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Salary Arbitration
James Jerry Hardy vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Representative of the Major League Player
Giorgio Varlaro
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Table of Contents
Criteria Law
I. Article IV (D) 12: Criteria [for Salary Arbitration] -3-II. What is Arbitration? -4-
Introduction
I. Who is James Jerry Hardy? -5-II. Hardy’s Three Seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers
Flaws and Potential in Hardy’s Game
I. Health Issues -7-II. Overall Slumping -7-
III. Inadequate base running skills-7-
Comparable Players
I. Introduction to Comparables -8-II. Charts of Statistics -8-
(a) Batting Averages -9-(b) Home Runs (c) On-base plus Slugging -10-(d) Fielding Percentages -10-
III. Analysis of Players
(a) Yuniesky Betancourt, Seattle Mariners -11-(b) Jose Reyes, New York Mets -12-(c) Khalil Greene, San Diego Padres -13-(d) Bobby Crosby, Oakland Athletics -14-
Conclusion
I. Summary of Arguments -16-
Word Cited -18-
Major League Statistics Glossary -19-
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Criteria Law
I. Article IV (D) 12: Criteria [for Salary Arbitration]
(a) The criteria will be the quality of the Player's contribution to his Club during the
past season (including but not limited to his overall performance, special qualities
of leadership and public appeal), the length and consistency of his career
contribution, the record of the Player's past compensation, comparative baseball
salaries, the existence of any physical or mental defects on the part of the Player,
and the recent performance record of the Club including but not limited to its
League standing and attendance as an indication of public acceptance. Any
evidence may be submitted which is relevant to the above criteria, and the
arbitrator or arbitration panel shall assign such weight to the evidence as shall
appear appropriate under the circumstances. The arbitrator or arbitration panel
shall, except for a Player with five or more years of Major League service, give
particular attention, for comparative salary purposes, to the contracts of Players
with Major League service not exceeding one annual service group above the
Player's annual service group. This shall not limit the ability of a Player or his
representative, because of special accomplishment, to argue the equal relevance of
salaries of Players without regard to service, and the arbitrator or arbitration panel
shall give whatever weight to such argument as is deemed appropriate.
(b) Evidence of the following shall not be admissible:
(i) The financial position of the Player and the Club;
(3)
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(ii) Press comments, testimonials or similar material bearing on the performance
of either the Player or the Club, except that recognized annual Player awards for
playing excellence shall not be excluded;
(iii) Offers made by either Player or Club prior to arbitration
II. What is Arbitration?
Major League Baseball has used arbitration to determine the salary of certain
qualified players based on major league service time and ranking of statistics. Arbitration
was created in 1974, and was used as an alternative to free agency because owners were
not paying their players a meaningful and deserved salary. Salary arbitration provides a
happy medium between the reserve clause and free agency for owners and players alike.
Arbitration gives major league players bargaining power, something they did not have in
their past seasons.
A third party member, known as an arbitrator, usually determines the certain
salary received by the player. To do this, the owner and the player, with his agent,
submit two separate offers for the third party arbitrator to decide upon. Once the two
sides meet at the scheduled hearing, a midpoint is determined. The midpoint helps the
arbitrator decide what the player will receive in the following year of his career. If a
decision favors the player, the owner has the right to release the player. In most cases
though, before the hearing, the club and the player reach an agreement before the actual
hearing occurs.
A player with three or more years of service, but less than six, may file for salary
arbitration. In some cases a player may file for arbitration after two years. These players
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are known as Super Twos. Super Twos must have completed 86 days of service the
preceding year and be ranked in the top 17% of service in players who have two full
years but less than three full years.
Figures for the players who are eligible for arbitration can be found on websites
such as ESPN. ESPN has a substantial amount of information which correlates to
baseball arbitration. ESPN has player’s team histories, asking price histories, offers
made, and results as well.
Introduction
I. Who is J.J. Hardy
James Jerry Hardy, also known as J.J. Hardy, was born August 19, 1982 in
Tucson, AZ. He is the starting shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers, who play in the
National League of Major League Baseball. The Brewers selected Hardy as the 56th
overall player in the second round of the 2001 draft, thus negating a scholarship at the
University of Arizona. J.J. Hardy comes from an athletic background. His father played
on a professional tennis tour, then later become an instructor, and his mother excelled at
golf, specifically being ranked second, behind Nancy Lopez as a college amateur. Hardy
made his major league debut on Opening Day, 2005, starting at shortstop and becoming
only the fifth Brewer player to make his Major League debut on Opening Day.
