Standing here behind this desk at American Airlines Center, anxiously awaiting the start of my first Mavs game of the new season, is getting lonely and a little boring. I was discussing the possible Kobe Bryant trade to the Mavericks with an usher and we someone stumbled on to Alex Rodriguez and the begillions of dollars he makes every year. That conversation caused a chain reaction of ideas in my head that peaked my curiosity beyond restraint. Here we begin: The Numbers Game
I first wondered what A-Rod's salary was for this past season, so I went and looked it up. Wow. The season that just ended (for the Yankees, but not for my beloved Red Sox) A-Rod made a ridiculous $27,708,525, according to ESPN.com.
But my curiosity took a persistent turn and did not end there. We progree to idea number two in the chain reaction: How much does he make per game? So we take his salary and divide that by the number of games in the baseball season: 162. Holy $%&@. A-Rod breaks the bank at $171,040.27...PER GAME. He makes more money in one 3-hour game than most hard-working Americans make in an entire year.
Now I am really curious. "Let's look at how much he makes in one inning," I thought. So I took his per-game salary and divided that by the number of innings in one game: 9. HOLY $#!+!!! Now, remember, this is per full inning; three outs in the field and three outs hitting (or on the bench if he doesn't hit that inning). Get ready. $19,004.47. So A-Rod could start the inning on defense and play in the field. Chances are, many times all three outs are recorded without A-Rod having to make a play. Then on the flip side of the inning, A-Rod may not even get to the plate. Therefore, there are times (and probably many throughout the season) that he does absolutely nothing but stand on the field and sit on the bench and makes over 19 thousand.
We have police officers, firemen and women, medics, etc who risk their life every day and who make just over that amount in an entire year. Tell me how this is fair at all.
I even took it one step further. What about every half inning. For the three outs that he is on the field or on the bench watching his team hit. So I took that per-inning figure and divided it by 2. $!^&*$^&!*%$ For every half inning, A-Rod makes $9,502.23.
Who now believes there is too much money in sports? I don't care how "good" any one player is. Making THAT much money for standing on a dirt field and occasionally getting a dirt or grass stain on your uniform is absurd.
If A-Rod was really a "team player" maybe he would donate some of that unearned ridiculousness to the REAL miracle workers of our world.
A-Rod? I say, A-Fraud.
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