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Dan Le Batard
You're listening to Giraffe Kings Network.
David Sampson
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Dan Le Batard
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Stugotz
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Billy Corben
Today's episode is sponsored by DraftKings. Stay tuned because you'll hear more about DraftKings and all it has to offer throughout the show. DraftKings the Crown is yours.
Dan Le Batard
God Bless football is crushing it. Yesterday, Smirnoff sponsored Stugotts live jets tears. Do you know how rare a commodity that is to get that live and unfiltered? We will talk Jets Dolphins in a second, but I saw something happen yesterday Stugotts that I have not seen happen around here. And if you want all of your football information, go to God Bless Football right now. They get out before the rest of us, as does David Sampson on Nothing Personal. They get to the content of the work week faster than we do. But we televised your tears yesterday and I didn't think during the Football Sunday. Right, and we've talked about this before. What has to happen in sports to make its way into get out of the way. Chargers, Chiefs, get out of the way. Bills, Rams. There's something else here. There's a sports news thing that's bigger than football. Such a thing does not exist. What is it? The O.J. simpson freeway chase? No, there is a thing. Juan Soto gets three quarters of a billion dollars and he's not a superstar celebrity. Like he's an exceptional baseball player.
Greg Cody
He is now.
Dan Le Batard
He's an exceptional. But he, but he's just. He is not a star. Like he's a star baseball player you're right. But he is not a star. Like all of us know here in sports, that he is excellent at what he does. But Scott Boris wins again. And David Sampson hates Scott Boris more than he hates anyone, publicly or privately, that I've heard him talk about. But I don't want him infecting our football Monday because I got original crew in here and demean. I want to start galloping on football. But Sampson's like, you got to talk Soto. You got to start with Soto. And I'm like, why do I have to start with Soto? A money story. Like, go great, ruin sports again, Money guy. A money story. No, you got to start with Soto. You guy who told me that the $100 million contract was going to wreck the sport. Now I'm watching the Dodger. Got a billion deferred and a guy who's not a star gets three quarters of $1 billion. That was enough to get into football, wasn't it? Like you were all interested in that, that the Mets stole him from the Yankees. Why was that so interesting to you guys?
Billy Corben
The money.
Greg Cody
Yeah, the money.
Billy Corben
The money.
Greg Cody
Yeah, the.
Billy Corben
Lots of it. So, so much of it. Just so much money.
Chris Cody
And not.
Stugotz
Not deferred.
Billy Corben
Yeah, not. Not deferred is crazy. So he's leaving the Yankees for the Mets. That's. That stuff's interesting too. But yeah, and it's the money that's.
Stugotz
Going to be a bad deal. I want to be that guy.
Greg Cody
That's going to be a bad.
Stugotz
A bad.
Dan Le Batard
That's going to be the Cabrera deal.
Stugotz
15 years, $765 million. I thought, I thought. And I was wrong. Pie on my face. I was wrong. Juan Soto two years ago when he turned down a 15 year, $440 million contract, I said, Buddy, you're turning down a guaranteed $440 million? That's insane. You can get injured at any point in time.
Greg Cody
I agree with you. Yeah.
Stugotz
Since he turned that money down.
Dan Le Batard
Think about this. Hold on a second though. This was him with the Nationals, and we're all discovering, holy shit, the Nationals got a right handed hitter who's Ted Williams and he's 22 years old. He's gonna lead them in all the World Series stats. What's this guy worth?
Stugotz
Well, since he turned down that 15 year, $440 million offer, which again, at the time, I was like, that is crazy, dude. 440 guaranteed million dollars. If they offer that to you, like, you're set for life, your children's life, your grandchildren's life, like you're good. Since that last year, since he was not playing under that 15 year contract, he made $23 million and then $31 million. And now he has signed a 15 year, $765 million a year.
Dan Le Batard
So he doubles this. Okay. So after we were, we all thought he was crazy. We're like, who the bleep is Juan Soto for the Nationals to offer him 400 something million, which is double what Stanton was given by Samson.
Greg Cody
Right.
Dan Le Batard
When we all thought that was an apocalyptic contract.
Greg Cody
But Billy is saying had Soto signed the contract that Billy wanted him to.
Stugotz
Sign, that I thought was a great.
Greg Cody
Deal, it would have cost him a half a billion dollars.
Stugotz
No, over. It would have cost him $300 million. Yeah, like it's crazy how much it was. And by the way, like, and here's like he can't pitch like Shohei Ohtani got paid $700 million because like he can pitch. So like he's basically no.
Dan Le Batard
Tony is already valued. Ohtani with all the money deferred.
Stugotz
His, by the way though is 10 years. Like this is a 15 year deal. The crazy thing about this is I saw Jeff Passen talking about. He's like, yeah, he really believed in the direction of the Mets. Like, really believed in the direction of the. Like, what is this hogwash? Like, what are we even saying right now? Because the Yankees offered him, I think $5 million less. I think it might have been one year more. Which a 16 year deal is crazy. Crazy. He'd be playing until he's 42. But still, man, the Mets are going to be paying Juan Soto $51 million when he's 41 years old. Like this Stugotts is so Mets. This deal is so Mets. It's just we really need to get in the game. We really need to throw all of our money at the star.
Dan Le Batard
If I may, to an insane level, if I may. Okay. Because I know this is making Sampson crazy. Can you guys in the video room show us Samson State right now? Because he hates Scott Boris more than he hates anyone in the world. And right now he's hear our show talk about a story where he has vastly more expertise than us. And. And he is doing so while locked in a cage with Scott Boris, who's got horns on his head. And what Billy just articulated. Scott Boris just doubled the value of that contract in a few years on Soto. The contract that was going to be 440 million that Soto turned down, Boris almost has doubled that in a few years.