II. Hardy’s Three Seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers
J.J. moved quickly through the Minor Leagues with his stellar defensive play
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(earned him All-Star Minor League appearances), and with the Brewer franchise being
short on legitimate infield prospects. After sitting out the 2004 Minor League season
with a shoulder injury, Hardy began Spring Training of 2005 with the Brewers. Hardy
would have a good Spring Training and earn the Brewers starting shortstop position for
the season. Hardy would pile up 46 runs scored, 9 home runs, 50 RBI’s, a batting
average of .247, a OPS of .711, and a fielding percentage of .975. These statistics would
rank Hardy second among National League rookies. As well, in 2005, Hardy
accumulated 10 total errors, 22 doubles, and 44 walks (www.mlb.com/stats).
In Hardy’s second major league season, 2006, Hardy was only able to compete in
35 full games for the Brewers. He would be involved in a collision at home plate during
a Philadelphia Phillies game with catcher Sal Fasano. The collision would result in a high
ankle sprain, and force the Brewers to place Hardy the 15-day disabled list. Hardy would
try to recover, however, his ankle would consistently slide in and out of place making it
very hard to recovery properly. It was then decided by Hardy and the team to undergo
season-ending surgery on his tender ankle. Hardy would finish the 2006 season with a .
242 batting average, 5 home runs, and 14 RBI’s (www.wikipedia.org).
Coming back in 2007 from his ankle injury, Hardy would amass career highs in
every offensive category. With his offensive statistics significantly better, Hardy would
be selected to his first All-Star Game. In the very same season, Hardy would tie a
Brewers franchise record, recording a 19 game hit streak, which would be the fifth
longest streak in Brewers history.
In 2007, Hardy finished his season collecting 148 runs scored, 40 home runs, 144
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RBI’s, a .277 batting average, and a OPS of .786. As well, Hardy would earn a .978
fielding percentage with only 13 errors on 397 attempts (www.mlb.com/stats). With
Hardy’s career season, he and the Brewers would compile 83 wins, the most this past
decade, and finished second in the National League Central Division, which was also the
best in the past decade.
III. Flaws and Potential
While J.J. Hardy has been injured from competition in the past, including an
entire Minor League season in 2004, Hardy has shown with his 151 games played in
2007, injuries are a thing of the past. Besides being injured in the past, Hardy has shone
the Brewers that he is prone to slumps and not the most versatile base runner. Base
running, usually not the forte of most power hitters, is something Hardy practices on
everyday. While he knows that he will never be a perennial stolen base leader, Hardy
wants teams to know that when he is on the base pads, they should be aware of him. As
for the slumps, every baseball player deals with slumps during their baseball season. As
Hardy gains more experience and knowledge of the game of baseball, he will learn how
to accurately succeed in everyday baseball situations such as slumps. With Hardy’s
growing power (26 HR in 2007), strong arm (.978 fielding percentage), and strike out
average per plate appearance only at 14%, Hardy has shown the Brewers from his 2007
season that he has very high potential, thus is slated to soon become an above average
everyday shortstop.
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Comparable Players
I. Introduction to Comparables
When determining the 2008 salary of J.J. Hardy through arbitration, it can be
better understood when measuring other major league players that compare to him
statically, in both batting and fielding. The four players referenced in this report who
compare best to J.J. Hardy are Shortstop’s Yuniesky Betancourt of the Seattle Mariners,
Jose Reyes of the New York Mets, Khalil Greene of the San Diego Padres, and Bobby
Crosby of the Oakland Athletics.
II. Charts of Statistics
In comparing J.J. Hardy to the other major league players mentioned above, there
are important statistical categories that must be referred to and compared. The statistical
categories which we feel are important to the arbitration case include: batting average,
home runs, OPS (On-Base plus Slugging), and fielding percentages. Since these statistics
seem to be very valuable in previous cases, we have four charts below visually revealing
the statistical comparison of our client to the before mentioned comparable major league
baseball players.
The four charts below, in order, compare J.J. Hardy to our other major league
comparables in batting average, home runs, On-base plus Slugging percentage, and
fielding percentage. To make it fair, we compared each of these athletes’ first three major
league seasons. The reasoning for the graphs correlates to a easy visual representation of
statistical information of each of the discussed major league players.
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Batting Averages for Comparable Players
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
1st Season 2nd Season 3rd Season
Batting Average
J.J. Hardy
Yuniesky Betancourt
Khalil Greene
Bobby Crosby
Jose Reyes
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OPS (On Base plus Slugging) for Comparable
Players
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.80.9
1st Season 2nd Season 3rd Season
OPS
J.J. Hardy
Yuniesky Betancourt
Khalil Greene
Bobby Crosby
Jose Reyes
Home Runs for Comparable Players
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1st Season 2nd Season 3rd Season
J.J. Hardy
Yuniesky Betancourt
Khalil Greene
Bobby Crosby
Jose Reyes
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In the 2007 season, both Hardy and Betancourt will be playing in their third years
of major league service, for their respective teams. With this known, our client
statistically out performed Betancourt in the 2007 season. In breaking down their
statistics, Hardy out performed Betancourt in the following categories; runs (89 to 72),
hits (164 to 155), home runs (26 to 9), RBI’s (80 to 67), Walks (40 to 15) OPS (.786 to .
