Stottlemyre the Savior

Stottlemyre helped extend the post-war Yankees dynasty one more year (NYT)

Earlier this month, former MLB pitcher and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre passed away from cancer. He was 77.

In an 11-year playing career spent entirely with the New York Yankees, Stottlemyre distinguished himself as one of the best pitchers in franchise history. A five-time All-Star, Stottlemyre averaged 15 wins per season while compiling a sparkling 2.97 ERA for his career. He was also a workhorse, topping 250 innings every year from 1965-1973 and leading the American League in complete games twice.

That success on the mound served Stottlemyre well over the next three decades, first as a roving instructor and then as a pitching coach. He tutored some of baseball's best hurlers during stints with the Mariners, Mets, Astros, and Yankees, including Dwight Gooden, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Felix Hernandez, Mike Mussina, and the great Mariano Rivera. While he never won a World Series as a player, his teams won five championships with him on the bench.

Stottlemyre's greatest accomplishment on the field, however, was helping pitch the Yankees to the 1964 pennant as a 22-year-old rookie. After winning 104 games and the pennant in '63, New York got off to a slow start in '64 under new skipper Yogi Berra, who had trouble reining in the same players who'd been his teammates and drinking buddies the year before. When Stottlemyre arrived in August to stabilize the rotation, the Yanks were in third place and 3 1/2 games out of first, putting them in jeopardy of missing the World Series for the first time in five years.

The season seemed to be slipping away when Stottlemyre took the hill for his first Major League start on Aug. 12 against the second-place Chicago White Sox, who had taken the first two games of a four-game set at Yankee Stadium. Having lost seven of their previous nine, the Yankees were in desperate need of a spark from the fresh-faced 22-year-old, who was leading the International League (AAA) with 13 wins, six shutouts and a 1.42 ERA at the time of his call-up.

Stottlemyre answered the bell, tossing a complete-game seven-hitter to halt New York's skid. Even the offense appeared rejuvenated, bashing four homers in support of the rookie, who hadn't even received an invitation to Spring Training just a few months before. It was, in the words of New York sportswriter Til Ferdenzi, "movie script stuff."

Stottlemyre's next pressure-packed start came four days later in Baltimore against the first-place Orioles, led by eventual league MVP Brooks Robinson. That didn't faze Stottlemyre, however, who limited the O's to just one run on five hits over 8 2/3 sterling innings. A rare error by Clete Boyer with two outs in the ninth prevented Stottlemyre from notching his second straight complete game, but once again he had come up big for the Yankees.

Stottlemyre wasn't getting much help from his teammates, however, who promptly dropped six in a row before his next turn on Aug. 22, falling 5 1/2 games back of the Orioles and seemingly out of the race. The sputtering Yankees once again turned to Stottlemyre to stop the bleeding, and once again he responded, delivering a complete-game shutout in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Fenway Park to keep their pennant hopes alive.

The win proved to be a turning point, igniting a furious 30-11 run by the Yankees to close out the season that featured six additional Stottlemyre victories -- three of which were complete games. He won five straight starts during the heart of that stretch, including the game that moved New York into first place for good on Sept. 17. When the dust settled in early October, Stottlemyre had gone 9-3 with a 2.06 ERA across 96 innings, helping New York overtake Chicago and Baltimore in the standings to capture the pennant by a single game.

After putting the Yankees over the top during the regular season, he nearly did the same in the World Series. After New York lost Game 1 in St. Louis, Stottlemyre bested the Cardinals' Bob Gibson in Game 2 to even the series. The duo squared off again in Game 5 at the Stadium, with Stottlemyre twirling seven innings of two-run ball. The Yankees lost in the 10th, however, after Tim McCarver belted a crushing three-run homer to put St. Louis up in the series. The Yanks bounced back to win Game 6, forcing a Game 7 showdown between Stottlemyre and Gibson, both of whom were working on two days' rest.

The pair traded zeroes through three innings before Stottlemyre stumbled in the fourth, giving up three runs after shortstop Phil Linz threw away a potential double play ball. Berra lifted his young star for a pinch-hitter in the top of the fifth, only to watch the bullpen immediately surrender three more runs in the bottom of the frame. A 6-0 deficit against Gibson proved to be insurmountable for even the mighty Yankees, who rallied for three homers but ultimately fell short, losing 7-5.

Still, the future appeared bright for Stottlemyre, who appeared poised to be the next great Yankee ace. He lived up to his end of the bargain in '65, winning 20 games even as the team crumbled around him. Despite toiling for generally mediocre clubs, he established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball over the next decade, ranking fifth in wins and second in innings from 1965-1973. Had his career not ended when he was just 33 years old, he'd probably be in the Hall of Fame, alongside several pitchers he later went on to coach.

So while the Yankee dynasty died a painful death in the mid-60s, Stottlemyre helped wring one more pennant out of its aging core, proving to be one of the most impactful midseason call-ups in baseball history. It may not have had the ending he or his teammates wanted, but it still made for a pretty good story.