Greg Cody
I'm certain the Mets are thinking that we'll get to David in a second, I think but I'm certain the Mets are thinking, hey, we'll take the next 10 years, I'll pay up from ages 36 to 42, but we'll get the next 10 years of Soto in his prime.
Stugotz
So this was just text and it's.
Greg Cody
Not my money, so what do I care?
Stugotz
This is, this was just texted to me and it was pointed out by yesterday someone on social media the Mets just signed a 37 year old Juan Soto to a four year, $200 million deal. That's what they did yesterday. There's no way that David San we haven't heard from him yet. There's no way that he likes this deal. When he thought that the Ichiro deal was going to be.
Dan Le Batard
I want to get to his thoughts and we will get to his thoughts in a second but I can't that there's a story and it's money that knocks football to the side. I and let's get to some of this sound because one of the great joys in here is I'm sure Yankee fans will be totally reasonable about this. I'm sure Yankee fans coming off a World Series when they're like, hey Steinbrenner, Steinbrenner family. You know what we do when the Dodgers out money them, we out money them.
Greg Cody
Right?
Dan Le Batard
Like throughout the history of what this family is when the Yankees lose to the Dodgers, Steinbrenner buys more people.
Greg Cody
I mean George Steinbrenner is rolling over an his grave right now. He is.
Billy Corben
Well, well, we'll get to David in a second. But I wanted to ask you Dan and you Billy, I think I've heard and again guy casually following, following baseball from afar. I've heard, man, that's a terrible contract. I think three times recently Bryce Harper and Garrett Cole and Shohei Ohtani just because we'd never seen something so enormous. Aren't all those guys delivering on that? Aren't they kind of with their performances proving that those weren't bad deals.
Amin Elhassan
Counterpoint, none of them side with the Mets.
Dan Le Batard
Well, Sampson is, you know, corporate shill and likes to protect management against giving away its money. And he has been telling us as baseball owners have for a long time that baseball can't keep affording this while The Dodgers defer $1 billion in payments. And what's really winning at baseball is having the best regional TV contract like the sport has gotten. Yes, it's gotten that cle where the and the Dodgers the advantage the Dodgers have that the Mets will not have with Soto is the Dodgers right now are making money on deferred Ohtani money. They're doing it in Japan as well. They're doing it internationally. The amount of money they're making all over the place. Soto is just going to be stugat. He's going to be a New York baseball player.
Greg Cody
Right.
Dan Le Batard
He's going to be in, if not in the shadow of Judge. He won't be allowed to be the same star.
Greg Cody
The judge is probably not right because he's not playing for the Yankees. A Mookie bet at $365 million seems like a bargain. I mean, it is amazing. These numbers are ridiculous.
Dan Le Batard
Well, this is why they're not ridiculous. Okay, this part I would ask you to listen to the sporting class where John Skipper and David Sampson with Pablo Torre really break down some of the numbers in sports in ways that can't be argued. That we find ourselves with this kind of money being thrown around. It has to make David Sampson crazy. As someone who has tried to keep costs down in this sport and just sees that Scott Boris, the man he hates more than any other, just doubled Soto's price tag because all you gotta do is make the Yankees and Mets both want the same thing. Then everyone in the sport will turn into an idiot. And wouldn't you love to have that as the way that football does business, how basketball does business, where the rich guys could actually just by what these regional TV contracts are. Do you realize the baseball union, the greatest genius of all, was that they never allowed for a salary cap. So these owners would always have to do this so that David Samson couldn't hide in the shadow with his extra hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars and would have to share it with the players. Because Ohtani's a bargain. Ohtani's cheap now. He's already cheap.
Stugotz
But he's also not Juan Soto. Right? I do wonder Juan Soto bring $51 million of value to the Mets. Like, are there people going to the Mets game because of Juan Soto who weren't going to the Mets games before?
Greg Cody
I mean, if the team's better, it stands to reason more people would go.
Stugotz
$51 million a year more.
Billy Corben
I'm curious. David Suds. And we'll get to him in a second. But I don't think that this is all about making business sense. You have an owner that is a huge fan of his franchise, Right. And I think he understands that this isn't the best business. It'd be great to actually hear from David on this, but I'M curious your thoughts on this first, because you do follow baseball. Like, what do we do with the recent examples of everybody complaining about these contracts, but the guys deliver.
Dan Le Batard
I love that everyone in the American economy is seeing what these players are actually worth when you get these CEOs bidding over them. Because when you don't have a salary cap, everyone goes crazy. The Yankees and the Mets go crazy. And this is why. Stugatz. I wanna play some of this sound. Just some of it, okay. Is we've got two bits of sound here from just random Yankee fans. All right, so this is Nick Turturro. I don't know what's John's brother. I don't mean to mock him. The longest yard is what I remember him from. The second longest yard.
Billy Corben
He was also like a sideline reporter at one WrestleMania or at least a SummerSlam NYPD Blue.
Dan Le Batard
Okay, so I'm not mocking his credentials, but he is known as John's brother. That is. That's. He gets stuck with that. He is a Yankee fan and he's unhinged.
Chris Cody
Hey, Juan Soto. I got two words for you.
Amin Elhassan
You.
Chris Cody
That's right. You and the horse you rode in on and the cavalry behind you. That's right, mother. Yeah. I'm taking it personal. We gave you our love. We gave you our heart and soul. It wasn't enough. You turned your cap around after the World Series. I saw that move. 700 million, 730.
Greg Cody
Yeah.
Chris Cody
It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. Guaranteed years. It wasn't enough. You don't even choose the Dodgers. You don't even choose the Dodgers. You go off Broadway to the Mets. You don't want to be on Broadway and you don't want to be judges, guy. You don't want to be judges, partner. Oh, that's right. Judge. Now it's your team. That's it. Let's stick it up his ass. That's right. Let's go out. Let's get Burns, Freed, Bregman. Let's. I don't give a.