726) and fielding percentage (.978 to .967).
While our client’s performance was statistically better than that of Betancourt,
Betancourt has proven the ability to stay healthy over the course of his young career.
Betancourt has played in 372 games compared to Hardy’s 310. In 2006 Hardy spent some
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time on the disabled list, but he bounced back in 2007 playing 151 games. The figure of
$2.5 million for the 2008 season is substantially lower than that of Betancourt in part
because of this factor. As well, we feel that our client’s statistical production last season
gives the organization reason to see future potential in the client.
J.J. Hardy (2007) Yuniesky Betancourt (2007)
Salary Asking for $2.5 million Ave. of $3.44 million
Average .277 .289
Home Runs 26 9
RBI’s 80 67
Runs 89 72
OPS .786 .726
Fielding Percentage .978 .967
Jose Reyes, New York Mets
Jose Reyes, the starting Shortstop for the New York Mets, qualifies as a
comparable player to Hardy based on his major league experience. Reyes, who qualifies
as a 4+ player, can be compared to Hardy based on his 2006 major league statistics.
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Reyes who was eligible for salary arbitration after the 2006 season, signed a four-year
contract worth $23.25 million, which makes his average salary $5.81 million per season.
This does not include the 2011 club option for a fifth season, which equals $11 million.
This option, if picked up, would bring Reyes average salary to 6.85 million per season.
The salary Reyes makes is well above the $2.5 million we are asking for in relation to our
client’s salary in 2008.
In comparing their statistics from their third seasons in the major leagues for
arbitration purposes, this would be Reyes 2006 season compared to Hardy’s 2007 season.
For such a discrepancy in salary, the numbers between the two major league players are
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relatively comparable. Reyes out performed Hardy in batting average (.300 to .277), runs
scored (122 to 89) RBI’s (81 to 80) and OPS (.841 to .786). However, our client had
more home runs (26 to 19), a better fielding percentage (.978 to .971) and struck out less
times (73 to 81), while playing in just two fewer games (151 to 153).
While Hardy does not stack up to Reyes in all statistical categories, the contract
being sought is reflective of the difference between the two players. We realize that in
2006, Jose Reyes had a very good statistical year, but it is good for comparison since
Hardy had a career year in 2007, his arbitration year. The follow chart better shows the
comparisons of statistics and salary for the comparable player’s season.
J.J. Hardy (2007) Jose Reyes (2006)
Salary Asking for $2.5 million Average $5.81 million
Average .277 .300
Home Runs 26 19
RBI’s 80 81
Runs 89 122
OPS .786 .841
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Fielding Percentage .978 .971
Khalil Greene, San Diego Padres
Khalil Greene, the starting Shortstop for the San Diego Padres and our third
comparable major league player, qualifies as a 4+ player in relation to his major league
service and time he filed for arbitration. Greene, again a 4+ player, is comparably
analyzed to Hardy based on his 2006 major league statistics. Greene, who was eligible for
salary arbitration after the 2006 season, signed a one-year contract in 2007 with the San
Diego Padres for $2.25 million. In those comparable seasons, our client significantly
outperformed Greene. Based on statistical comparison between Hardy’s
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2007 season and Greene’s 2006 season, Hardy outperformed Greene in batting average
(.277 to .245), home runs (26 to 15), RBI’s (80 to 55), runs scored (89 to 56), and OPS
(.786 to .747). The only major statistic that Greene had an advantage in was his fielding
percentage with a .980 compared to Hardy’s .978. Based on statistics, our client deserves
to be paid higher than the $2.25 million contract Greene was awarded after the 2006
season when he finally had the ability to ask for a raise because he had bargaining power.
J.J. Hardy (2007) Khalil Greene (2006)
Salary Asking for $2.5 million 1 year, $2.25 million
Average .277 .245
Home Runs 26 15
RBI’s 80 55Runs 89 56
OPS .786 .747
Fielding Percentage .978 .980
Bobby Crosby, Oakland Athletics
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Bobby Crosby, the starting Shortstop for the Oakland Athletics qualifies as a
comparable player, specifically a 5+ player, to Hardy based on his major league service
time, and the year he signed a lucrative contract with his organization the Oakland
Athletics. Crosby, again qualifies as a 5+ player, and because of this has his 2005 season
stats compared to Hardy’s 2007 stats.
