A Cameo Appearance for Family Values in Sports

Jayson Werth said in his press conference in Washington, DC today that a big part of the deal for him was the stability that a seven-year contract gave him, further guaranteed by a no-trade clause. “You finally get to free agency, you have a chance to do something special for yourself and for your family. There’s a lot of things that go into it. The years were important to me. The chance to come to a city, guaranteed to be here for a long time, the no-trade was a big deal for me. To have a chance to set my family up for years to come here.”

Mike Rizzo, the Washington GM, was not excited about the no-trade stipulation of Werth’s contract.  He said it limited his control over the Washington roster. C’est la vie. As a committed wage slave, I must admit that my sympathies are with Jayson Werth. As someone who has raised a family, I am fully cognizant of the benefits gained in socializing children within the same school system and community. It is regrettable that more players cannot gain what Werth is buying into.

Evan Longoria has expressed a willingness to sign with Tampa Bay for life in effect and other Major League ball players–Ryan Zimmerman comes to mind, are expressing similar sentiments. Washington, DC; San Francisco, California and many of the major cities in the country that boast major league teams are also home to some of the best schools districts, unique cultural opportunities and a style of life that can really only be enjoyed over the long term.

And that is another new concept, planning for the long term. Wasn’t free agency supposed to usher in an era where players moved about freely, always maximizing their economic gain, selling their services always to the highest bidder? Yet there may be a trend emerging where players like Longoria, Ryan Zimmerman, Werth and others, are looking to the long term and expressing a willingness to sell short–if you will–for the possibility of non-economic benefits such as family stability.

The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has had a hand in this, pushing players to sell to the highest bidder out of concern for and responsibility to the brotherhood of players who benefit from all players driving the market higher and higher. Yet it is comforting to see people in the spot light speak openly of their concern for something other than the almighty dollar.

I am predicting no utopian future. Hank Steinbrenner or John Henry will always find a Mark Teixeira who wants it all. Cliff Lee turned his back on proximity to his home in Arkansas to play for the Phillies, but again, it was the long-term nature of the Phillies’ contract that he cited in his remarks. We see what we want to see, there is no doubt about it. But if you are at Nationals Park next season there is a chance you may catch me in my Jayson Werth Nationals shirt. The callowness of our current reality leaves me cold and anyone who takes a swipe at it, no matter how small, has my support.