Baseball is just like any other profession—you should get paid what you deserve, and it should be based on your performance. Arbitration is one way that players can fight for the money they feel they deserve, and owners can try to keep every penny they can away from these players.
In the last two days we have seen a split decision in arbitration cases: a win for Ross Ohlendorf and a loss for Jered Weaver. Are these outcomes fair? Did each player get the respect and compensation he has earned? Let’s take a look.
Ross Ohlendorf, the No. 4 starter for the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, won his arbitration hearing and will be making $2.025 million in 2011. This is a drastic increase from his 2010 salary of $413,500. The real question that lies behind all this is how did the 1-11 Ohlendorf not only win the arbitration hearing, but also increase his pay to five times the amount he was making last year?
The answer lies with the case that he presented. In 2010, Ohlendorf had an ERA of 4.07 and a WHIP approaching 1.40. Combine this with his 79 strikeouts, and we are not exactly looking at a No. 1 starter.
Combine this with the fact that he only had one win during the entire season, and you have to see that Ohlendorf made one heck of a case during this hearing. What are his points to fall back on? I had more wins than Will Ohman this year, so I should be a lock to win the hearing?
For whatever reason, the arbiter saw this case in favor of Ohlendorf, and he was awarded the money he “deserved.” Now, the Pirates—who have the second-lowest revenue in the MLB (only better than the Marlins)—are forced to give their No. 4 starter more than $2 million this year. Hopefully Ross can repay them with a two-win season.
Maybe next time he will avoid arbitration and take the offer of $1.4 million from the Pirates, be happy with that and go out and EARN his next contract. For a guy who spent time in the minors and was on the disabled list twice, I don’t think that is too much to ask.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jered Weaver has turned into a middle- to top-tier pitcher in the last few years. Sporting a 13-12 record for a disappointing Angels squad, Weaver won the major league strikeout title with 233 in the 2010 season. One of the lone bright spots for the Angels, Weaver without question deserved a raise from the $4.265 million he made last year.
Unlike Ohlendorf, Weaver had a real case and workload to back up his desire for $8.8 million instead of the $7.365 that was offered to him by the club. He had an ERA of 3.01 and was the best strikeout pitcher in the game—what more could the Angels ask for?
On a team that lost Kendry Morales due to a freak accident and struggled to find consistency all year, Weaver was someone who the Angels could count on every fifth day to do his best no matter how the rest of the team was performing.
Out of these two players, which one seems to deserve the money? It is pretty clear to me that Weaver deserved to win his arbitration case over Ross Ohlendorf. Compare the stats side by side:
Weaver
13-12, 224.1 IP, 3.01 ERA, 233 K, 1.074 WHIP, All-Star, No. 1 starter
Ohlendorf
1-11, 108.1 IP, 4.07 ERA, 79 K, 1.380 WHIP, No. 4 starter
Both players were asking for approximately $1 million more than their clubs were offering; hopefully the next 10 hearings will award the money to the players who deserve it. All I know is that regardless of the money given out, I would much rather have Jered Weaver on my team than Ross Ohlendorf.
Here’s to a great season, and Jered Weaver again being the strikeout king, winning 15 games and giving a nice little “maybe I was worth the extra million dollars I wanted” to the Angels.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com