Minnesota Twins’ starter Carl Pavano has shut down the Yankees through four innings tonight. Pavano was on the Yankee payroll from 2005-08, but the team probably won’t be retiring his number. Last year, Ethan Trex included the pitcher in his list of people who earned very big paychecks for very little work. Here’s a look back at Pavano’s rocky tenure in the Bronx, which explains why Yankee fans (like me) can’t believe he’s throwing a one-hitter right now.
Carl Pavano
When a professional baseball player signs a new deal, he’s pretty much guaranteed to pull in the cash regardless of whether or not he plays. If you want proof, just mention the name Carl Pavano to New York Yankees fans and watch as their faces contort in terror. After an early stint in Montreal and three fairly strong seasons in Florida, Pavano signed a four-year contract worth $39.95 million with the Yankees before the 2005 season. He then got injured. Frequently. The pitcher’s ill-fated tenure in the Bronx included pretty standard baseball injuries like an elbow strain and some problems with his throwing shoulder, but he also had some booboos that made Yankees fans wonder if he might be cursed, including two broken ribs in a car crash and a disabled-list trip for bruised buttocks. In all, the Yankees shelled out that $39.95 million for Pavano to make 26 starts over the four-year span. To make matters worse, on the rare occasions when Pavano was healthy he wasn’t very good at baseball. His best season with the Yankees saw him compile a 4.77 ERA and allow 1.47 baserunners per inning he pitched. Even Mike Hampton, baseball’s other pricy-but-fragile starter, has to shake his head at those numbers.
Continue Reading: Money for (Practically) Nothing: 4 Very Big Paychecks for Very Little Work
Go Twins.
posted by Arian on 10-11-2009 at 9:31 pm
Carl Anthony Pavano is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. Pavano is known for being injury-prone, spending the majority of the 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 seasons on the disabled list.
posted by ZoeChastain on 10-12-2009 at 5:21 am
Really hard to feel bad for the Yankees when they overpay for everyone, just because they can.
posted by Steve on 10-12-2009 at 7:55 am
You can complain about the Yankees payroll but they simply have found a way to obtain the players who help them win. The Red Sox, Angels, etc. aren’t too far behind in the amounts they dish out to their players. It simply shows that flash-in-the-pan success can happen happen overnight (the rays), but can rarely be sustained without continually increasing the amounts that are paid to the talent. Most teams are willing to pay serious cash to sign one or two franchise players, the Yanks (and Sox and Angels) have just found ways to sign 12 or 13 of them.
posted by Andrew on 10-12-2009 at 5:40 pm
I also should add that they aren’t afraid to cut them lose when they don’t live up to their promise, as Pavano so notoriously proved.
posted by Andrew on 10-12-2009 at 5:41 pm