You said "teachers". That's plural. Therefore, your argument applies to the entire profession, not just the top earner, making your statement invalid. And how many of those elite are generating as much revenue as Soto?
Yeah, it was Andy Martino. The Mets were “dead in the water” at 3pm yesterday and then it picked up.
We're saying the same thing in a different way. The OP made his statement in the context of a Soto thread, implying that large salaries are responsible for his complaints. They're not.
Guy. Take a breath. Maybe re-read the exchange?
You sure showed me.
He's saying that millions of teachers should be paid more than a tiny handful of elite athletes (which is economically impossible), yet my logic is flawed? Ok.
Only surpassed by your lack of economics comprehension.
I think he has to opt out first and then the Mets would have the ability to cancel it by escalating the salary and I would assume there is a firm date they would have to do that by before he becomes a FA again.
Makes sense and what I figured. It’s funner the other way.
"Justly"? This whole concern about "justice" misses how these contracts come to be in the first place.
You’re telling an actor how his business works.
I mean, there's moral value and then there's economic value. If you want to argue that the moral / social value of teaching (or <insert profession here>) exceeds that of entertainers, wax on. This may not be the thread for it, but I'm sympathetic to that argument.
There might be something to this...
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the influence potential of baseball players upon young people... on a message board composed of people who were influenced from a young age to closely follow baseball players - possibly including yourself!
Good Teachers can take up residence in your life’s navigational system, can become voices in your critical thinking apparatus, can add to the candlepower of your love for the world.There might be something to this...
...that said:
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the influence potential of baseball players upon young people... on a message board composed of people who were influenced from a young age to closely follow baseball players - possibly including yourself!
Maybe we need more ballplayers pinch hitting in the classroom. But I'll leave it there, as we're all entitled an undisturbed rant from time to time, and I'm well afield of the thread anyway.
We used to have a guy from the DR who was known for enjoying his rice and beans a little too much. I don't recall you guys finding the thought of him at the plate all that appetizing. I wouldn't be too worried if I were a Mets fan.
I don't think it's his hitting skills anyone would be concerned with deteriorating.
But in his case, that's all that matters. I've heard him referred to as a "young Ted Williams", and Teddy Ballgame wasn't exactly prized for his defense either.
Hitting is not all that matters, it's most of it. Fangraphs had Ohtani at -17.2 runs below average value defensively in 2024 due to his DH'ing adjustment, while Soto was a -6.1 due to RF adjustment + his fielding value. So if Soto goes full time DH or disaster in OF, his value is diminished by a non-trivial amount. Soto's also a bad baserunner who stands to potentially get worse over time.
True. And I can imagine a history or literature teacher exploring the motivations and actions of historical people and characters in books to serve as role models to, say, a 12 or 15 or 18 year old student. But for those of us who didn’t happen to draw such teachers, it was repeated viewings of movies on TV or VHS tapes and the great characters and their actions and choices who informed navigation systems. At least mine. And specifically those in the anti-establishment films of the ‘70s such as Lucas Jackson in Cool Hand Luke or Randle McMurphy in Cuckoo’s Nest, who refused to be broken by the institutions, refused to surrender their free will. Even to their death. Heroes known to a few, but whose actions liberated those few, kept lit the flame of freedom. Hence the scenes after their departures (Cuckoo’s Nest before his death but after his exit) in which the previously controlled and broken group of inmates or psych-ward patients are seen transformed and full of life, talking spiritedly about the legendary exploits of Luke or Harding emulating McMurphy’s flair while dealing cards.
Do you recall the photos of Edgar Renteria poolside after signing with the Red Sox?
The scary thing for non-Mets fans with Soto is that we just saw Ohtani and Judge have their best hitting seasons at ages 30 and 32 respectively, it's possible one or both of them is still getting better. Soto is still 26 and just had his best season also, what if he keeps getting better for the next 6-8 years from here and doesn't start the slow decline until after that? Julio Franco got 106 PAs when he was 48, he had his best season at 35 and still had a .818 OPS when he was 45 (361 PAs).
Not a great look for Soto is it?
And then he was done, Soto is signed until he is 41 and is an OF at least for now, not a 1B. How could you think that’s a positive example?
Also had a great 31 yo season
Absolutely. And if you’d read enough Vonnegut, Bradbury and Updike at a too tender age, you never doubted for a second that the system was rotten to the core. “Papillon” deserves a place in that list to, n’est-ce pas?
I think it is a more interesting question than many people (especially Mets fans) want to ponder after what we just put ourselves through.
The most favorable points of comparison for Tucker would be defensive stats and that the offensive distinction between the two players is almost entirely based on Soto's extremely high walk rate.
