arbitration: milwaukee brewers

8/7/2019 Arbitration: Milwaukee Brewers

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Salary Arbitration

James Jerry Hardy vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Representative of the Major League Player

Giorgio Varlaro



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;

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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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http://www.mlb.com/stats

http://www.wikipedia.org/


http://www.wikipedia.org/



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


OPS

J.J. Hardy

Yuniesky Betancourt

Khalil Greene

Bobby Crosby

Jose Reyes

Home Runs for Comparable Players

0

5

10

15

20

25

30


J.J. Hardy

Yuniesky Betancourt

Khalil Greene

Bobby Crosby

Jose Reyes



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.



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




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


Bobby Crosby, Oakland Athletics



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,



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


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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


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



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

http://www.baseball-reference.com/

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/players/index.jsp


http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/H/J.J.-Hardy.shtml

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/statistics

http://www.baseball-reference.com/

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/players/index.jsp


http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/H/J.J.-Hardy.shtml

http://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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arbitration: milwaukee brewers

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