Dan Le Batard
Now we're not around. Grungy.
Chris Cody
Whatever.
Dan Le Batard
The. Oh, the stupid.
Billy Corben
Man.
Dan Le Batard
That is the best acting he's ever done in his.
Greg Cody
No doubt.
Chris Cody
He's not acting.
Billy Corben
That's the best thing that he's done. And we'll get David's thoughts on that in a second. But that's the best thing that he's done since Guess. Ring announcing the main event at WrestleMania 11. Shawn Michaels versus Diesel. I am finding it really funny that Yankee fans are all of a sudden like, super pissed off that there's another team that's just buying all the best players. Like they can't stop renting. Like that used to be them. And they hate it.
Dan Le Batard
No, but it doesn't.
Greg Cody
No, the problem is it's the Mets. Like, that's right.
Billy Corben
They're not fine with los.
Dan Le Batard
They're not fine with losing out on anybody, but they hate losing to that team. Look, yes, they are this. They are the. They are the gutter. They are the second team in that town. The Yankees have always owned that town. The Mets have always been trying to steal that town from the Yankees. The Mets don't get the players the Yankees want. Throughout history, not any Steinbrenner clan allows that.
Greg Cody
But the Mets finally have an owner who's willing to spend that kind of money because he has the money, loses money.
Dan Le Batard
He's a lunatic. He hates David Sampson. David Sampson hates him as well. So we'll get to David Sampson's thoughts on this in a second. Because they're stronger than anyone in the industry. Stugas, because he's really got some expertise here as someone who hates Scott Boris, and he hates Scott Boris. And someone who hates Stevie Cohen, I.
Greg Cody
Think, and someone who was a former president of a major league team and.
Dan Le Batard
Likes to tell us at every turn these salaries are out of control, even though we never give them. And then gives one to Stanton, and now Stanton's like the sixth highest paid Yankee. The whole thing's asinine, the way that these guys at the top of this business just play with these pieces, these toys, because they. They've been pocketing these hundreds of millions for years.
Billy Corben
David will have great insight as to this question, and we'll get to in a second, but do you guys actually think this moves a needle and sells tickets and. Because every time I tune into that team, like during the regular season, the crowd is kind of disappointed, I would ask you.
Dan Le Batard
Stugotts, look, we've made fun of Stu Gotz's Mets fandom. Stugotts, I would say, is as famous a Mets fan as there would be anywhere in sports radio.
Stugotz
I was going to say Jerry Seinfeld.
Greg Cody
Right, Seinfeld. Sports radio.
Dan Le Batard
Sports radio in our industry, Sal, look, I don't take for granted when we get to be national voices on things. Dugouts gets to be a national voice of fandom on jets, on Met. But over the years, the Mets have broken him.
Greg Cody
Yeah, well, baseball has broken him.
Dan Le Batard
Well, just so he. So when he signs Francisco Lindor, which was a previous Giant contract, when Stugas Plays who that is. He can't figure out who the shortstop is for his own team. He doesn't recognize him on site because he checked out on what the Mets have been for too long.
Greg Cody
Yeah, Jose Reyes is. He's a good player. He is. Listen, I love the Soto deal and you know, if Mike's going to ask me and we'll get to David's thoughts on this in just a second here, but in terms of ticket sales, I have to think it's going to help. You're getting one of the game's best players. He's coming off a 41 home run season and he did it in the Bronx and now he's doing it in Flushing, Queens.
Stugotz
I mean, I mean, the Mets had to do something to kind of come back from Grimace last year, right?
Greg Cody
Yes.
Stugotz
So now they're focusing on baseball bounce back.
Dan Le Batard
So I'm sure Yankee fans will be reasonable about this. Here's one of them outside of shitty field. Look at this. This is where the Mets, like the Yankees look down on all Mets things to lose the player they wanted, their World Series star, the guy who protects next fragile judge. To lose him to the Mets is the worst of indignities. You want soda? Listen up, man. This is your new home. This is your new home right here. Shut the up and don't complain. Look at this, look at this.
Stugotz
Panning around right across the street.
Dan Le Batard
Look at this. He's panning at the dump around shitty. You chose this piece of to be your home for the next 15 years because you're a money hungry. You, you, every Yankee fish, you burn your jersey. You want a Soto suck my. You too, Scott. Boris, stop my. All right. Excellent work by that guy.
Stugotz
One snuck through.
Dan Le Batard
We got it. I'm sure Yankee fans will be totally reasonable about this.
Stugotz
He was on the Yankees for like 35 games.
Dan Le Batard
What am I doing? It's the greatest. No, but this is the stupidity of this. Like, the Steinbrenners are like, we will not get outbid for this. And Yankee fans, they know what their fan base. They know what their customers are. John Turturro's brother was just swinging a bat at us. He's hitting his palm with the bed. Play that sound again. It felt personal, but not that sound. Go back to the tutorial because look, he's wearing a Yankee jacket. I've seen Nick Turturro act okay. He does not act this well.
Greg Cody
Why do you keep doing this?
Billy Corben
Stop taking out Nick Turturro.
Dan Le Batard
This is the realest I've ever seen this man, what I'm saying is this is not an act. He's not playing a wrestling character. He's angry.
Amin Elhassan
Dan, stop picking on Ida Turturro's brother.
Dan Le Batard
Play that sound for me again, please.
Chris Cody
I got two words for you.
Amin Elhassan
You.
Chris Cody
That's right. You and the horse you rode in on and the cavalry behind you. That's right, Mother. Yeah, I'm taking it personal. We gave you our love. We gave you our heart and soul. It wasn't enough. You turned your cap around after the World Series. I saw that move. 700 million, 730.
