"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." -- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
In a story that did not get much play this week, Gil Meche retired from the Royals.
It didn't get much play partly because, a) it was Gil Meche and b) the Kansas City Royals, but in retiring Meche walked away from $12 million dollars in guaranteed money that he had due to him from his contract.
Meche noted that since he might have needed shoulder surgery and would likely have been moved from his starting role into the Royals bullpen that he felt he would not have been "earning" the money the Royals would have been paying him. So he retired and went all "quality of life" on the Royals.
What is amazing is that given the drumbeat of "greedy athlete tries to extort the most money from teams driving ticket and concession prices through the roof" stories that are at the heart of many pre-season missives, the Meche story would seem to have the basic elements of a "man bites dog" angle to it.
Even more amazing is that Meche gets "rewarded" in some circles for his display of character and integrity by having his intelligence questioned. The following Business Insider screed called Meche "honorable", but "idiotic" as well. This may speak more about the culture within the business community in this country, when noble concepts like integrity and character are disparaged as "honorable, but idiotic" qualities to have.
Interestingly, the New York Times -- hardly a bastion for sports reporting -- put the story in its proper perspective:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/sports/baseball/27meche.html
Meche retired last week, which means he will not be paid at all.
“When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it,” Meche said this week by phone from Lafayette, La. “Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t want to have those feelings again.”
“This isn’t about being a hero — that’s not even close to what it’s about,” Meche said this week. “It’s just me getting back to a point in my life where I’m comfortable. Making that amount of money from a team that’s already given me over $40 million for my life and for my kids, it just wasn’t the right thing to do.”
Meche told the Royals’ general manager, Dayton Moore, that he did not want any of the paycheck due him. No settlement, no buyout, no strings. The Royals had been roundly criticized for signing Meche in the first place — he was 55-44 with a 4.65 earned run average in six seasons for the Mariners — and Meche believed they had already paid him enough.
“He felt the organization had been very good to him, and he felt he needed to, not repay, but in his mind do the right thing,” Moore said. “I’m not saying that if a player decides to do his best and fulfill his contract that’s the wrong thing. But Gil did what he felt was right for him.”
Kudos to Gil Meche for "doing the right thing".
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from the Business Insider:
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-did-gil-meche-throw-away-12-million-2011-1
Earlier this week, Gil Meche announced his retirement from baseball. It is not unusual for veteran players to quit the game this time of year as they begin to realize that another contract offer is not on the horizon.
But Meche is only 32, and he still had one year left on his contract with the Kansas City Royals.
And by retiring, Meche is doing the unthinkable: He is turning down the $12 million left on the five-year, $55 million contract he signed prior to the 2007 season.
But why?
Meche cited the need for surgery and said it is "not fair to me, my family or the Kansas City Royals that I attempt to pitch anymore." He later added that he would rather retire than pitch the final year of his contract as a relief pitcher.
That is certainly honorable. But it is still $12 million. And it is not like Meche injured himself riding a motorcycle blindfolded during The Running of the Bulls. He injured himself working for his employer. And when teams give large contracts to pitchers, they understand the potential for injuries. If there was no risk, pitchers would make a lot more money.
On top of that, Meche was actually a very good pitcher for a good portion of his contract. He pitched over 550 innings in the first three years of the contract and posted a respectable 4.12 ERA.
In fact, if we look at his last four years, Meche was actually worth more to the Royals than amount he was paid...
If anything, the Royals still owe Meche $4.0 million. Despite having a negative value in 2010, Meche gave the Royals $47.0 million worth of production in four years while being paid $43.0 million.
And will the Royals spend their newfound $12 million windfall? Don't count on it. Dayton Moore, the Royals General Manager said he doesn't plan to sign or trade for any expensive players in the near future.
Meche's decision to pass up $12 million is certainly honorable. But given the inherent risk of his profession, it was also idiotic.
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