Hilarious Article From J. Stark

[love_that_reefer]

MLB: Most creative contract clauses of offseason - ESPN

My favorite one:

If Albert Pujols has a Silver Slugger incentive clause, we get it. If Josh Hamilton has a Silver Slugger incentive clause, no big deal. Heck, even if Corky Miller has a Silver Slugger clause, there's some semblance of logic in there someplace.

But Chien-Ming Wang?

The sweet-swinging ex-Yankees pitcher has all kinds of incentive clauses included in the contract he signed with Washington last month. And in the case of most of them, that makes sense, considering he hasn't been healthy in 2½ years.

But a Silver Slugger clause?

Well, he has one, all right. It'll pay him $50,000 if he out-swats every pitcher in the National League this year. But let's just say the Nationals probably don't need to put that money in an escrow account so they have it handy in case he wins.

How many hits has Wang gotten in his career? That would be zero -- in 15 journeys to home plate. He's 0-for-14 -- with eight strikeouts, one GIDP and one sac bunt. So he actually owns more career outs (16) than plate appearances (15) -- which isn't easy.

But that isn't all. Wang's whole career took a major U-turn south thanks to his offensive misadventures.

On June 15, 2008, during interleague play, he failed to get a decent bunt down, bunted into a forceout and wound up spraining a ligament in his foot trying to run the bases. His career has never been the same since.

So maybe that Silver Slugger clause is about revenge. Or incentive. Or a private joke. At any rate, once again, it paid to read THAT small print.

That's when you know your agent is earning his money

[catman]

If he can hit, he might get a chance to earn this.