Greg Cody
Yeah.
Chris Cody
It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. Guaranteed years. It wasn't enough. You don't even choose the Dodgers. You don't even choose the Dodgers. Go off Broadway to the vets. You don't want to be on Broadway and you don't want to be judges, Guy. You don't want to be Judge's partner. Oh, that's right, Judge. Now it's your team. That's it. Let's stick it up his ass. That's right. Let's go out. Let's get burn.
Greg Cody
Please.
Dan Le Batard
Pregnant. Let's. I don't give. No, we're not around. Take those, Crunchy.
Chris Cody
Whatever.
Dan Le Batard
Those. It's just. It is, sports fans. There it is.
Greg Cody
It's great. It's wfan.
Dan Le Batard
It's just insane. Wait, wait. When once you get to look. Two words for you, and then it's bleep you. There are the two words. That's enough. We could be done. No, but here's the thing, Right? Here's the thing. It would not stop there. It could not stop there. Because when you get stuck right there. Two words, and it's insufficient. Then all of a sudden, I don't know why this is. There's the horse you rode in on.
Greg Cody
That made it nine words.
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, well, but what is. What is that? I don't know that expression. Like, that's just when I've run out of material. But I really want you to know this. And. But I don't understand. Why is there a horse that he rode in on?
Amin Elhassan
Now, Dan, the interesting thing about that is he gave us the rare extended version. Usually it's the F you and the horse you rode in on. He gave us F you and the horse you rode in on. And the cavalry, too. And that's the extended version, though. It's like the.
Dan Le Batard
Have you ever heard the full version.
Amin Elhassan
Of the National Anthem?
Greg Cody
The second verse, like.
Amin Elhassan
It's like that.
Billy Corben
Also, I don't recall him riding in on A horse, I think, in Yankee history. This would only apply to Wade Boggs.
Stugotz
Only person in Met's history. Yoini Cespedes and Noah Sindergard showed up to spring training on horses one year.
Greg Cody
That's right, Thor.
Stugotz
By the way, just a quick Correction. He played 157 games for the Yankees, not 35.
Greg Cody
He played a full season.
Billy Corben
We have the origin of this.
Dan Le Batard
Please get the origin.
Stugotz
I'm seeing New York Times in 1998. They did a deep dive on it, and they found it in early 70s novels. The Friends of Eddie Coyle and no Bugles, no Drums. Early novels from the early 70s.
Billy Corben
Which 70s? The 1970s or the 1870s?
Stugotz
1970S.
Dan Le Batard
Wow.
Billy Corben
Really? That recent?
Dan Le Batard
No, that's gotta be 1770s. That can't be the horse on rock.
Stugotz
New York Times found them in early 1970 books.
Amin Elhassan
So I think what's happening is those books, by the way, they sound. Sound to be Western books. So it might be a book written about a time where we thought, hey, what would be a cool thing they would say back then? F you and the horse you rode in on. And then it was actually created. It's kind of like, there's no way.
Dan Le Batard
If I tell the people in our audience right now how old is and the horse he rode in on, there's no way that they're gonna say 50 years old.
Greg Cody
They would say early 1900.
Amin Elhassan
I know a way that we can find out for sure. Greg Cody. Because if it happened in the 70s, then for him, that would have been too new. He's like, what is this new fangled thing they're saying? The horse you rode in on. Back in my day, we didn't have horses. Right. Or whatever the hell he would go with it. That's the only kind of authority I can think of who can give us some clarity about that.
Billy Corben
I'm just shocked at how recent this phrase is. I mean, Jared Leto is older than this saying.
Dan Le Batard
No.
Billy Corben
Yeah. I think Leto was born in 1971.
David Sampson
What?
Dan Le Batard
He's 50?
Billy Corben
Yeah.
Dan Le Batard
Jared Leto is 50?
Billy Corben
Yeah.
Dan Le Batard
He's my age.
Billy Corben
Well, that's a Hollywood cabal.
Amin Elhassan
Band need to start drinking children's blood.
Stugotz
Mm.
Dan Le Batard
Put it on the poll. I already do.
Amin Elhassan
He has looked better in the last couple of years.
Dan Le Batard
I'll say less. Dan.
Greg Cody
Dan or Leto.
Billy Corben
52 in two weeks for Jared Leto.
David Sampson
Wow.
Billy Corben
Wow. I wonder what David Sampson thinks is his best role. We'll get to all that.
Greg Cody
We should ask him, is this a good move?
Billy Corben
Is like, I want to.
Dan Le Batard
I want to ask Billy this. Of course. Of course, it's a good move to buy the best player and put him in your lineup. And you are mortgaging future. But I think this owner is behaving the way that Stugotts, as a fan, as a tutorial, as someone who cares about the team, how you want your owner to behave, which is, you will get me the best player, no matter the cost. Because we want to win right now. And what the Mets won today, they didn't just beat football Yesterday, the Mets spent 750. They spent three quarters of a billion dollars to beat the Yankees yesterday and today. Stevie Cohen loves to win the press conference. Yes, he had lost Mets fans already once. Dugouts, this is your bright new owner. And already he'd lost you once where you. He spent all the money and then you got mad at him and you stopped caring about his team. You wouldn't go to shitty field for a game.
Greg Cody
No, he started off great. They had. They made it to the postseason, I believe, and then everything kind of went downhill. And last year was a rebuilding year. They made it to the NLCS, a rebuilding year in which they were spending over $300 million in payroll. But this is a great day to be a Mets fan. You outbid the Yankees. I don't care if it works out or not. I do not care. I don't care what he looks like in 15 years. I don't care what he looks like in 10 years. Today, the Mets won. They beat and outbid the New York Yankees and the Dodgers. And for today and today only, Met fans could feel really good.
