2014 National Baseball Arbitration Competition

Transcription

1 2014 National Baseball Arbitration Competition Eric Hosmer v. Kansas City Royals Submission on Behalf of Eric Hosmer Midpoint: $3,650,000 Submission by Team 2

2 Table of Contents I. Introduction and Request for Hearing Decision.1 II. III. IV. Quality of the Player s Contributions During Past Season.2 Length and Consistency of Career Contributions...3 Past Compensation..4 V. Comparative Baseball Salaries... 4 a. Ian Desmond...5 b. Matt Wieters...6 c. Garrett Jones...7 d. Brad Hawpe...8 VI. VII. VIII. Existence of Physical or Mental Defects...9 Recent Performance of the Club...10 Conclusion 10

3 Table of Authorities BaseballProspectus, Prospectus Entertainment Ventures, LLC, Baseball-Reference.com, Sports Reference, LLC, ESPN, The Worldwide Leader in Sports, MLB, MLB Advanced Media, L.P., Major League Baseball Collective Bargaining Agreement, art. VI(E) 10(a), Babb, Kent (July 2, 2011) Eric Hosmer Takes his Family s Legacy into the Major Leagues, The Kansas City Star. Judd, Lee (September 12, 2013) Eric Hosmer and What We Don t Know, Yahoo Sports, Wikipedia,

4 Team 2 Eric Hosmer 1 I. Introduction and Request for Hearing Decision This brief analyzes the assets and contributions of left-handed first baseman and power hitter Eric Hosmer ( Mr. Hosmer ) to be reflected in his 2014 contract with the Kansas City Royals (the Club or the Royals ). Mr. Hosmer has been a solid contributor for the Kansas City Royals and has improved on his debut season performance. As such, he is more than entitled to his requested salary of $4 million for the 2014 season. The MLB CBA outlines six criteria to determine Mr. Hosmer s salary arbitration award. These criteria are: (1) the quality of Mr. Hosmer s contribution to the Club during the 2013 season (including, but not limited to overall performance, special qualities of leadership, and public appeal); (2) the length and consistency of Mr. Hosmer s career contribution; (3) his past compensation; (4) comparative baseball salaries; (5) any physical or mental defects of Mr. Hosmer s; and (6) the most recent performance record of the Club. 1 With respect to the fourth criteria comparative baseball salaries this panels should give particular attention to the contracts of MLB players with Major League service no more than one annual service group above Mr. Hosmer s service group. 2 Mr. Hosmer has reached years of MLB service, entitling him to file a request for this first arbitration as a Super Two. The evidence of his past success and future potential presented in this brief and at oral argument demonstrates that Mr. Hosmer is fairly entitled to a salary exceeding the $3.65 million midpoint between his final offer and that of the Club. Mr. 1 MLB, CBA, art. VI(E) 10(a), p Id. Inadmissible evidence includes: (1) the financial position of the Player and the Club; (2) press comments or similar materials bearing on the performance of either the Player or the Club, except that recognized annual Player awards for playing excellence shall not be excluded; (3) offers made by either the Player or the Club prior to arbitration; (4) the cost to the parties of their representatives; and (5) salaries in other sports or occupations.

5 Team 2 Eric Hosmer 2 Hosmer therefore respectfully requests that the arbitration panel find that he is entitled to a 2014 salary arbitration award of $4 million. II. Quality of the Player s Contributions During Past Season Eric Hosmer had his strongest season ever in 2013 at the plate with a batting average of.302 at 680 plate appearances in 159 games, giving him the ninth highest batting average in the AL. 3 In those at bats, he had 188 hits and 17 home runs, as well as an RBI of He also had a very high on base percentage at Fig. 1: Eric Hosmer 2013 Statistics 6 BA PA G H HR RBI OBP SLG E FLD% WAR In addition to his contributions on the plate, Mr. Hosmer is also incredibly valuable in the field. Most notably, he had a season WAR of 3.6, well above replacement value for a starting player and indicating an impressive contribution to the team. As a first baseman, Mr. Hosmer played 158 games and committed only 8 errors, while turning 118 double-plays. Mr. Hosmer s fielding percentage was.994 on the year. 7 Because of these achievements. Mr. Hosmer received a Golden Glove in In the 2013 season, Mr. Hosmer was named the Royal s Player of the Year, closing out the last four months of the season with a.318 batting average, 16 home runs, and another 63 RBIs. 8 Mr. Hosmer led the AL with 60 multi-hit games, he was seventh in the league with Eric Hosmer Player Page, Baseball Reference (accessed Dec. 18, 2013), 4 Id. 5 Id. 6 Id. 7 Eric Hosmer Player Page, Baseball Reference, 8 MLB,

