Andre Ethier will be patrolling right field in Dodger blue for several years to come, at a price tag of $85 million.
How Much More Could Andre Ethier Have Gotten?
Getty ImagesStill, $85 million does seem like a lot of money for a player who, one must admit, has never exactly been a household name except in households that bleed blue.
Wait a minute ... the Dodgers used those contracts as guidance? Rather than as cautionary tales?
Read Article >Andre Ethier And The Brand Of The New (Old) Dodgers
LOS ANGELES, CA - Andre Ethier of the Los Angeles Dodgers breaks his bat as he grounds out to end the fifth inning with runners on second and third against the St. Louis Cardinals. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) Getty ImagesThat’s the Internet for you. Instant, quality analysis on news that was just a few hours old. But we’re in a baseball-nerd bubble. And it’s easy to forget that the majority of ticket-buying folk exist outside of that bubble. They wouldn’t know aging curves if an aging curve was in their bedroom, going through their wallet. They’d be so unfamiliar with WAR that they’d think they were the first to come up with with the “WAR, what is it good for?” line.
And most of the Ethier analysis will hit on those two points. Might not make a ton of baseball sense, especially toward the end of the deal. But the deal has a public-relations component that could transcend the aging/injury concerns. Andre Ethier is a brand in Los Angeles -- a ridiculously consistent fixture for the Dodgers over the last seven years. He’s appreciated by the Dodgers fans who fiddle with WAR graphs, and he’s appreciated by the drunk guy from Palmdale who goes to two games a year and calls him “Andrew.” The new ownership working out a deal with Ethier feels almost like them making good on a covenant with the fans.
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