Stugotz
I mean, but the thing about the Mets, right, is that you said their $300 million payroll, a lot of that money was going to players who were on other teams they got rid of because they signed them to bad contracts.
Greg Cody
I know.
Stugotz
And Bobby Bonilla was still getting paid by the Mets last year. I understand that they paid Max Scherzer to win a World Series in Texas.
Greg Cody
Yes. But it's a team that got to the nlcs and they just added one of the best young players in baseball.
Dan Le Batard
Let's do it this way. Let's do it this way.
Stugotz
Time to throw away all journalistic credibility and get reckless.
Dan Le Batard
Here is something we like to call reckless speculation.
Greg Cody
You're good.
Dan Le Batard
Before we get to David Sampson, I just think Stevie Cohen wants to win the game before the apocalypse of the economy coming for all of us ends up swallowing all of American currency. And Stevie Cohen, it's paper money. He wants to win right now because again, because whatever Bitcoin, bitcoin is coming and it's all false rich. And how is Elon Musk that rich? And why is he wandering around with the President? And so Stevie Cohen wants to win right now because five years from now when the Dodgers billion dollar deferred makes all the cable companies collapse, there's going to be no sports money anymore. And these contracts are funny money.
Stugotz
I don't think any of that is how that works.
Dan Le Batard
No.
Billy Corben
David Samson will always be sports money.
Mike Ryan
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Dan Le Batard
Terms apply Don Levittard Go pee pee, Stutz.
David Sampson
Go pee pee.
Stugotz
This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats.
Dan Le Batard
David, we want your expertise here. Nothing personal is the name of his podcast. I am positive he covered this very well. How much of your show did it take up today? Of the 50 minutes of important talking, how much did you discuss? Discuss?
David Sampson
Just this, about 37 minutes. And now it's been 27 minutes sitting here. Thank you for the opportunity to talk on a subject that is worthy of your time that you've butchered. You've butchered it, Dan, in a way that I guess is unique to you.
Greg Cody
I mean, we gave it 27 minutes.
David Sampson
27 minutes on horses and cavalry.
Greg Cody
I mean, Turturro.
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, Turturro carried us there like it was good. It was good acting by him, I think you'd agree.
David Sampson
It's the Yankee fans. We're going to respond that way, obviously. And that's exactly what baseball wants for today. Stu got it right. There is an issue today, and the issue is that Scott Boris got to reclaim his post as the record holder. The issue is that Steve Cohn handed it to him on a platter and said, scott, you're forgiven for last year's four players who signed late for not a lot of money. You got Snell done, and now you've got the record away from Nez Ohtani's agent. You got it in years, you got it in notional dollars, and you got it in average annual value. Scott Boris is the record holder and he used Juan Soto. And for all you sucker Yankee fans who thought he was going to be a Yankee or for all you Mets fans who said, oh, he's a Met because his chauffeur couldn't get into the private room. That's a new one this morning. Give me a break. Boris wanted the record. Soto wanted Boris. It was all meant to be.
Dan Le Batard
I want to play some video here of Jeff Passen talking about this with Scott Van Pelt because they're saying that it's not just because The Mets offered $5 million more. And the talk now is, but the yankees were offering 16 years guaranteed. So here's Jeff Passen talking about this with Scott Van Pelt.
I
The Mets weren't that much at a different place, Scott, than the New York Yankees were the Yankees at a 760 million dollar offer, only $5 million less, spread out over 16 years. So it wasn't a huge demonstrable difference at the end. I think Juan Soto looked at the New York Mets future and looked at the New York Yankees future and believed that the Mets have a better future than the Yankees, which is a wild thing to think, right? The Yankees have been the most successful franchise in North American professional sports history. They have 27 championships. The new York Mets have been the New York Mets. And so to see the transformation that Steve Cohen has helped make with this franchise over the last four years after he bought it, to turn them from laughing stock into the team that won, so wants to play with because he believes that they are going to have a brighter future speaks volumes about what he has been able to do since he has bought the team. And this, I think, is just the beginning. They are going to spend more money. They are going to continue to have payrolls like this. And to spend 765 million to be up potentially at 805 million, it seems unfathomable. But that is how ultimately the New.
Dan Le Batard
York Mets got Juan Soto Samson.
David Sampson
First of all, when Mike Campton signed a contract, he pretended he liked the school system in Colorado. When Manny Machado signed the contract, he pretended he really liked the minor league system of the Padres. Are you joking? Anyone who's on a network telling you that we looked into the future and we studied it like Zorak or Zolak or whatever the hell his name is and said the Mets have a better future than the Yankees.
Dan Le Batard
Scott Zola, Ben Solo, Carnac, Come on. So. So your reference was not only wrong, but it was from Johnny Carson's age and you got it wrong. Zion Zolak is what you gave us. He's so enraged. There's no way he's going to Be himself today. Do you understand how crazy this makes him? Samson loses today. Boris wins. And. And he's locked in hell.
David Sampson
Boris won completely, Dan. And you put me in this place where it is hotter than Hades, and I'm stuck with a head next to Boris, which. This is about as close as I've been to his head. Wait, wait, wait. Oh, much better.
Amin Elhassan
Those horns fit you.
Stugotz
Please don't make that noise when it's happening. You got ins.
David Sampson
I guess I would just tell you that Scott Boris had this, and I want to make sure we don't lose sight of that. It wasn't about the match. It wasn't about the Yankees. This was about records. And Soto can give whatever excuse he wants, but the truth is, Steve Cohn was not going to lose out. And Scott Boris did what he was supposed to do. He took advantage of the fact that Steinbrenner was here, that Stevie cone was here. Forget the Red Sox. I feel for them. And the Blue Jays. Oy. V. And the Dodgers doesn't even matter. This was all going to be New York v. New York from the beginning. And the way it was structured, words going to come out. Wait for that. That the way this was structured, The Mets just offered more money by a lot. Not 5 million the way you're describing it.
