It was never about money. Though it's easy to think about the money now, as Miguel Cabrera recovers from surgery that repaired a ruptured biceps tendon, as he misses the rest of the year because of that injury he suffered last week, as he continues to earn close to $30 million a year.
And will for the next five years.
It's true that whenever someone says -- or writes -- that it's not about the money, it is, in fact, almost always about the money.
But, really, in this case, it isn't.
And wasn't.
At least it wasn't for Mike Ilitch, the former Detroit Tigers' owner who forked over the largest contract in professional sports history to Cabrera back in 2014. A contract that made no sense at the time ... if you focused on the money.
Ilitch didn't.
He focused on emotion.
Because he had the money to spend. Didn't want to lose -- or alienate -- his favorite player. And was desperate to win a World Series; Ilitch was 84 when he agreed to the eight-year, $248 million contract extension.
Cabrera was the game's best hitter heading into those negotiations, and his presence had kept Ilitch's beloved Tigers in contention.
More than that, he was a star, must-see viewing, the sort of player fans hustled back from beer and hot dog vendors to catch his at-bats. Ilitch, who had played in the minor leagues before building a pizza empire, felt indebted to the kind of high-wattage, often historic baseball Cabrera routinely provided.
So, it wasn't surprising that sentiment was part of the contract. It was as if Ilitch were paying Cabrera for what he had done, and not necessarily what he would do.
Like a thank you note. One that included a lot of zeros.
In this context, the contract was easier to understand. Given out under specific psychological circumstances by an owner chasing an unchecked box on his bucket list.
Financially, however, the contract made no sense at all. Cabrera was 31 at the time. And while he was still at the edge of his prime, the Tigers had him locked down for two more years.
Which would've put him at 33 when the contract expired, or about the time most all-time great sluggers begin to decline.
As Cabrera did. As Cabrera has.
What matters now, as the 35-year-old first baseman tries to fight back to health yet again, is how much his contract will impede the team's rebuilding effort. If baseball had a hard salary cap, this contract would be disastrous.
Even without one, it still might be.
About the best the Tigers can hope for is that Cabrera finds a way to do something he hasn't done for the last two seasons -- stay healthy. If he can do that, it's reasonable to assume he will remain a productive player.
But that's relative. If you look at players who've had similar runs, the decline begins around 33 or 34 and rarely reverses.
There are outliers, of course. Hank Aaron remained great -- or near great -- until he was 39. He hit .301 and belted 40 home runs that season.
Yet most comparable hitters -- Frank Robinson, Ken Griffey Jr., Al Kaline, Mickey Mantle, Juan Gonzalez -- tailed off steadily in their mid-to-late 30s. Albert Pujols, whose in-prime stretch exceeded even Cabrera's, hit .241 with 17 home runs last year.
He was 37. And relatively healthy.
Maybe Cabrera's tough injury luck the last few seasons changes, and he puts up numbers as he did at the beginning of this season -- a respectable .300 average with moderate power. If he does, and he continues to mentor the youngsters on a rebuilding team, that's worth something.
But, again, this won't come close to the value of what the Tigers are paying him.
It's best not to think of it this way anyway. Ilitch paid Cabrera for being the face of a franchise, along with Justin Verlander, during its most prolonged stretch of relevance in franchise history. He paid him from his heart, not his head.
Last week, when Cabrera took a swing and ripped a tendon in his bicep, it was easy to think back to that contract, about why it happened and what it means for the team going forward, about what the likely future Hall-of-Famer has left to give.
The odds say not nearly as much as he once did. And if Ilitch were alive today, he'd probably agree. Though he'd do so without regret.
Cabrera gave Ilitch and the fans of his team a thrill ride for almost a decade. It didn't include a World Series title, but the ride still meant something.
Still, the bill is due, and will be for a while.
Sports on 06/18/2018