. I did know that sub-par players, in particular pitchers were making millions; but this is silly!! And, in this economy? …call me pieved!
Coming off a 4-0, 2.10 ERA spring training, Cain showed nothing in his first regular season start ( a no decision) against the Diamondbacks on April 8. He will be on the bump for the Giants home opener April 13….let’s see if he starts earning some of his new contract.
The contract and “fame” awarded Matt Cain is not out of line. First of all, although 33 pitchers have achieved 200+IP, only Halladay, Haren and Buerhle have done it for more than Cain’s 5 seasons in a row (he shares that with a fellow named Verlander). Secondly, at his young age, he already has 7 seasons in the Bigs! As you mentioned, he and The Freak are the same age, yet Cain’s arm has (so far) withstood 7 long MLB seasons as a mainstay in the Giagante’s rotation. The contract amount is laregly related to the length of term, and although many of the best arms (Halladay, Lee, Haren, Sebathia,…etc.) are perhaps “better”, they would never get the years that one can roll the dice on with Cain. Thirdly, many of the game’s best young righthanders were recently signed to extensons in the prior year @ about $17million/year…Verlander, Weaver, and King Felix…so its timing. Fourth,, when Magic and his fellow magician’s purchased the Dodgers for $2Billion+, they made it very clear that winning was their top priority, and they have a few bucks to get things jump started. To that end, some have indicated that Joey Votto (1B) and Matt Cain were on the top of their Free Agent Lists. The Reds and Giants closed that door immediately. Finally, this will all be short lived, as Lincecum’s deal will likely top Cain’s, whether with SF or somewhere else. The question becomes risk, as Cain’s mechanics seem much more durable that his.
Good points Reg, but it’s still all about the “Ws” for me. I’m not paying one guy that kind of $$$ just to be an inning-eater!
Reg did his homework and certainly piled up some facts to support his position. Great job Reg! Would love to hear more from you! I find the Magic open check book argument most compelling. But, that franchise could go broke following their unprecedented investment for a baseball franchise; at least that’s how I understand that story. I’ve also come to understand that Lincecum has refused to sign a long-term contract with the Giants. Who really knows? Vince Lombardi once said “ Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing – the result. ” Yeah, Matt Cain was part of the Giants pitching staff that steamrolled the Phillies, but his stats tell me he is a sub-par thrower… at least for the contract he signed. That’s just too much $$$, and I believe it establishes a standard of mediocrity in the profession that baseball can’t afford.
Well, Reg seems to be the smart one here! Matt Cain pitched a masterpiece today, or yesterday by the time this is posted! A complete game, one-hit shut out is the stuff needed to justify a $127M contract. More to come, but based on this performance, Matt Cain looks like the real deal!
Easy, easy, one game does NOT a career make. Big Sugar is still BELOW a 500 pitcher! Check with me at the end of the season, and we’ll compare notes then.
One game indeed does NOT a career make. Perhaps one’s character can only come to the forefront when his Team demonstrates their confidence and faith and grants him a tremendous, well-deserved contract.
In the 2 starts since your article, Matt Cain has not allowed a run across 18 full innings. In the first game, he allowed only the pitcher to break up a no-hitter with a seeing eye single. In game 2 last evening, in a masterpiece pitching duel for the ages (reminiscent of the Spahn/Marichal showdown in ’63) he matched zeros with Cliff Lee for nine innings. NOBODY has gotten past 1st Base in 2 games! If that were the case in Arkansas, Petrino would still have a job.
Still early, but I sure like seeing this sort of response from a player after he signs a big contract…too often, its the other way around.
I’ll give him major props…..”Big Sugar” definitely got it done last night! First perfect game in Giant history, beating Astros 10-0, with 14Ks. Big contract has been a motivational factor this season.