Mike Hampton Will Receive His Last Paycheck From The Colorado Rockies This Saturday. Mike Hampton Hasn't Played For Colorado Since 2002.
https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1072916095663669249
You all remember Mike Hampton, right? 2-time All Star, NLCS MVP in 2000 with the Mets, Gold Glove Award Winner, 5-Time Silver Slugger? The pitcher who could absolutely RAKE at the plate. The guy who in 1999 had a stat line of 22 wins, 4 losses with a 2.90 ERA, a 1.285 WHIP and came in second in the Cy Young that year? The guy who hit 16 home runs in his 16 big league seasons, including 7 in 2001 while also batting .391 with Colorado? The guy who signed the biggest deal in MLB history (eight years, $121 million) at the time with the Colorado Rockies in 2000 because he said he liked the school systems in Colorado, that guy? The guy with a lifetime average of .246 at the plate? The guy who will receive his last paycheck from the Rockies this Saturday even though Colorado traded him two years into his eight year deal? The guy who hasn't played for Colorado in almost 5,939 days? Yeah, you remember him!
Since 2009, Hampton has been getting $1.9 million per year with 3% interest, not to mention that Colorado also paid him until 2005. Not bad work if you can get it. So he came off their books, and just a short time later went right back on them. What a god damn deal. Shout out to his agent for that, because that is a sweet deal. He earned over $124 million in his career, and is still getting paid. Guy probably hasn't put on a Rockies jersey since the end of the 2002 season, and every year he gets his fat check. In those two years with the Rockies he went 21-28 with an ERA over 5, but he did hit 10 homers over that time as well. This dude could absolutely rake, he was born to play for Colorado, he just kind of forgot how to pitch when he got there. In a weird twist of events, when the Rockies signed Hampton after his season with the Mets, New York ended up with a comp draft pick that would eventually turn out to be a third baseman by the name of David Wright. Would ya look at that.
Man do baseball teams love deferred money. The Nationals have been known to do it with their big signings, the Orioles did it with Chris Davis, Todd Helton has some, I believe Albert Pujols does, Griffey Jr has some money coming to him later on as well, and we all know KFC's favorite player, Bobby Bonilla is getting that $1.1 million check from the Mets every year until 2035.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4u5Qm9zCfo
So when Hampton wakes up in his huge mansion this Saturday, opens up his bank app on his phone, and sees that $1.9 million with 3% interest added into his checking account for the last time, I hope he remembers those 10 home runs he hit in Colorado. I'm sure he'll realize that he is closing the door on a deal he signed 18 years ago for a team he hasn't played for in 16 years. I hope he remembers how bad he was on the mound there, I hope he remembers how insane Colorado was to give him the largest contract in baseball history at that point, and I hope he remembers to text his agent and tells him what a genius he is for getting that deferred money, because when it's all said and done, this may go down as the worst contract ever signed by a pitcher.