Harper and Machado Waiting it Out

Harper (left) and Machado are holding out for record paydays (12Up)

For nearly two decades, Alex Rodriguez has held the record for the largest free-agent contract in American professional sports. On December 11, 2000, Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers, doubling the contract of the highest paid professional athlete at the time --Kevin Garnett of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. Seven years later, Rodriguez opted out of that deal to sign an even bigger one with the New York Yankees worth $275 million over 10 years, with the potential to earn an additional $30 million in incentives for reaching certain home run milestones (which later became controversial following his PED admissions).

Records are made to be broken, but so far neither deal has been surpassed by a free agent* in any sport. The closest anyone's gotten were Albert Pujols and Robinson Cano, who both signed 10-year, $240 million deals in 2011 and 2013, respectively. That's going to change this winter, however; it's only a matter of when.

[*Giancarlo Stanton (13 years/$325 million) and Miguel Cabrera (10 years/$292 million) both later eclipsed Rodriguez via contract extensions, not as free agents. The highest paid athlete is boxer Canelo Alvarez, who's currently on an 11-fight, $365 million deal.] 

Bryce Harper and his agent, Scott Boras (the same agent who negotiated Rodriguez's first megadeal), have had their sights set on the record since Harper was smashing 500-foot homers and making magazine covers as a teenager. He debuted with the Washington Nationals at 19 in 2012, making his first All-Star team en route to winning NL Rookie of the Year honors. He was an All-Star again in 2013 before putting together one of the greatest offensive seasons ever in 2015, when he won the NL MVP unanimously. The Chosen One had arrived.

While Harper hasn't been able to replicate that historic campaign, he showed what his ceiling can be. He showcased it again last summer by winning the Home Run Derby at Nationals Park, wowing the hometown crowd with a display for the ages that included 14 homers in the final 47 seconds and 45 overall. While injuries have often prevented Harper from reaching his full potential, he's still been one of baseball's 12 most valuable position players throughout his career. He's slugged at least 20 homers and been an All-Star in all but one of his seven seasons, and he was headed for a second MVP award in 2017 before hyperextending his knee after slipping on a wet base. Harper's 26 years old, he just led the Major Leagues in walks, and he has MVP potential. He is, in other words, a superstar.

He's not the only one whose services are available this winter, however. Manny Machado, last seen during the World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is arguably just as good as Harper. Machado, who's just four months older than Harper, also debuted in 2012 and immediately emerged as one of the best players in baseball. In 2013 he was an All-Star en route to leading the AL in doubles, and starting in 2015 he's topped 30 homers every year.

While not quite the force that Harper is at the plate, Machado's a comparable baserunner and an elite defender at a more challenging position, earning a pair of Gold Gloves for his outstanding work at the hot corner (he can also play shortstop, but not as well as third). He's one of 15 position players to compile at least 30 fWAR since 2012, tallying virtually the same amount as Harper in one fewer game. That hasn't translated to an MVP yet, but it has helped the four-time All-Star to three top-10 finishes despite playing for mostly mediocre teams in Baltimore. And whereas Harper has struggled with injuries, Machado has been extremely durable, appearing in at least 156 games in five of his last six seasons.

Nearly 20 years later, A-Rod's superdeal is still the standard (SI)

Baseball hasn't had a free agent so good and so young since 2000, when Rodriguez was a 25-year-old shortstop coming off three straight 40-homer seasons with the Seattle Mariners. Now it has two, in the same winter, no less.

In the old days, that would have sparked a feeding frenzy between baseball's richest teams. The Red Sox Yankees, Cubs, and Dodgers would've opened up their vaults for them, spawning a bidding war the likes of which baseball has never seen. But, as last winter's slow-moving market proved, times have changed. Teams are not willing to pursue free agents as aggressively as they used to, not when it means committing large sums of money to ageing players who will cost them compensatory draft picks, luxury tax penalties, and payroll flexibility. Better to drag out negotiations and drive down the price once Spring Training is underway and players start getting desperate.

But if there was ever a player to break the bank for, it's Machado and Harper. Sure, they have red flags and rub a lot of people the wrong way, but they're young and athletic and certifiable stars. There's not too many of those left in baseball these days, so they're sure to attract eyeballs and sell jerseys. Neither has won a championship, which should continue to drive them after the ink dries on their new contracts. They'll instantly transform whichever lineup they join and add multiple wins to a team by themselves. Not everyone can afford them, but everyone could use them.

It's hard to reconcile, then, why both remain unsigned despite playing different positions and negotiating with different teams. The Dodgers have the money and the roster space for Harper after trading away Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig, while the Phillies, White Sox, and Yankees all need Machado on the left side of their infields. So what's taking so long?

It's not as though teams haven't tried to sign either player. Harper rejected a 10-year, $300 million offer from the Nationals, which would have made him the richest free agent ever (Washington has reportedly since upped its offer). Machado received an offer from the White Sox, albeit a smaller one closer to $200 million. Both are worth more than that, and they know it. But is there a team willing to give it to them?

We'll just have to wait and see.