THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602090204
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: Bill Leffler
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Remember the days when a major league baseball player probably would be expendable with a season that included a .267 batting average, four home runs and 14 runs batted in?
Those were the figures compiled last year by Philadelphia's Lenny Webster. So Webster signs a new contract with a one-year RAISE of $122,500. His new salary is $397,500.
Chances are that Webster will feel he was cheated when he hears about the contract signed by Wil Cordero. The infielder made $335,000 last season with Montreal.
Now he has signed with the Boston Red Sox for $1.85 million.
And last year? Cordero batted .286 and hit 10 home runs. That means his glove is worth about $1.5 million, I guess.
Recently, Ken Griffey Jr. signed the richest baseball contract ever, $8.5 million for each of four years.
It might startle you when you hear which player is the highest paid today in pro basketball.
Michael Jordan? No. Magic Johnson? No. Shaquille O'Neal? Nope.
It's Patrick Ewing of the Knicks at $9.4 million. Or until Jordan signs his next contract for the deed to the city of Chicago.
On a visit to Portsmouth when he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame some 10 years ago, pro golfer Lew Worsham asked me if I knew who was the second-biggest moneymaker in golf at that time.
``Everybody knows Greg Norman is No. 1 with about a million dollars,'' said Worsham. ``Who is No. 2?''
I tossed out the names of a dozen players.
Worsham laughed and said, ``Tommy Nakajima. Ever heard of him?''
He was a Japanese player who had earned about $773,000 as Worsham and I spoke.
You can't help but wonder what the Ted Williamses, the Joe DiMaggios, the Bob Gibsons or the Bob Fellers would command under the present salaries paid out in baseball.
Feller's salary was $40,000 when he was the best righthanded pitcher in the game. He boosted it up to $100,000 with special agreements he had with the Cleveland Indians. He earned a nickel for every fan the team drew over 400,000. He got $2,500 for every win over 15 games and another $1,500 for each win over 20.
And he said he ``came along 40 years too soon for the big money.''
If the big money continues, 40 years from now we will have a lot of rich players but nobody will be able to afford to go see them play. by CNB