Thomson200, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tayler uses Albies’s extension as a way to introduce the topic of salary around the league and current trends in pay. Albies, a Curacaon second baseman for the Atlanta Braves, was signed to a seven-year $5 million dollar/year deal which will result in $35,000,000 for the 25-year-old. Tayler is the New York Times’ baseball correspondent for the New York Mets and New York Yankeees after covering the Washington Nationals for the Washington Post.
Tayler uses his reflections on the current market trend of contract extensions to make a compelling argument about the power dynamics in Albies’ re-signing to the Atlanta Braves, a team Tayler said could afford to pay Albies two to three times the salary offer he accepted. He calls the decision on the Braves part ‘ethically and morally wrong,’ pointing to the profit the organization will rake in for the deal Albies took.
In the context of this project, reporters are incredibly in drawing attention to inequities in the system. Pay in the major leagues may seem extravagant, but the undervaluing of Latin American players is something that should be addressed by the system as they do not have access to the draft in their younger years.
No, the Braves did this because they hold all the power, have all the leverage, and completely control Albies’ fate. They made him choose between less than he’s worth and the fear of the unknown, and they knew full well that most if not all players don’t want to play chicken with their financial future and will take the money even if it’s insultingly low. They didn’t have to do that; they could have given Albies far more and never missed it. But they did it anyway, because that’s the right business decision, even if it’s ethically and morally wrong.
Tayler, Jon. “Ozzie Albies’s Contract Extension Is Insultingly Low.” Sports Illustrated. April 11, 2019.
Tayler, Jon. n.d. “Ozzie Albies’s New Contract Is Egregiously Low.” Sports Illustrated. Accessed December 13, 2022. https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/04/11/ozzie-albies-contract-atlanta-braves.