Worst holdout in professional sports history

IWASATTHECATCH · 2009-09-16T05:28:14-07:00

Matt Harrington Harrington could be the worst holdout in professional sports history. Not only did the No. 7 pick turn down an offer of US$4.9-million from the Colorado Rockies in 2000, he then enlisted the help of Boras, who rejected a $1.2-million signing bonus from the Padres when the star pitcher was re-drafted as the 58th pick in 2001. As Harrington's value continued to diminish, he entered his third draft, only to be taken in the 13th round by the Devil Rays as the 374th pick. He rejected Tampa Bay's offer of $5,000-$20,000 — standard contracts for players picked in the 13th round. He went back to try his hand at a fourth draft in 2003 and was picked up by the Reds in the 24th round. As the 711th pick, Cincinatti really owed him nothing but a chance to play. Of course, this was not good enough so he returned for a fifth draft where he was picked 1,089th by the Yankees in the 36th round. Surprisingly, he was not offered a contract by the team. Did he get the hint? Apparently not, as he was later passed over in the 2005 draft and became a free agent. Harrington attempted to land a spot in 2007 on a Cubs minor league team but was released shortly after. According to ESPN, he now works for Costco and makes $11.50 per hour in the tire department. http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/postedsports/archive/2009/09/15/crabtree-needs-to-learn-from-his-holdout-peers.aspx

Sep 16, 2009 at 5:43 AM

Esco
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LOL is that actually him?

Sep 16, 2009 at 6:07 AM

BobS
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That is one of those situations that is almost unbelievable that someone can be that stupid.

Sep 16, 2009 at 6:16 AM

SoCold
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Sep 16, 2009 at 6:17 AM

LA9erFan
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Posts: 66,021

Originally posted by Esco:
LOL is that actually him?

Yup. He's from the town that's right next to where I grew up, and is 2 years younger than me. We had a mutual friend and I shot pool with him once, when he was still in high school. He already had a huge ego by the time he was 16 and was kind of a jackass. He was actually considered to be a possibility as the #1 pick, but he was (correctly) viewed as being difficult to sign, so he slipped to #7.

[ Edited by LA9erFan on Sep 16, 2009 at 6:17 AM ]

Sep 16, 2009 at 9:13 AM

TheSixthRing
Beer Gut
Posts: 82,187

Wow. Golden arm. s**t for brains.

Sep 16, 2009 at 9:17 AM

SybErkRimInAL
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Posts: 59,185

if there was EVER a perfect situation for a facepalm, this is it.

Sep 16, 2009 at 9:21 AM

YungBird
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Posts: 21,475

What an idiot

Sep 16, 2009 at 9:24 AM

Leathaface
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Posts: 16,720

Originally posted by LA9erFan:
Originally posted by Esco:
LOL is that actually him?

Yup. He's from the town that's right next to where I grew up, and is 2 years younger than me. We had a mutual friend and I shot pool with him once, when he was still in high school. He already had a huge ego by the time he was 16 and was kind of a jackass. He was actually considered to be a possibility as the #1 pick, but he was (correctly) viewed as being difficult to sign, so he slipped to #7.

Sup LA. I went to HS with this guy...honestly my recollection of him is a little different...I had video production with him and he was a really cool guy. He knew he was the sh!t when it came to playing baseball but he wasn't a typical jock by any means.

He just got horrible advice....horrible, horrible, advice.

Sep 16, 2009 at 9:28 AM

LA9erFan
Veteran
Posts: 66,021

Originally posted by Leathaface:
Originally posted by LA9erFan:
Originally posted by Esco:
LOL is that actually him?

Yup. He's from the town that's right next to where I grew up, and is 2 years younger than me. We had a mutual friend and I shot pool with him once, when he was still in high school. He already had a huge ego by the time he was 16 and was kind of a jackass. He was actually considered to be a possibility as the #1 pick, but he was (correctly) viewed as being difficult to sign, so he slipped to #7.

Sup LA. I went to HS with this guy...honestly my recollection of him is a little different...I had video production with him and he was a really cool guy. He knew he was the sh!t when it came to playing baseball but he wasn't a typical jock by any means.

He just got horrible advice....horrible, horrible, advice.

You probably knew him a lot better than I did, because I only met him once.

A group of us went to Lasers (the pool hall on Palmdale Blvd) with him once, and he and a couple of his friends spent most of the night just laying into this one guy, who I guess they knew from school and seemed kind of nerdy/meek. I think they were baseball players as well. Maybe he was different around other jocks. I thought he was kind of a prick, but that was my only chance to get an impression of him.

[ Edited by LA9erFan on Sep 16, 2009 at 9:28 AM ]

Sep 16, 2009 at 9:35 AM

#10

Bluefalcon61
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Posts: 46,601

Too bad he didn't hire Eugene Parker as his agent. The great Eugene Parker would have gotten him the megabucks contract that he wanted. Eugene Parker is that good.

Sep 16, 2009 at 9:42 AM

#11

Psinex
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Posts: 4,618

Originally posted by Bluefalcon61:
Too bad he didn't hire Eugene Parker as his agent. The great Eugene Parker would have gotten him the megabucks contract that he wanted. Eugene Parker is that good.

Is that you Mad Dog?

Sep 16, 2009 at 9:48 AM

#12

Leathaface
Veteran
Posts: 16,720

Originally posted by LA9erFan:
Originally posted by Leathaface:
Originally posted by LA9erFan:
Originally posted by Esco:
LOL is that actually him?

Yup. He's from the town that's right next to where I grew up, and is 2 years younger than me. We had a mutual friend and I shot pool with him once, when he was still in high school. He already had a huge ego by the time he was 16 and was kind of a jackass. He was actually considered to be a possibility as the #1 pick, but he was (correctly) viewed as being difficult to sign, so he slipped to #7.

Sup LA. I went to HS with this guy...honestly my recollection of him is a little different...I had video production with him and he was a really cool guy. He knew he was the sh!t when it came to playing baseball but he wasn't a typical jock by any means.

He just got horrible advice....horrible, horrible, advice.

You probably knew him a lot better than I did, because I only met him once.

A group of us went to Lasers (the pool hall on Palmdale Blvd) with him once, and he and a couple of his friends spent most of the night just laying into this one guy, who I guess they knew from school and seemed kind of nerdy/meek. I think they were baseball players as well. Maybe he was different around other jocks. I thought he was kind of a prick, but that was my only chance to get an impression of him.

Oh man Lasers, haha. I used to love that place...right by PHS. I used to love going to that place and then hitting up the In N Out that was on 15th East

As odd as it may sound, I miss the AV. I haven't been to Palmdale in a good 5 years now.

Sep 16, 2009 at 10:54 AM

#13

kray28
Veteran
Posts: 12,903

Can someone email this link to Crabtree, please.

Sep 16, 2009 at 11:00 AM

#14

valrod33
Hall of Small
Posts: 138,117

Originally posted by kray28:
Can someone email this link to Crabtree, please.

i printed it and sent it via pigeon