Stugotz
Oh, okay. Well, I was doing the math with the 5 million because I'm imagining a scenario where Soto's like, you know what? These are close. Oh, I'll stay Yankee. We were good last year. And Boris is like, over my dead body.
Greg Cody
You're.
Dan Le Batard
You're. What are you taking a little less. What are the details, Samson, that are going to make this a distorted amount of money, that it's being presented one way today, the day that everyone's talking about it, and then no one will notice the other part of this, which is that that Soto ends up getting how much more worth out of being with the Mets than the Yankees. And were Yankee fans right to be mad at the Steinbrenners for not outbidding the Mets?
David Sampson
First of all, no. Now, if the Yankees pivot to other players, they actually have a better chance to be better. This is not basketball. One player, even the best player, doesn't guarantee you a World series. Ohtani at 2 million, that helps. That's his money. But Soto was never going to take deferrals. And what you're going to see get released is what the cash flow is of this contract. We know already. 75 million out the door. Upon execution. He's getting a 75 million dollar check. As soon as he passes his physical and the contract gets approved by baseball and the union. Did the Yankees offer that type of signing bonus? I bet you not. Then look at the annual amount of money that he receives each year. Is more of it up front? Is it spread out in a straight line? Did the Yankees deal have deferrals? There's a lot of details that we'll be able to find out. But all of the reckless speculation that is happening now, it only makes Boris smile because he gets to come out with how much? Steve Cohn outbid everyone.
Dan Le Batard
Samson, how wrong did you get this? When they turned down 440 million from the Nationals, your thought was that was going to end up becoming how much by when? In Boris's control? Like how? By how many hundreds of millions were you wrong here?
David Sampson
You have to remember that I'm used to this. This is what Scott Boris does with all of his players. You don't get to sign them before they become free agents. He wouldn't let us sign Jose. He wouldn't let us sign Ozuna. He doesn't like contracts. Other than for Steven Straussberg. In the middle of a deal, when you know the guy can't lift his arm or go to the bathroom with the proper hand, you know that he'll agree to an extension with soda. You bet on yourself. He didn't have him insured, I promise you that. But you bet on yourself. And in this case, he won. So tip your cap. You got this one. Scott. But the other players in baseball are aware of your tactics and it works sometimes, but only for a few of the players, for a majority. It fails miserably.
Amin Elhassan
David, I'm fascinated because if you look at the other major professional sports, as they've gone on in time and collected bargaining negotiations, their CBAs have gotten more owner friendly. They've gotten more restrictive, more conservative in that way. Baseball hasn't. Has there ever come been close to getting a salary cap in there or any sort of salary restrictions?
David Sampson
Yeah, this was about five minutes of the show this morning. I mean, and here's why it's important, because with the salary cap comes a salary floor. And there's about four teams every year that can't reach reach what a salary floor would be. And we went and did a calculation when this was discussed during a CBA maybe 10 years ago. And we said, we'll agree to a cap, but the floor has to be at a place that we get funded in order to get to the floor, because we can't do it ourselves. And it wasn't just the Marlins. Marlins, Rays, Guardians, Royals, A's, Brewers. We could get to eight teams pretty easily where they would fall under the floor from time to time. And you can't allow that. It doesn't happen in the NFL, but in baseball it would have.
Dan Le Batard
I just so wish, David, that all sports had this so that I could watch Jerry Jones want to get somebody, like, from. From somebody he doesn't like from Bob Kraft so that I can just to get him. Oh, just. Just because they can. Because it's all funny money.
Amin Elhassan
But, Dan, the crazy thing about it is, and I think it works almost across all sports, the teams that spend the most money often aren't the best teams.
David Sampson
Teams.
Amin Elhassan
It's like when you take those guardrails off, bad ownership is going to mess it up anyway. And so that's part of it. When I look at this deal, there's a red flag for me that goes off. It's like. But it's the Mets. Like, if the Dodgers did this, I would, oh, wow, that's a great pickup.
Greg Cody
If the Yankees did it, the Yankees did it.
Amin Elhassan
We'd have more faith. The fact that it's the Mets, like, I know Jeff Patson's plugged in and all, but I'm like, I don't think that signifies a new era in the Mets. It sounds like the same old Mets. They pay a guy and it turns out he was the wrong guy.
Dan Le Batard
David, your thoughts here on you having to eat it again? Because Boris continues to play all of your owners, he toys with them. Like the thing that you want more than anything else. Yankees, Mets, want the same player.
Greg Cody
Well, he's so happy right now because he has the ultimate leverage in Steve Cohen.
Dan Le Batard
No, but it's not. It's not just that, though, David. Just give me the amount of money that Scott Boris makes with this contract, because just him, he gets 35 million doll for negotiating this. Does it. Doesn't he get 5%?
David Sampson
Yeah, the deal is 5% for him. But don't you worry, he's got a whole scouting department. He's got all sorts of facilities that make it really good for his players. He invests right back. Yes, he's gotten very rich. And eventually you tip your chapeau to him for doing this.
Dan Le Batard
What?
David Sampson
But it's owners. It is owners who let him get away with it. But remember, this is an outlier, folks. Juan Soto, he's a generational player, only comes around once every year. That's the crazy part. Scott Boris, we had a chance to absolutely Take away all of his power. He got crushed last year, and you could see him deflating. And what Juan Soto has done, and Blake Snell, too, they've put him right back. They've repowered him, and now he thinks he's the most powerful person in baseball. I can't wait for the press conference because, believe you me, like the Blake Snell one, he'll be sitting right up there in the dais. He'll get to address the media and talk about this deal. And then he gets to go like the Sneetches star, belly on the side of my body. He'll go to the Yankees and say, you need Corbin Burns now, don't you? You need Max Freed now, don't you? And he's peddling all of his players to get overpaid. I'm sickened and lonely.