6 Team 2 Eric Hosmer 3 hits and sixth against left-handed pitchers with a.323 average. He also scored 156 hits after May 19, the most hits for any player during that time span. 9 III. Length and Consistency of Career Contributions Mr. Hosmer has been largely consistent over the three seasons he has played for the MLB. He has continued to develop as a player and has improved with continued time in the League, despite a less than strong showing during his sophomore season. More importantly, he is improving as a ballplayer and will be a foundational part of the Royals team going forward. Mr. Hosmer had a solid rookie season in 2011, entering the MLB at the age of 21. After rising quickly through the Minors, he joined the Royals in 2011 and began his impressive career both on the plate and in the field. Mr. Hosmer finished the 2011 season offensively with 19 home runs and 78 RBIs, a batting average of.293, and ranked third for the American League Rookie of the Year award. 10 Although Mr. Hosmer s second season was not as impressive as his first, he still maintained solid numbers on the plate. He had 14 homeruns and 60 RBIs with a batting average of.232. Even with these solid numbers, Mr. Hosmer remained an effective offensive player, supplementing his batting with 16 stolen bases and still running for 65 scores during the season. Defensively, he made only 8 errors in 148 games in the 2013 season, which combined with his 132 double-plays to give him a fielding percentage of.993. These 8 errors came on 1335 defensive chances. Mr. Hosmer had a Rtot of 5 and an Rdrs of 3, and earned the Golden Glove in the 2013 season. These numbers were an improvement from his rookie and sophomore seasons, 9 MLB, 10 Eric Hosmer Player Page, Baseball Reference,

7 Team 2 Eric Hosmer 4 and showed an upward trajectory in all three seasons. Mr. Hosmer is a solid defensive player on top of his contributions at bat. Mr. Hosmer redoubled his efforts in the off-season, hitting batting practice hard and working on his skills at the plate. During spring training of 2013, Mr. Hosmer had a league-best 29 RBIs and a slugging percentage of As noted above, that effort has paid off; Mr. Hosmer had his best season ever in 2013, and continued to improve as a professional baseball player. IV. Past Compensation This is the first year that Hosmer is eligible for salary arbitration. He earned $502,500 in the 2011 season and $528,250 in 2012, both through contracts with the Royals. These reflect totals not much more than the league minimum in those respective years: $414,500 for and $480,000 for He also received a $6 million signing bonus when he was selected as the third overall pick in the 2008 draft. V. Comparative Baseball Salaries Mr. Hosmer s performance has been impressive on its own, both in the Minor and Major leagues, and he fully and fairly deserves a salary of $4 million. This is clear in comparison to four other similar players: Ian Desmond, Matt Wieters, Garrett Jones, and Brad Hawpe. In comparing Mr. Hosmer s performance statistics to those of these other players for comparable seasons, it is clear that Mr. Hosmer is entitled to his requested salary of $4 million. Fig. 2: Comparable 11 Yahoo Sports, 30-homers html. 12 MLB CBA MLB CBA

8 Team 2 Eric Hosmer 5 Players BA PA G H HR RBI OBP SLG E FLD% WAR Eric Hosmer (2013) Ian Desmond (2011) Matt Wieters (2012) Garrett Jones (2012) Brad Hawpe (2007) a. Ian Desmond Fig. 3 BA PA G H HR RBI OBP SLG E FLD% WAR Eric Hosmer (2013) Ian Desmond (2011) After the 2012 season, shortstop Ian Desmond signed a contract with the Washington Nationals for $3.8 million. His Major League Service at that time was This amount is above the midpoint in this arbitration. Moreover, it provides a solid comparison in support of Mr. Hosmer s request, because Mr. Hosmer outperformed Desmond in a number of important categories in the season preceding Desmond s contract signing. Mr. Hosmer s RBI count was higher than Desmond s (79 to 73) as is his 162-game average (80 to 73). Likewise, Mr. Hosmer has a higher batting average for the seasons in comparison (.302 to.292), important when you consider that both players provide power at the plate for their teams. Finally, Mr. Hosmer s 14 Eric Hosmer Player Page, Baseball Reference (accessed Dec. 18, 2013), 15 Ian Demsond Player Page, Baseball Reference, 16 Matt Wieters Player Page, Baseball Reference, 17 Garrett Jones Player Page, Baseball Reference, 18 Brad Hawpe Player Page, Baseball Reference,

