Here’s an interesting comparison via Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated:
That [Ryan] Howard received $2 million more than [Mark] Teixeira also seems about right under the circumstances. Teixeira has a more diverse set of skills, is slightly younger and signed in New York as a free agent, but he couldn’t make a case that he has the same offensive impact as Howard, a classic slugger. With the $39 million Howard is making this year and next on his current deal, that means he’ll get $164 million though 2016, or just $16 million less than the eight-year contract Teixeira signed with the Yankees. Teixeira’s defense is superior, but considering all the variables, $164 million isn’t unreasonably high for Howard.
I would have to disagree with Heyman’s notion that Mark Teixeira “couldn’t make a case that he has the same offensive impact” as Ryan Howard and therefore, because of that advantage, Howard will receive more annual money than Teixeira. I think, because Teixeira walks more, hits for a higher average, strikes out less, and does not give up much to Howard with regards to power (Howard’s ISO is higher, but Tex is no Melky Cabrera), he is as impactful, and maybe even more so. Plus, let’s also not forget that Teixeira is a switch-hitter. As I see it, the Phillies simply overpaid Howard due to who he is—the face of their franchise (the Yankees do that, too, so I’m not knocking the overpay, I’m just demarcating it). It really had nothing to do with being more of an offensive threat than Mark Teixeira.
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11 Responses to Heyman: Ryan Howard's bat > Mark Teixeira's bat
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TIQ IQ
Hard to argue anthing for Tex right now, man he is hard to watch right now.
Pretty easy to argue that he’s been great his whole career and one poor month doesn’t change that though.
From 2008 to year-to-date, Mark Teixeira has 86 BRAR and Ryan Howard has 56.9. I can’t wait for the day when Jon Heyman is universally recognized as an idiot, and thus ignored.
I don’t want to argue about who has the better bat because, well, they’re both pretty damn good. What’s infuriating about the article is that it still makes no fucking sense even if you concede that Howard has the better bat. Teixeira is a better defender, he got his contract at age 29 whileHoward is effectively getting his at 31, and Teixeira got his contract as a free agent on the open market, not as a contract extenson with 2 years left on his preent deal. So even on Heyman’s terms, the contrct is stupid, and anyone who says otherwise is stupid, trolling, or both.
Why do you people even mention anything that comes from Jon Heyman? The man just doesn’t like the Yankees and evrything he reports is negative. The man has no objective credibility!!
Someone should show Heyman Howard’s righty/lefty splits.
The only thing Heyman is good for is hanging from Boras’ nuts so he can break the big deals first.
looool
howard cant hit lefty’s. hes useless late in games. he even made crappy marte look good.
I agree completely with Chris. It’s an overpay but a reasonable one given their desire to keep a core of fan favorites locked up long term. In other words, even when Heyman is right, it’s by accident.
There’s so much wrong here: Howard being better than Tex, the contract not being an overpay, the strawman argument about RBI’s, and the one that bothers me most: Heyman presenting unadultered the agent spin that this is good for their first base clients. Pujols is a beast and nothing is going to prevent him from getting his money but how does taking another big market team out of the market for a first basement help Fielder? The Yankee are locked into Tex. The Tigers are locked into Miggy. The Angels have Morales. The Dodgers are in financial trouble and have bigger needs than upgrading from Loney. Carlos Pena should take one more team off the market next year. The Red Sox seem to covet Gonzales but how many teams are going are going to line up to throw long term, big money offers at Fielder? I could see the Mets being interested but I’m not sure who else. I’d imagine someone else will step up but isn’t taking a potential suitor off the table a much bigger deal than the market comp this creates.
Heyman is cherry-picking his stats. It’s no small thing to be 2 years younger, superior defensively, and is less likely to turn into a fatboy. We’ll see..
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