NFT: Who is the worst signing in NY professional sports history?

comes to mind.

But figured the Yankee fans might have some others as well.

In comment 14218529 figgy2989 said:

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But figured the Yankee fans might have some others as well.

Right right.
I think Pavano was the one I was trying to come up with. 100%

Knicks-Eddy Curry-huge cost just to attain Curry, but then we gave him a big, long contract.

Yankees-Pavano or maybe Ellsbury.

Rangers-So many in the early 2000's, but I think Redden might take the cake.

Giants-NFL contracts aren't gtd, so none are devastating, but Geoff Scwartz was pretty useless. Lavar Arrington has to take the cake though.

based on price of the contract, obscure signings like Trey Junkin and Herman Moore work too.

was a complete dumpster fire in every conceivable way.

In comment 14218540 figgy2989 said:

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based on price of the contract, obscure signings like Trey Junkin and Herman Moore work too.

Eh, if there's not much cost to a signing then it can't be all bad, it's simple enough to cut the guy and get someone else.

The problem with bad signings are when the player is terrible AND expensive. And I'll always refer to that as the Pavano Rule.

But that was a pretty bad signing and basically all of his "demons" came out once he was in the spot light of NYC.

Herschel Walker.

Yeah, that makes sense. I was thinking more along the lines of hearing names that aren't always brought up in these type of discussions.

Noah of course. Bargnani. And I remember when Eddy Curry and Jerome James were both on the roster at the same time.

Was pretty shitty

James was $30 million for a guy who averaged 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds for them. Pavano got 4/40, threw a grand total of 145 innings in which he allowed 182 hits and and ERA of 5.00.

.

Not one of Parcells finer moments as HC/GM with the Jets.

Don't know about the contract details, I was a lad at the time. But I remember being frustrated that a milquetoast team brought in a washed-up, ancient specialist just because we couldn't find a human to hold on to kick-offs. Felt like the 90s.

The Knicks never recovered and he's still involved.

In a lifetime of horrible deals by the Mets, this one stands out.

Can't say the same for Tim Hardaway Jr

In comment 14218544 jcn56 said:

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In comment 14218540 figgy2989 said: Quote: based on price of the contract, obscure signings like Trey Junkin and Herman Moore work too. Eh, if there's not much cost to a signing then it can't be all bad, it's simple enough to cut the guy and get someone else. The problem with bad signings are when the player is terrible AND expensive. And I'll always refer to that as the Pavano Rule.

Even though he was cheap, Trey Junkin's bad snap in the SF playoff game cost a lot.

Carl Pavano, NYY #2

due every July 1st until 2035! July 1st is now known as "Bobby Bonilla Day"!
Link - ( New Window )

Allan Houston is up there too.

but Allan Houston is in the discussion.

link

Tore his knee ligaments first year, and only played one more year.

He was a Free Agent, since he had signed with the WFL in 1974. But Wellington GAVE AWAY two third round draft choices to Miami when he signed him. Here's the link:

Giants� Beau Geste: Give 2 Draft Picks for Csonka

From the article:

Quote:

�I'll be damned,� said one veteran player, shocked by the largess of Wellington Mara, the club president. �Confucius say: Honorable man get taken in end,� said one member of the team's staff. �But I tell you, it's nice working for a guy like that, and I just hope nice guys don't always finish last.� At Phoenix, Mara said he made a commitment to Don Shula, the Dolphins� general manager and coach, to give Miami compensation. After many discussions with Shula and Joe Robbie, the Dolphins� president, Mara's first offer of the Giants� 1978 and 1979 third‐round draft picks was accepted. Mara does not expect anyone else to follow his example. �I talked to Tex Schramm (the Dallas Cowboys� president) about compensating us for Ron Johnson,� said Mara, �and he said he would as soon as the Redskins gave him something for his players. I was just being facetious. Ron didn't make their team and I didn't expect anything for him.�

So, even when things look bad at times now, they are never as bad as when Wellington was running the team. Love him as an individual, but imagine a team as lacking in talent as the mid 70's Giants were giving away draft choices!!!

Oh, as a side note, Czonka was the fullback on the field that was supposed to take the handoff from Pisarcik that was fumbled (1st "Miracle at the Meadowlands"). McVey's dad was the Head Coach, and the guy who called the play, OC Bob Gibson, never coached in the NFL again. Here's an article from the NYT on him:

How One Bad Giants Call Ended an N.F.L. Career

Its either Noah or Curry.

but he was a Japanese pitcher who was signed by the Yankees. The Yanks payed a large posting fee as well as a pretty hefty long term contract. And he never really pitched in the majors.

/thread

Though not as colossally bad as some others, Glavine was still overall a negative for the Mets.

Some others
Jason Bay - I�d classify as colossally bad
Vince Coleman to the Mets
Kaz Matsui (minus his first at bat of every season)

Geoff Schwartz
Carlos Emmons
Barrett Green

In comment 14218620 johnnyb said:

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but he was a Japanese pitcher who was signed by the Yankees. The Yanks payed a large posting fee as well as a pretty hefty long term contract. And he never really pitched in the majors.

Igawa is definitely up there, though it's not as painful because we didn't have to see much of him in the majors.

