It's about 14 years late, but the Dodgers have finally awarded the contract that they should have given to Mike Piazza after the 1997 season. Of course, you would not sign the Cooperstown-bound Pizza Man today, so instead they are about to lock up an 8-year, $160 Million deal with the Bison, Matt Kemp.
The money is rich, to be sure--at $20 Million per year on average until he turns 35. But Piazza wanted a similar length at $15 Million per year a decade and a half ago, and even though Fox foolishly traded him, the Mets basically gave him that deal, and the Dodgers instead gave that deal to a 33-year old starter (and a bit of a headcase). In today's market, consider that A-Rod, CC Sabathia, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Joe Mauer, Johann Santana, Mark Texiera, Carl Crawford, Roy Halladay, and Ryan Braun are all making more than Kemp. These are amonsgt the elite players in the game, and Kemp proved this year he is in that class--maybe even a leader of the class. Ryan Braun is espescially noteworthy, because you have to figure Braun and Kemp are front-runners for the MVP award, and certainly if the Diamondbacks and Giants had collapsed the way the Braves did, the Dodgers (who like the Cardinals were 11 games out of a playoff spot and had basically the same record in the last month and a half) could have been the cinderalla story that the Cardinals were, and Kemp would probably be a lock for the MVP. We will see what Pujols and Fielder get in the off-season too, but I am guessing they are looking at even richer deals, at least on a per-year basis. So all we need is for Kemp to continue to produce the way that he has (OK, that's a tall order to match 2011, but well), and it's great.
Most importantly, this is a big step into making Matt Kemp will be forever a Dodger, and that is great news for a franchise that needs to make sure that its franchise player(s) is (are) locked up.
Next up--Clayton Kershaw.
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