Stugotz
This Boris thing, Dave, is starting to sound a little personal. I have a question for you. Because last year we saw, obviously, the big Ohtani deal. Now we have the big Juan Soto deal. But aside from the Ohtani deal, it was kind of a slow free agency last year that there weren't players getting the big contracts that they wanted. They were settling for shorter deals. Is that something you think we're in store for this year as well, after the Soto deal?
David Sampson
Well, you've seen what happened with Adamas going to the Giants. He got seven years, and it looks like owners are willing to spread it out. Why you're going to see it different this year. It's because there's a new collective bargain agreement coming at the end of next season. The negotiations start, and there's a very real push to put caps on what players can sign maximum years in a deal. It'll be hard to get. It'll cause a work stoppage. But players now want to get signed and owners want to get them signed before they lose the advantage of big market over small market. So you're seeing a different market this year. Totally.
Stugotz
I have a stolen stat of the day if you want it, Dan.
Dan Le Batard
This is stolen from stolen one. Hold on a second. Then I have to play the music. And you, did you cue it? Did you tell Chris Cody, you need to start of the day?
Stugotz
What?
Dan Le Batard
Start of the day. It's a stolen start of the day.
Stugotz
It is the start of the day.
Dan Le Batard
Start of the day, Start of the.
Stugotz
Day it is the start of the day.
Dan Le Batard
Start of the day, Start of the.
Stugotz
Day it is the start of the day.
Dan Le Batard
Start of the day, Start of the day it is the start of the day.
Stugotz
This stat Is stolen from @SportsCenter on Twitter. Juan Soto just signed a 15 year, 765 million dollar deal. LeBron James and Tom Brady's combined career earnings. 761 million dollars.
Dan Le Batard
Yeah. So they've been getting these guys cheap for a long time. And David Sampson is one of your chief culprits for gaming this system for a while. And then he gets gamed and played by Scott Boris, where if you don't have a salary cap, this is what all of. Do you know how underpaid Mahomes is? Do you have any idea how underpaid Patrick Mahomes is behind Tua. Behind. Behind Trevor Lawrence?
Greg Cody
I mean, something's off in Kansas City though, right?
Dan Le Batard
I mean, Stu cots my home. Stu Gods. Come on.
Stugotz
Stugott's minor penalty.
Dan Le Batard
Two minutes for Chiefs talk.
Stugotz
Amin asked this earlier of you, David, and I'm wondering, even though it's in the CBA and there's a CBA coming up, there's no way baseball's ever going to have a salary cap, right? Like, why would the players association ever agree to that? The horse is out of the barn on that one.
David Sampson
Yeah. We've tried for so many years. It's not going to happen. And the reason is exactly this. The fact, funny part is only a few parts of the union benefit from no salary cap. Are we off the air?
Billy Corben
The horse is out of the barn.
Dan Le Batard
Billy has been holding on to the horses out of the barn for 10 minutes. You did a chateau thing that we could have latched on to. Whatever.
Stugotz
That's a fine.
Billy Corben
That's a fine.
Dan Le Batard
Okay.
Stugotz
Yeah.
Billy Corben
Is the horse out of the barn so you can get the hay in the barn?
Stugotz
You don't make hay. I know that.
Amin Elhassan
Well, not unless it's safe.
Dan Le Batard
Can you play a song for me? I don't know what is happening right here. Okay. What. What is happening here? There, There. I don't understand. What's happening here?
Billy Corben
Well, we. We have a song, Dan.
Dan Le Batard
Well, but Samson is being comforted as he sucks his thumb with Stugot's holding him. Like that's what we're doing. Hell yeah.
Amin Elhassan
What's got worse?
Billy Corben
But we have like on our staff a guy that feels passionately about the. The New York Yankees. And at a moment's notice, you know that I can always get Taylor over here. He created a song. He's heartbroken.
Dan Le Batard
I thought that he was working on North Carolina Belichick material. Let's hear.
Billy Corben
Do you want to talk to him about that? Like, we have to switch gears yes.
Dan Le Batard
Okay, I do. Just keep him there for a second. I don't like playing his songs. I agree with that. One constructive critic at our last Voice of a Generation John Allude song. Who says that? Taylor. Les Taylor is what this show needs. Let's. Let's give them less Taylor.
Billy Corben
Our hopes were high when we got.
Stugotz
You.
Billy Corben
From San Diego. A ridiculous price to pay for rental that still lost World Series in five games. I thought you'd wear pinstripes forever, but forever's gone away. It's so hard to say goodbye to what's so dumb.
Dan Le Batard
All right. Taylor sings for a generation. I gotta salute you. I'm sorry. I do. Because this is the perfect ending to all of this. Do you understand that today is a national holiday? We all get to laugh at the Yankees for not having enough money. They've always had the most money. And their fans, the Turturros of the world, think they deserve to beat the Red Sox and the Dodgers and everyone else. And they just lost to the Mets. And you saw, they know where shitty fields is. They know the dump the Mets stadium situation is. It's Flushing, New York. They make fun of it as a toilet. Everybody knows this. And Juan Soto.
David Sampson
Relax.
Amin Elhassan
There's only so much Flushing, New York trash talk I'm going to take.
Greg Cody
And the Bronx isn't much better.