Igawa got $46m/5-years. Total of 71.2 MLB innings, at a 6.66 ERA.

to think he wasn't washed up when he was signed to that ridiculous contract. Pavano and Ellsbury are similar in that they were vastly overpaid for what they had accomplished prior to the contracts, but there was no reason to think they wouldn't at least show up and be average. (They didn't.)

Bonilla didn't work out, but it wasn't a bad decision to sign him. He finished top 3 in the MVP voting his previous 2 years and was still in his late 20s.

Was plenty bad trade and signing

In comment 14218638 wigs in nyc said:

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In comment 14218620 johnnyb said: Quote: but he was a Japanese pitcher who was signed by the Yankees. The Yanks payed a large posting fee as well as a pretty hefty long term contract. And he never really pitched in the majors. Igawa is definitely up there, though it's not as painful because we didn't have to see much of him in the majors. Igawa got $46m/5-years. Total of 71.2 MLB innings, at a 6.66 ERA.

Check that - Igawa only got $20m (only.) The figure above included a $26m posting fee!

signing every year. Steve Kemp, Jack Clark, Ed Whitson. Whoever was available they threw $$ at and few if any worked out.

this question can be answered any way other than Bobby Bonilla...

In comment 14218650 Chris in Philly said:

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this question can be answered any way other than Bobby Bonilla...

This is very true.

In comment 14218598 gmenrule-va said:

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due every July 1st until 2035! July 1st is now known as "Bobby Bonilla Day"! Link - ( New Window )

2 things:

1) The July 1st until 2035 had/has absolutely nothing to do with Bonilla's free agency signing in 1991. The annuity payments made to Bonilla were negotiated after the Mets acquired him from the Dodgers in winter '98 and he had a terrible '99 season. Instead of pay him $5.9M then, the Mets (banking on their Madoff returns) negotiated a deferred payment schedule using a discount rate that gave them a positive NPV. Problem was their discount rate was bogus and it ended up being a good deal for Bonilla

2) The 1991 Free agency signing - Bonilla was 28 at time of signing... 4 year tenure OPS+ was over 130, he was a 10 WAR player, 2 time allstar over 3.5 seasons and then netted them legit MLB prospects in Alex Ochoa and Damon Buford at the '95 trade deadline.

Bonilla was in no way, shape, or form the worst signing in Mets history. That's a fallacy driven by the disaster that was the collective '92-93 Mets. Could not have second guessed the Mets when they signed him, and although it didn't turn out the way they expected, the guy actually produced and had some value.


For my money the worst signings? Maybe Vince Coleman, maybe Luis Castillo... Kaz Matsui was terrible.

At the time I couldn't understand how a major league scout could look at Kaz Matsui and think he could be a MLB SS. He threw a baseball like 60 MPH.... and we displaced superstar prospect Jose Reyes for the dude!

was pretty horrific. Hard to be worse than him, Pavano, or Ellsbury. I can't put Allan Houston in this category. Yes he was overpaid even when healthy, but at time he signed the deal he was playing at an all-star level and had been durable up until that point. Guys get hurt, it happens. With Amare, on the other hand, everyone knew that he was likely to break down. Other nominees: Rick DiPietro, Jason Bay, Shandon Anderson, Howard Eisley, Jerome James, Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries, Kenny Rogers

so yeah only like a 2-3 WAR player which wasn't the 7 WAR guy they thought they were getting, but he was still a productive player...

Didn't he sign some clown college 17 year contract?

In comment 14218669 Ten Ton Hammer said:

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Didn't he sign some clown college 17 year contract?

It was the Islanders. No one noticed/cared.

But after he was acquired, Milbury signed Alexei Yashin to a 10 year $80M deal. In 2001, $8M per year was unheard of for a hockey player.

Did not play terrible for the Isles the first few years, but did not perform anywhere near what he was being paid.

In comment 14218669 Ten Ton Hammer said:

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Didn't he sign some clown college 17 year contract?

A little different though, he was drafted by the team and his buddy Garth Snow gave him that deal. Not really a free agent.

Hideki Irabu?

Lavar Arrington suffered what was basically a career ending injury. That doesn't make him a terrible signing does it? I think the OP is looking more towards the ellsbury/bay type.player. Somebody who was good but just sucked in NY.

Also, Arrington was coming on and playing great when he got hurt if I remember correctly.

was a huge injury risk when signed. You can't just ignore that and give him a pass. The guy was hurt a lot and came to NY with that risk.

Knicks couldn't sign 3 max cats

We ended up with Amare and his glass knees.

Then we ended up with Melo without a second star.

I mean... we're still recovering.

just how bad football contracts end up hurting. How much did we really end up paying Lavar?

being some sort of weird punchline Bobby Bonilla was nowhere near the worst signing. He posted an .851 OPS with the Mets, OPS+ of 128

In comment 14218713 DanMetroMan said:

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being some sort of weird punchline Bobby Bonilla was nowhere near the worst signing. He posted an .851 OPS with the Mets, OPS+ of 128

Not only that, the buyout while misunderstood by many, wasn't even horrible all things considered.

The Bonilla contract is like an IQ test, that most fail