Christmas Comes Early for Pete
The Reds' Rose of summer breaks free and makes a mint
It was a grand tour the likes of which had not been seen since young gentlemen of means packed steamer trunks and set off by luxury liner to sample the rich life on the Continent. The bon vivant strode around a stud farm discussing bloodlines and conjuring up breeding programs for the stallions of his fancy. He dined on Welsh rabbit at a lush country estate, pondering a new business deal with each course. Hobnobbing with titans of industry, he discussed ventures in pharmaceuticals, breweries and public relations.
A young Rockefeller making the rounds of his father's friends? No, Peter Edward Rose, 37, third baseman extraordinary, tour guide and head auctioneer of the most remarkable free-agent sale in baseball history. So well did Rose peddle himself that the former Cincinnati Reds star moved to the top of the list of baseball's new millionaires last week, signing a four-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies for about $3.5 million. That would make him, at $875,000 a year (or $5,400 a game during the regular season), the highest paid baseball player in history, surpassing San Francisco Pitcher Vida Blue, who reportedly could earn up to $800,000 next year. Rose also zooms past San Francisco's O.J. Simpson, the aristocrat of pro football ($733,358), and Denver's David Thompson, pro basketball's top banana ($750,000).
Actually, Rose could have been even richer. Atlanta, Kansas City, St. Louis and Pittsburgh offered fatter deals than Philadelphia. But Rose was friendly with some Phillies stars and wanted to stay in the National League so that he could chase down Stan Musial's record of 3,630 career hits (Rose now has 3,164), and he fancied the Phils' billiard-slick artificial turf, which will help his ground balls whiz past infielders. Perhaps most of all, he delighted in the challenge of making the talented also-rans of a town of renowned losers into a winner. Proclaimed Charlie Hustle: "I think I can put them over the top. The team needs leadership."
His new contract was certainly good for Rose, but was it good for baseball? Since the practice began in 1976, free-agent proceedings that allowed Rose to put himself on the market have been bemoaned by owners as the potential ruination of the game. The owners claimed free agents would destroy baseball because the rich teams would buy up all the good players. Since 1976, a total of 65 free agents have signed contracts worth upwards of $60 million. Some teams have benefited, those that bid not only well but wisely. Spending some $10 million on free agents, the New York Yankees have received good value from the likes of Slugger Reggie Jackson, Pitcher Catfish Hunter and Fireball Reliever Rich Gossage. But in general the free agents have not scrambled the standings; the strong are still strong, the weak still weak.
This year the Yankees were at it again, buying up Red Sox Pitcher Luis Tiant and Dodger Pitcher Tommy John. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn notes that five teams have signed 53% of the free agents and warns that "inevitably this process will develop a group of elite teams." Actually, a few elite teams have long dominated the game. Still, the haves as well as the have-nots are worried about where free-agentry is leading baseball. Says Yankees President Al Rosen: "We're on a tragic course. Salaries have got out of hand. The system has got to change." Who's to blame? Angels Executive Vice President Buzzie Bavasi has a frank answer: "We give it to them. We can't complain too much. The players are a lot smarter than we've been."
Since the free-agent system began, salaries have nearly doubled, as owners signed players to fat contracts to prevent them from jumping ship. A journeyman today could be earning $95,000. But the money continues to flow in to pay the salaries. The majors this year drew 40,636,886 customers, a 36% jump since 1976 and a 76% increase during the past decade. The 26 major league teams also cut up $94 million in network television revenues, plus banking whatever they could earn from local stations.
What is more, many owners at their annual meeting last week in Orlando, Fla., backed a proposal that would make their coffers even fuller by creating three divisions in each league to replace the current two. The winners of each division, plus a wild-card team picked on the basis of its record, would stage a two-round play-off for the pennant, instead of the present one-round showdown. The change would further despoil the classic simplicity and suspense of the pennant race, but harvest millions more in TV loot. The owners are expected to vote on the plan next year.
Pete Rose, for one, scoffs at the notion that his fight for money has eroded the game, and understandably he has little pity for owners. When his batting average dropped to .284 in 1974, the first time below .300 in ten seasons, the Reds tried to cut the salary of the home-town hero by 20%. It was the first salvo in a bitter fight that ended last week with Rose pulling down a Phillies cap over his pageboy. Rose also knows he can sell a lot of tickets for the Phils to cover his salary. Says baseball's leading entrepreneur: "I feel like I'm the No. 1 player, and I just want to get paid like it." -
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