Posted on Thu, Dec. 04, 2003

 

A bargain, even at $32 million

JEFF MILLER

jamiller@herald.com

 

 

Jeff Miller

 

 

 

 

This is a story about the big-time business of sports, about a man who plays for a living making $32 million, and it includes the following quote: ''I'm embarrassed to answer when people who don't know baseball ask me how much I make.''

 

And: ''I can't justify the money they pay me.''

 

And: ''Every time I look at one of my checks, I can't believe it.''

 

Yes, this is about a big-time business. But it's also about a big-time person, a person who's a lot more like us than them, a person who just took less in order to have more.

 

When the Marlins announced Mike Lowell's new four-year contract Wednesday, owner Jeffrey Loria first talked about his third baseman being ''a terrific human being.'' General manager Admin Beinfest first noted the professional way Lowell handled trade rumors last season. Then Beinfest mentioned the similar manner with which Lowell accepted not starting in the playoffs.

 

Nowhere in there, never in the next 45 minutes, did anyone bring up home runs, RBI or slugging percentage. Of course, the Marlins are paying for production more than anything, but what they're buying is the whole, wonderful package that is Mike Lowell. Besides, bringing in a lot of cold numbers can ruin a story this warm.

 

And that's exactly what this is, the latest chapter in the lark the Marlins have been living for months. Here's the local boy, the fan favorite, the bilingual presence of the reigning World Series champions, signing a Monopoly-money contract that still represents a hometown discount, and doing so while grinning so constantly and violently that his goatee might never regain its original shape.

 

''This is a big exclamation point for me,'' said Lowell, who called his re-signing ''a dream'' and ''like magic,'' and added that the contract represents ''everything I wanted.'' Somewhere among all this effusion sugary enough to cause cavities in a marble statue, Lowell actually said, ''I think I'm understating the fact of how happy I am today.''

 

Understating? Lowell did everything Wednesday but an end-zone dance. His smile sparkled enough to light the fuse of a firework. It wouldn't have been surprising had Lowell asked Loria and Beinfest to conga line from Pro Player Stadium to the nearest ATM.

 

MONEY PLAYER

 

Sorry to bring up that again, but this was -- make no mistake about it -- all about the money. Lowell even said so. No, not about the total, not about making as much as possible, but about making plenty. More than plenty, really.

 

In these contract negotiation stories, when millions are tossed around like Nerf balls, how often have you asked yourself, ''Jeez, how much money do you need?'' Well, Lowell finally answered that question.

 

''The money is enough for me,'' he said. ''The money is great, but I don't think it fulfills me. It doesn't complete me. It allows me to live way better than I ever dreamed of. It's enough, believe me. But I'd rather be in a place where I'm comfortable than chase after a few more dollars somewhere else.''

 

Lowell does what so many sons often do in measuring life -- he compares what he makes to what his father makes. Carl Lowell went to school for eight years to become a dentist, and dentists aren't exactly going on strike every other day to protest slave wages.

 

But there also aren't enough root canals or fillings or even healthy teeth in South Florida for father to compete with son in this game. The two don't talk about the difference in their salaries because both realize the conversation would be absurd.

 

''I don't know what percentage it is that I make over what he makes,'' Lowell said, ''but I do know it's not fair.''

 

'EVERYTHING I WANTED'

 

It does say something about Lowell's father that each time Mike has offered to pay for his brother's and sister's schooling, to spread his wealth among the family, Dad has told him no thanks. The Lowells apparently live according to more traditional rules than that.

 

This would be a good spot to remind everyone that one of Lowell's teammates has a statue of himself in his waterfront yard and loves to cruise the Caribbean in his yacht. Not that this makes Ivan Rodriguez a bad person, not at all.

 

But this also doesn't necessarily make him any wealthier than the man who just was guaranteed a fraction of the money Rodriguez has made in this game.

 

''I don't live like someone who makes $6 million [a year],'' said Lowell, who now makes more than that. ''I'm set to live the way I live today for the rest of my life. I'll live this way or better, but I'll never go down.

 

''That's what this contract does for me. It gives me everything I wanted. I'm home, where I want to be, playing baseball for a team that has a good chance to defend its title. On top of everything else, I'm making all that money.''

 

We're talking about a rich man, indeed, one much richer than he was before he re-signed.

 

With Lowell's return now official, the Marlins are much richer today, too.

 

its nice not to hear a ballplayer say "its not about the money". i swear if i heard that one more time i might lose it

great article ! it would have been a shame letting Lowell go

as if you needed any more reasons to love this guy:

 

A Coral Gables High School graduate with strong ties to the Miami community where he grew up, Lowell hinted that he may still return to the Marlins even if the ballpark plan collapses.

 

"I don't think I need a stadium to be a Marlin. I need a good team because I'm a competitor and I don't want to be in a situation where we're not winning. But I don't see that happening here. That's why I signed the contract," he said.

 

"Without the stadium, the revenue is strapped big time. But after 2005, if the stadium is not approved, I don't see that as a total roadblock in not staying as a Marlin. I think which direction is the team heading and how I feel with my family is more important than that."

 

Lowell said another key factor in his decision to return was the three-year, $16.5 million deal the team reached with All-Star second baseman Luis Castillo. That deal could be announced today.

 

(from today's Palm Beach Post)

 

We may have to start calling him Saint Mike soon if he keeps this up.... :cool

Surprising nice article by Jeff Miller usually a Marlins hater.

Mike Lowell....you've got to love him...what a classy guy.

Mike Lowell....you've got to love him...what a classy guy.

wtf is up your butt?

 

 

edit: i am assuming you have no idea what means

Nothing derogatory intended. Fill me in.

the rolling of the eyes means well its hard to say...

 

someone help me here...

 

its not nice though, ill tell you that

The roll-eyes is when you're being sarcastic.

 

And Mike Lowell is easily one of the games greatest players, and not just on the field.

 

Mike Lowell is about the game. What 98% of all athletes have forgotten about. He doesn't care about the money. Hell, when you're getting paid as much as he is, what's the difference between $32 Million and $36? I know at 29 I would never spend all that money throughout the rest of my life.

if you go by the chart in the off-topic thread than apparently pbmarlin is enjoying himself

if you go by the chart in the off-topic thread than apparently pbmarlin is enjoying himself

The "Magical Smilies Chart" that is... :thumbup

exactly

btw... there's a $5 fee for posting the chart/refering to it on a thread that is not in the Off-Topic board.

This would be a good spot to remind everyone that one of Lowell's teammates has a statue of himself in his waterfront yard and loves to cruise the Caribbean in his yacht.

 

 

my fav part