9 Team 2 Eric Hosmer 6 WAR is higher than Mr. Desmond s for the season in question, 3.6 as opposed to 3.4. Because Mr. Hosmer outperformed Mr. Desmond on a number of important criteria, he should be entitled to at least similar compensation. Note also that the $3.8 million salary figure for Mr. Desmond is from the 2012 year, and therefore does not take into account inflation. Therefore, this comparison supports Mr. Hosmer s request for $4 million, or the figure above the midpoint of this arbitration. b. Matt Wieters Fig. 4 BA PA G H HR RBI OBP SLG E FLD% WAR Eric Hosmer (2013) Matt Wieters (2012) In 2012, Matt Wieters signed a contract with the Baltimore Orioles for $5.5 million. This is significantly above the midpoint in this arbitration, and over a million dollars above the $4 million Mr. Hosmer is asking for. Mr. Hosmer deserves at least this $4 million request for his comparable stats, especially in light of his growth and development as a baseball player. There is no area where Matt Wieters outshines Mr. Hosmer s stats. For the comparable season (2012 for Wieters, 2013 for Mr. Hosmer) Wieters trails in nearly every important category. Wieters batting average of.249 lagged significantly behind Mr. Hosmer s.302. While Wieters had slightly more runs and RBIs in his 2012 season, he produced a lower OBP of.329 to Mr. Hosmer s.353 and a lower slugging percentage (.435 to.448). This difference shrinks even smaller, however, when you compare Mr. Hosmer s 162-game average of 18 runs to Wieters 21. Importantly, Wieters WAR was identical to Mr. Hosmer s, (3.6) for the seasons in question. Despite the fact that Wieters 2012 season did not outpace Mr. Hosmer s 2013 season, the Orioles signed him to a $5.5 million contract after that season. Because he produced similar, and

10 Team 2 Eric Hosmer 7 in some cases better, numbers that Wieter s, Mr. Hosmer deserves a comparable salary of at least $4 million, his request in this arbitration. c. Garrett Jones FLD % Fig. 5 BA PA G H HR RBI OBP SLG E Eric Hosmer (2013) Garrett Jones (2012) WA R Garrett Jones, like Mr. Hosmer, is a first baseman (although Jones also plays rightfield) and his stats from the 2012 season compare favorably to Mr. Hosmer s 2013 numbers. Jones trailed Mr. Hosmer s batting average,.274 to.302 and his OBP (.317 to.353). The two players had similar numbers in home runs (Mr. Hosmer s 17 to Jones 24), RBIs (79 to 86), and OPS+, with Mr. Hosmer s 118 just short of Jones 126. While both players are power hitters and first basemen for their respective teams, Mr. Hosmer s 2013 WAR of 3.6 was significantly above Jones After his 2012 season, with numbers similar to Mr. Hosmer s 2013 stats, the Pittsburg Pirates signed Jones to a one-year contract worth $4.5 million. 20 This number represents an amount above both the midpoint of this arbitration and the amount requested b Mr. Hosmer. Because Mr. Hosmer put up comparable, and in many areas better, numbers than Jones in the season preceding this arbitration, his is therefore entitled to a comparable contract worth at least the $4 million he has requested, and considerably more than either the amount proposed by the Royals or the midpoint of this arbitration. d. Brad Hawpe 19 Garrett Jones Player Page, Baseball Reference 20 Baseball Prospectus,

