Is a Player a"Traitor" , if they decide to play for the Rival the Next year, or is Just Business?

Question

Like good Example Johny Damon he played for the Red Sox for a good time like couple year and he was a free agent in 2006 and Became a Yankee , is that Being a Traitor .

Which Players you think will never play for the Rival team.

Answer 1

Well, I try to see it as business.

But it just depends on how much I liked the player.

I did think what Johnny Damon did was a little classless, especially bashing his fans like that.

And I really didn't like it when the Rangers offered Mark Teixeira a multimillion dollar contract and he turned it down to go play somewhere else, especially since Michael Young had pretty much the same decision but decided to STICK WITH HIS TEAM and signed through 2012.

I can't see Young playing for another team.  I can't see Kinsler playing for another team.  Neither do I see Josh Hamilton leaving in the immediate future.  Everyone on the O's right now is sort of replaceable except Nick Markakis.

Answer 2

its business. players go where the big money is.

Answer 3

Derek Jeter Wont, Mariano Rivera wont. (even though he said anything could happen when he was a free agent last winter)

Answer 4

It's business. Rivalry isn't as big for the players as it is for the fans. Take Edmonds for example. He played great ball for the while that he was with the Cardinals, but they decided to lose him this year because he was getting to old and injury prone for them. So he went to the Padres, didn't do well, so they cut him loose, and they figured that was the end of his career. So of course when the Cubs offered to take him, he just wanted a team to play on. So like I said, strictly business.

As for players, I have no idea. I'd like to say Albert Pujols will never play for the Cubs, but it can happen.  

Answer 5

It's all about the money.

Answer 6

Traitor for leaving for what.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.Look at Roberto Clemente he verbally said he would play for the Dodgers but then the Braves offered him twice as much but he stuck with his word and was a minor leaguer for the Dodgers and was a rule 5 draft pick.

Answer 7

Its business. There trying to earn the most they can. You cant blame them. If you got a better job offer with more money then you would take it.

Answer 8

Sadly Free Agency just made it business as usual. I was one of the few Yankee Fans that didn't boo David Wells when he was in a Red Sox uniform for awhile.  I never see Derek Jeter ever playing for the Red Sox.

Answer 9

Well, really it's just part of the game these days. Fans, however, will look at the player as a traitor (Damon). Those guys all play the game for different reasons...which could change throughout their career. It's our interest in the game that feeds them the contracts, so they deserve to get top dollar for their skills.

I could name players that will probably never play for rivals teams, but not out of loyalty...as much as long term contracts or something else. Besides, there's just no way of knowing what a certain contract or location can to do change a player's mind.

Answer 10

Look at it this way - the owners can pretty much unload a player as they wish, so what's to stop a player from doing the same? It's all pretty much business now. Jeter and a very few others are all about team loyalty.  

Answer 11

It's all business & I don't think I will ever see Derek Jeter wearing a Red Sox jersey or any other team for that matter

Answer 12

These days it's strictly business for the players, managers & coaches. There doesn't seem to be many players, managers or coaches that will stay with a team just because they like it, especially when faced with the possibility of a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.

Answer 13

Its just business. Most players just take the highest offer they can get. Sometimes other factors come into play when a players is negotiating a contract. For example, when Griffey Jr left Seattle for Cincinnati, he declared that part of his decision was based on the fact that he was from the Cincinnati area and he liked the idea of playing in his hometown.

I don't hold it against any player if he signs for big money with a rival team. I think most fans would "betray" the team they've been loyal to for the right price. I'm a Mariners fan and always have been, but if ANY team offered me a big contract to be part of the organization in any way, I'd take it. Heck, I'd sell peanuts for the Angels if they paid me a million dollars a year to do it.

Plus, keep in mind that players are naturally less bound to their team than fans. Most fans have been rooting for their home team for their entire life. With the way the draft is structured, players don't choose where they start their career. Chances are that even if a player has been with a team for several years, they don't have life-long roots to that team.  

Answer 14

Baseball is business. Its hard to accept but its the sad truth.

Answer 15

Since free agency, it's just business as usual.  But pre-free agency it was traitorous.  Jackie Robinson retired instead of playing for the hated Giants.

That list I think will be a short one