Bobby Crosby signed a new deal after the 2005 season worth five years $12.75
million. This would correlate to an average of $2.55 million per season. Although we are
seeking a contract that is less than that of Crosby, our player outperformed Crosby in
their third seasons. That third season for Crosby was 2005. Comparing their respective
seasons, Hardy had a
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better batting average (.277 to .276), hit more home runs (26 to 9), had more RBI’s (80 to
38), and scored more runs (89 to 66). Crosby however did have a higher OPS (.802 to .
786) and had a higher fielding percentage (.981 to .978).
With it known that our client J.J. Hardy has better statistics than that of Bobby
Crosby, we would also like for it to be known that Bobby Crosby could be considered a
4+ player as well, thus making our argument for his even more credible. Again, Crosby
did sign a five-year deal with the Oakland Athletics in 2005, but according to Cot’s
Baseball Contracts, Crosby only has just over three years of major league service time
just like Jose Reyes and Khalil Greene who are 4+ player. If we were to look at the
comparison of our client to Greene in relation to 4+ statistics, our player would look even
better than before. If we considered Crosby as a 4+ player, we would be looking at his
2006 season statistics. In 2006, Crosby had a batting average of .229, with 9 home runs,
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42 runs scored, 40 RBI’s, 76 strikeouts, and an OPS of .636. These numbers are
significantly worse than Crosby’s 2005 stats where he actually played in 12 less games.
A second chart below will show the comparison of Crosby’s 2006 year to Hardy’s 2007
year to show the difference in statistics. This again, reveals the value of J.J. Hardy to the
Milwaukee Brewers, and how significant of a player he is to the organization.
J.J. Hardy (2007) Bobby Crosby (2005)
Salary Asking for $2.5 million $2.55 million per year
Average .277 .276
Home Runs 26 9
RBI’s 80 38
Runs 89 66OPS .786 .802
Fielding Percentage .978 .981
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J.J. Hardy (2007) Bobby Crosby (2006)
Salary Asking for $2.5 million $2.55 per year
Average .277 .229
Home Runs 26 9
RBI’s 80 40
Runs 89 42
OPS .786 .636
Strikeouts 73 76
Fielding Percentage .978 .972
Conclusion
I. Summary of Arguments
The Milwaukee Brewers, and their shortstop J.J. Hardy, again are seeking a
contract for the 2008 season based on J.J. Hardy’s 2007 season statistics. For arbitration
purposes, Hardy and his agent had to find other major league shortstops who compared to
him relatively in major league service time. These major league players who have
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relatively the same major league service time as your client are considered comparable
players. These comparable players are used by the client to determine what type of salary
is deserved for the following baseball season, which in this case is 2008. The comparable
players that were used by the client for the arbitration were Yuniesky Betancourt, Jose
Reyes, Khalil Greene, and Bobby Crosby.
Hardy, a 2007 member of the All Star game posted career numbers in all of his
offensive statistics. Since the client posted astonishing number from previous seasons, the
client earned the right for a new deal since his contribution to the team was very
significant.
For the 2008 season, J.J. Hardy has asked the Milwaukee Brewers for a one-year
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deal worth $2.5 million, while the club only wants to pay the client $2 million. The figure
wanted is a substantial raise for the client, but when major league players file for
arbitration, they usually receive contracts that are worth millions of dollars at a time.
Because the client is such an overall good player, specifically in offense and defense, it is
believed that the client is actually receiving less money than what is deserved. The $2.5
million is a bargain for the organization. The players statistics from last year prove the
potential the clients has, and because of the statistics posted by the client, it is believed
that $2.25 million, or the midpoint for the arbitration hearing will prove that James Jerry
Hardy is worth one dollar more than the midpoint, thus a contract for $2.5 million in
2008 is rightfully deserved.
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Work Cited
Baseball Referencehttp://www.baseball-reference.com/
Cot’s Baseball Contractshttp://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com
ESPNhttp://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=
Major League Baseballhttp://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/players/index.jsp
MLB4U.com
http://www.mlb4u.com/
The Baseball Cubehttp://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/H/J.J.-Hardy.shtml
USA Today Statistical Archivehttp://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/statistics
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MLB Statistics GlossaryAbbreviations Meaning
FPCT Fielding percentage(PO + A) divided by (PO + A +
E)GP Games played
GS Games started
INN Innings
TC Total chances
PO Putouts
A Assists
E Errors
AVG Batting averageH divided by AB
OBP On-base percentage
(H + BB + HBP) divided by (AB+ BB + HBP + SF)
SB Stolen bases
SO Strikeouts
BB Bases on balls
RBI Runs batted in
HR Home runs
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