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The question and the answer"Why haven't the Rangers signed Josh Hamilton long term!?"
Many are incredulous. Others take to Twitter after every diving catch or mammoth moonshot home run and torment pundits and media with some version of that question.
"Why haven't the Rangers signed Josh Hamilton long term?!?!"
Years ago, during his MVP year of 2010, I blogged that the Rangers should sign Hamilton to a long-term deal taking him through his early- to mid-30s. Letting this wait until free agency would get expensive, I wrote.
Then, I was told how much of an idiot I was. That you let Hamilton play out his arbitration years and allow the Rangers to spend what was then meager free agency dollars on pitching and pinning down some of the younger talent like Elvis Andrus, Nelson Cruz (who wasn't that much younger) and Neftali Feliz.
I was an idiot. Mainly because I do not think the Rangers should sign Hamilton long term. Now or then.
As I stated this morning, your opinion of whether the Rangers should re-up Hamilton should have nothing to do with what he's done this year on the field.
Two, I think we are all missing one fundamental question:
Does Josh Hamilton want to sign an extension right now?
Honestly, it'd be bad business if he did. Granted, he might really like North Texas, the franchise, the fans or whatever and want to come back to the Rangers and, effectively, finish his career here.
Hamilton will still have that opportunity, however, at the end of the season. The Rangers will be in the bidding for Hamilton. They might not -- probably won't -- offer the most cash or the most years, but the Rangers will be in the top three to get Hamilton's services. I think the price tag starts at $20 million a year, especially if this season continues as it's going. I think it will also demand five years, at least.
Remember, Hamilton's old in more ways than one. Baseball-wise, he's 31, 32 in a month. At the end of this contract, he'll be 37. Add the alcohol, drugs and hard living. He's long in the tooth. Answer this truthfully: Would you bet $20 million that Hamilton's playing baseball at a high level at 37?
We've been here before friends. We've seen what a gigantic contract can do to a franchise, even one with money to spend. We've also said goodbye to some good friends that we thought we'd never get over and we did.
Steve Nash left. We were told he was old, broke down and expensive. He was a little broke down. Very expensive. He lead some great Phoenix Suns teams to some decent playoff runs. He never won a title. The Mavericks did and they would not have won with Nash (more than likely).
Cliff Lee left. We only assumed that Lee's departure would spell the end of the Rangers' magic and ability to procure 27 outs in a game. Lee joined the most fearsome pitching staff in the Majors last year and wound up watching the Rangers play in a second-straight World Series from home.
I'm not against signing Hamilton to an extension. I'm against doing it foolishly for foolish reasons. Luckily, the Rangers aren't run by an emotional fan. I have full faith that GM Jon Daniels will make the right decision no matter where Hamilton ends up.
If you don't trust Daniels, if you think you know more, the exit on this bandwagon is to your right.
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