Billy Corben
Howdy, folks. It's Mike. And guess what? It's Miller time. The holiday season brings around lots of joy and also lots of family. Lots of family gatherings at your home. You're inviting people in there. You want to make sure they're happy. Why don't you make their time at your place? A Miller time. Pass around that beautiful white can of triple hops brewed Miller Lite and watch the smiles adorn those faces. Make Miller Light the official drink. The official beverage of your holiday get together. You know why? Because it is a perfect beer for the holiday season. You'll take a sip, you'll look around and you'll think immediately, yeah, I made the right call. It's got tastes that you can depend on. No games, no gimmicks. Just great beer. For people who like beer, making memories at year end gatherings. Tastes like Miller time. Go to millerlite.com dan to find delivery options near you. Or you can pick up some Miller Lite pretty much anywhere they sell beer. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 96 calories and 3.2 carbs per 12 ounces. Fewer calories and carbs than premium regular beer.
Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Episode: Local Hour: Juan Soto Record-Breaking Contract Reaction
Release Date: December 9, 2024
Hosts: Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, Greg Cody, Billy Corben, Amin Elhassan, Chris Cody
Guest: David Sampson (Host of the podcast Nothing Personal)
In this episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, the hosts delve into the recent buzz surrounding Juan Soto's monumental contract with the New York Mets. Dan Le Batard opens the discussion by highlighting the unprecedented nature of Soto's deal:
Dan Le Batard [02:35]: "Juan Soto gets three quarters of a billion dollars and he's not a superstar celebrity. Like he's an exceptional baseball player."
Stugotz concurs, emphasizing that while Soto is an exceptional talent, his contract size is staggering for someone in his position.
The conversation quickly turns to the specifics of Soto's deal, comparing it to previously considered contracts:
Stugotz [04:02]: "Juan Soto two years ago when he turned down a 15 year, $440 million contract, I said, Buddy, you're turning down a guaranteed $440 million? That's insane."
Greg Cody adds context by contrasting Soto's contract with that of Shohei Ohtani:
Greg Cody [05:17]: "But Billy is saying had Soto signed the contract that Billy wanted him to...it would have cost him a half a billion dollars. Yeah, like it's crazy how much it was."
The hosts express astonishment over how Scott Boras, Soto's agent, managed to secure such a deal without deferrals, unlike many previous contracts they've discussed.
David Sampson joins the discussion to provide expert analysis on the implications of such high-value contracts in baseball:
David Sampson [28:44]: "Scott Boris got to reclaim his post as the record holder...he took advantage of the fact that Steinbrenner was here, that Stevie cone was here."
The conversation touches on the absence of a salary cap in Major League Baseball (MLB) and how it allows agents like Boras to negotiate increasingly lucrative deals:
Greg Cody [36:37]: "The teams that spend the most money often aren't the best teams."
Sampson elaborates on the challenges of implementing a salary cap in MLB, citing the diversity in team financial capabilities:
David Sampson [36:37]: "With the salary cap comes a salary floor. And there's about four teams every year that can't reach the salary floor..."
The episode features reactions from fans, particularly Yankees fans, who are portrayed as frustrated and outraged by the Mets' aggressive spending:
Chris Cody [12:59]: "Let's stick it up his ass. That's right. Let's go out. Let's get Burns, Freed, Bregman. Let's. I don't give a."
Dan Le Batard mocks the fervor of Yankees fans towards the Mets' financial maneuvers:
Dan Le Batard [17:55]: "Look at this. He's panning at the dump around shitty. You chose this piece of to be your home for the next 15 years because you're a money hungry."
These segments highlight the deep-seated rivalry and the emotional investment fans have in team management decisions.
The discussion also scrutinizes Scott Boras's influence in baseball, particularly his ability to secure record-breaking deals for his clients:
David Sampson [35:32]: "You have to remember that I'm used to this. This is what Scott Boris does with all of his players."
The hosts debate whether such contracts are sustainable and beneficial for the sport as a whole, pondering the long-term effects on team dynamics and financial health.
As the episode winds down, the hosts reflect on the broader implications of Juan Soto's contract and its symbolism in MLB's evolving financial landscape. Dan Le Batard expresses concern over the lack of salary restrictions, implicitly questioning the future balance between player earnings and team sustainability.
Dan Le Batard [37:31]: "Now, you have to make you, how you want your owner to behave, which is, you will get me the best player, no matter the cost."
The episode concludes with light-hearted banter and advertisements, leaving listeners to ponder the intricate balance between player valuation and the economic frameworks of professional baseball.
Dan Le Batard [02:35]: "Juan Soto gets three quarters of a billion dollars and he's not a superstar celebrity. Like he's an exceptional baseball player."
Stugotz [04:02]: "Juan Soto two years ago when he turned down a 15 year, $440 million contract, I said, Buddy, you're turning down a guaranteed $440 million? That's insane."
David Sampson [28:44]: "Scott Boris got to reclaim his post as the record holder...he took advantage of the fact that Steinbrenner was here, that Stevie cone was here."
Chris Cody [12:59]: "Let's stick it up his ass. That's right. Let's go out. Let's get Burns, Freed, Bregman. Let's. I don't give a."
David Sampson [35:32]: "You have to remember that I'm used to this. This is what Scott Boris does with all of his players."
Unprecedented Contract: Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets sets a new benchmark in MLB, raising questions about sustainability and impact on the sport's financial landscape.
Agent Influence: Scott Boras continues to play a pivotal role in negotiating high-value deals, showcasing the significant influence agents hold in modern baseball.
Salary Cap Debate: The absence of a salary cap in MLB allows for escalating player contracts, leading to disparities between team payrolls and competitive balance.
Fan Reactions: The Mets' aggressive spending strategy has ignited strong reactions from rival fans, particularly Yankees supporters, highlighting the intense rivalries within the league.
Future Implications: The episode underscores the need for a balanced approach to player contracts to ensure long-term team viability and competitive fairness in MLB.
This comprehensive summary encapsulates the core discussions and viewpoints presented in the episode, providing listeners with a clear understanding of the complex dynamics surrounding Juan Soto's record-breaking contract and its broader implications for Major League Baseball.