TOM was hit by a Randy Johnson fastball for uttering:
 TY> for the teenagers throwing an egg against his house, I don't think that
 TY> would qualify as justifiable homicide.
It was more than just "an egg."
 TY> guaranteed money, more money than players of comparable talent were
 TY> making at that point in their career and the team assumed all the risk
 TY> of his failure to perform.
His contract most certainly did not give him more money than he could have 
gotten. If that was the case then why even sign him? The contract was meant 
to get all those players away from the arbitration process, which would have 
given them all more money than they signed for that year. Cleveland used the 
money that they saved to go after free agent talent.
 TY> Ok, what players have the media destroyed.  Give me some examples.  But
 TY> don't give them to me unless you can prove the media fabricated the
It's not a matter of fabrication but the fact that they have NO BUSINESS 
delving into the lives of ANY player. Turn back the clock to the '60s and a 
great number of the reporters would be fired or shunned for what they've 
done. I personally don't give a rat's behind about the personal life of any 
player and most of the interviews that they DO grant are straight out of Bull 
Durham. When a player DOES say something controversial, the sharks are out 
for blood (Like the articles that came out after Barkley said that he wasn't 
a role model. You'd have thought that he had killed a girl scout troup after 
some reporters took his comments to task).
 TY> and not give him the MVP if he didn't play ball with them, so he has
 TY> only himself to blame.
Why should he have to bend over and kiss their hiney? They're supposed to be 
impartial but personal feelings get in the way more than they want to admit.
 TY> don't see it as an injustice that Vaughn won, even if he does play
 TY> for Boston.
I have a problem with a player winning for the wrong reason.
 TY> offense?  Pretty harsh don't you think?
Harsh? Maybe but that's the way I am. They're lucky that it happened in this 
day and age. My uncle has a few buckshot scars on his rump from trying to 
steal apples from the next door neighbors. One of his friends from that same 
time got dunked head first in an out-house after he got caught tipping it 
over for kicks.
 TY> eligible for arbitration, he did not have the stats to move him past
 TY> Fielder, Canseco, Mattingly or any of the other high salaried stars of
 TY> the time.
Albert Belle would have been a free agent sooner and he most certainly would 
have commanded a much higher salary than what he got from Cleveland. Barry 
Bonds fought the Pirates for a couple years in arbitration and the year he 
became eligible for free agency, he signed a hell of a contract.
--- TrekEd 1.00
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