11 Team 2 Eric Hosmer 8 Fig. 6 BA PA G H HR RBI OBP SLG E FLD% WAR Eric Hosmer (2013) Brad Hawpe (2007) First baseman and outfielder Brad Hawpe also provides a comparison which shows that Mr. Hosmer is entitled to his requested salary of $4 million. At the start of the 2008 season, Hawpe signed a contract with the Colorado Rockies for $3.925 million. 21 This amount represents almost as much in current value as Mr. Hosmer s request (not accounting for inflation in the 6 years intervening) and more than the midpoint of this arbitration. Note that in the 2007 season, Hawpe had a Major League Service of However, Hawpe s statistics in the previous 2007 season are not appreciably better than Mr. Hosmer s 2013 numbers. Hawpe had a lower batting average (.291 to Mr. Hosmer s.302) and a lower WAR, less than half of Mr. Hosmer s (1.5 to 3.6). 22 While Hawpe did lead in home runs and RBIs, his numbers are not significantly better than Mr. Hosmer s. 23 Hawpe and Mr. Hosmer play the same position, and make similar contributions to their teams. In fact, Mr. Hosmer provided a better defensive contribution to his team in the comparison season: He had only 8 errors and a better fielding percentage (.994) than Hawpe s 12 errors and fielding percentage (.977). Brad Hawpe s salary in the comparison 2007 season, and Mr. Hosmer s equivalent or superior performance in his 2013 season, demonstrates that Mr. Hosmer is entitled to a salary at least above the midpoint of this arbitration, and above Brad Hawpe s 2008 salary of $3.925 million. Therefore, Mr. Hosmer s requested salary of $4 million is fair and appropriate. 21 ESPN, 22 Brad Hawpe Player Page, Baseball Reference, 23 Id. Hawpe had 29 HRs and 116 RBIs to Hosmer s 17 HRs and 79 RBIs in the comparable season; they have similar 162-game averages at 18/80 for Hosmer and 22/88 for Hawpe.

12 Team 2 Eric Hosmer 9 VI. Existence of Physical or Mental Defects Mr. Hosmer has been very healthy for his baseball career, both in the Minor and Major Leagues. He has had no injuries reported in the 2011, 2012, or 2013 seasons. 24 Although there are two physical conditions that provided minor impediments, there are no injuries in Mr. Hosmer s record that would argue for devaluation or reduce his value to the Club. First, while in the minors, Mr. Hosmer was diagnosed with astigmatism in 2009, for which he had laser surgery to correct. 25 Since then, his vision has posed no further problems nor effected his playing ability. Second, Mr. Hosmer had a minor swollen left palm in that was aggravated on Opening Day at Chicago, which contributed to his slow start in the 2013 season. 26 That hand has since healed, and has not been a problem for Mr. Hosmer since. Ultimately, both of these conditions have been fixed and no longer pose physical deterrents to Mr. Hosmer s career. VII. Recent Performance of the Club Hosmer helped lead the Royals to third place in the American League Central Division during the 2013 season. The team performed well through the regular season, with 53.1% winloss, close to their record of In addition, the team committed no errors in their first seven games, helped by Mr. Hosmer s zero errors in that period. 28 The Royals won their 82nd season game on September 22, giving them their second winning season in almost two decades. The Royals finished the season with a record of 86-76, their best season record since The Royals had such an impressive season during the same time that Mr. Hosmer posted his best season as well. 24 Fox Sports, 25 Babb, Kent (July 2, 2011) Eric Hosmer Takes his Family s Legacy into the Major Leagues, The Kansas City Star. 26 Judd, Lee (September 12, 2013) Eric Hosmer and What We Don t Know, 27 MLB, 28 Wikipedia, 29 MLB,

13 Team 2 Eric Hosmer 10 VIII. Conclusion Mr. Hosmer is a strong baseball player and a key contributor to the Royals. In the 2013 season, he has shown steady improvement from an already impressive previous record. And Mr. Hosmer is on an upward trajectory as a power hitter and fielder for this Club. He produces better than Ian Desmond, with more RBIs, a higher batting average, and a better WAR. Mr. Hosmer likewise outperformed Matt Wieters in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Mr. Hosmer also outperformed a player at his same position and with a significantly higher salary, Garrett Jones, who trailed Mr. Hosmer s batting average, on-base percentage, and WAR. Lastly, Mr. Hosmer outperformed another highly-paid player, Brad Hawpe, in these same categories. Based on the evidence outlined in this brief and in oral argument, Mr. Hosmer respectfully requests that this panel grant his arbitration request for a salary of $4 million for the 2013 season.