5 Best Free Agent Signing in MLB History.
If there’s one sport in which you to be a free agent, it’s baseball.
Typically, teams will grant massive all of the money is guaranteed,.
and you tend to find a spot call home for several years.
However, not all players live to these massive contracts,.
especially when they get to eight years in length or longer.
Then, there are those free agents play well above their expectations.
Today, we look at some of the players that ended up being huge bargains
for franchises, with some even leading them to championships.
5.
Reggie Jackson (New York Yankees).
The man that would eventually become known as “Mr. October” was an MVP with
the Athletics organization, sticking with the team during their move from
Kansas City to Oakland in the late 1960s.
After a falling out with the team, though, Jackson departed prior to the 1976
season as he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles where he played for one season.
Heading into the 1977 season, Jackson found a home in the form of the New York Yankees,.
with owner George handing him $2.
9 million over five years.
That sounds like nothing now,.
but at the time it was a deal, and Jackson delivered.
During his five seasons with the Yankees, Jackson had a batting average of .281
with 144 home runs, including many clutch postseason dingers that helped
the Yankees win two World Series titles.
4.
Larry Walker (Colorado Rockies).
Larry Walker was one of the many eventual greats that started with
the Montreal Expos but was allowed to leave after the 1994 strike season.
Walker was a one-time All-Star in Montreal, a lot of teams vying for his services.
The Colorado Rockies took, what was at the time, a huge chance by giving
Walker $22.5 million over four seasons.
3.
Randy Johnson (Arizona Diamondbacks).
Though most associate Randy Johnson with Seattle Mariners early in his career,.
The Big Unit actually came up with the Montreal Expos before being traded to
Seattle during the 1989 Major League season.
Johnson was a dominant force with the Mariners, winning 130
games in his 10 seasons and racking up over 2,100 strikeouts.
2.
Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants).
A star from the get-go with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Barry Bonds spent seven seasons
with the team and won the 1990 MVP Award.
After a second MVP title in 1992, the Pirates were simply too cheap
to sign him to a long-term contract and he became a free agent.
Prior to the 1993 season, the San Francisco Giants signed Bonds to a
six-year contract worth $43.7 million.
At the time, that was an insane amount, but somehow, Bonds still exceeded
the expectations on the contract.
Bonds stuck around the Giants beyond his original contract and finished with a
.312 batting average and 586 home runs as a member of the Giants in 15 seasons.
1.
Greg Maddux (Atlanta Braves) .
Greg Maddux originally came up as part of the Chicago Cubs organization
after being a second-round draft selection and made his Major League
debut in 1986 at just 20 years old.
Maddux went on to become a two-time All-Star in Chicago and even won the Cy Young Award,
but the team inexplicably let him walk.
Maddux then signed with the Atlanta Braves for five years and $28 million, which was
not even close to the highest offer that he received as the Yankees offered $34 million.
Maddux was a perfect fit in Atlanta where he went 194-88 with a 2.63 earned run
average during his 11 seasons with the Braves en route to a Hall of Fame career.
While $28 million was a lot at the time, it was certainly worth it,
especially by today’s standards.