04/18/2025 - Baseball #1: Vladdy G's Contract Extention and Torpedo Bats

Geo

Hello, and welcome to the first edition of the Point Blank Blog here on deathcatthor.com. The only place where you can hear me and Thor yap about sports. Here on this blog you can expect me, the host, to cover all things related to whatever sport we’re doing that day and my friend Thor to not understand anything I’m saying.

Thor

Hi. I'm here so it's not just him talking to himself. Also because I'm the one setting up the site.

Geo

I’m the host, Geo, big sports fan, been doing all things hockey, baseball and football related for the past eight years. He is Thor, he’s the guy that made this website, and also a big friend of mine. You can expect this blog to be more like a conversation then just a news article.

Thor

I'm Thor, like programming (unshockingly) and rhythm games. so I'm gonna be the perspective of someone who isn't as knowledgeable as he is on these things. You can expect to see some other guests on here, but for the most part it is just us two.

Geo

I’m gonna be the perspective of someone who is a sports fan, and probably knows what I’m talking about. Me and Thor will be on every edition of this blog with some others occasionally sprinkled in there. Anyways, the pilot edition of this blog is regarding baseball, seeing as how the season started only a few weeks ago. And there are a few topics to cover, so let’s get right into it. First off, it is important to note before this next segment starts that I am a Blue Jays fan, and I have been for a while. I’ve seen my team win big and suffer crippling defeats. So, in recent news, star player for the Toronto Blue Jays, Vladimir Guerrero Jr has been under arbitration.

Thor

So, what does that mean?

Geo

So, in baseball, the contract system works a little differently than in most sports.

Let’s say you’re like Vladdy G, and we’re signed internationally and not via the MLB Draft. Basically, when a player signs for the first time, he’s usually put in the minors. Minor league contracts are typically not much longer than a year. But here’s the kicker, even though these are only one year contracts, a player must be signed on his original team for six years before he is eligible to leave for free agency. Unless the team doesn’t want him, then they can release him.

Thor

Did he sign something so they couldn't release him?

Geo

Well, we’ll get to that. After that six year time frame, the player is eligible for arbitration. Normally, if you’re just the average player, this doesn’t matter too much. But when you’re a league wide superstar like Vladdy G, things get a little different.

Thor

In what way?

Geo

Well, think about it like this: Since the player has been forced to play for the same team for six years, they generally don’t get paid what their value might be. After six years, arbitration is a chance for you to earn your value’s worth because you aren’t obligated to play for that team anymore and can leave.

Thor

I see, so he gets to re-negotiate?

Geo

Yeah, it turns into a game of war. The player wants his value, maybe even more, in money, while the team wants to spend as little money as possible. This is a problem for the team in most instances and puts them highly under pressure, because they’ve had this superstar level player for relatively cheap for a long time.

Thor

What does this mean for the blue jays?

Geo

Well, this was a problem for the Jays as Vladdy G had some BIG and I’m talking BIG contract demands. Demands only a few teams could actually afford. Now, one of these teams is the Blue Jays. They can afford him. But it’s such a big salary they might not be able to afford other players in the future.

Thor

Oh, so they won't have as good players in the future due to the price of Vladdy G?

Geo

Around that yes. There are some other ways they could get more players but generally it’ll be very hard considering Vladdy’s price. Now, this year, Vladdy was guaranteed to be a Blue Jay as this is his sixth year. However, the concern was that the Blue Jays didn’t want to pay this fee and he would be in a different uniform last season. It even got as bad as to where Vladdy G was literally in contract negotiations with all thirty teams.

Thor

What happened to make him a Blue Jay for life?

Geo

Well, Vladdy G wanted to stay in Toronto, so that was the biggest factor. Also, they didn’t want another star player to end up going to the Dodgers or Yankees like they all do. So, the Blue Jays handed over the cash and signed Vladdy G to a contract that would basically make him a Blue Jay for life. It’s also the third largest contract in the league. I think it’s north of three hundred million dollars. Now, this isn’t uncommon at all for it to go like this for superstars eligible for a contract extension under arbitration. It’s a very common practice for teams to sign their players to long, twenty year contracts, that way they have to pay less money each year.

Thor

That makes sense. Is there any other news in baseball recently that should be covered, or no?

Geo

Yes, in fact, there’s some controversy going around about a new kind of bat.

Thor

What kind of bat?

Geo

Have you heard of a torpedo bat?

Thor

I can't say I have, no.

Geo

Well, people across the league have been mad about this because they believe it gives the hitter an unfair advantage.

Thor

How does the bat help the hitter?

Geo

Well, you know how bats have a barrel? A place of the bat fatter then the rest so you can get bigger hits out of it?

Thor

Yeah.

Geo

Well, the Yankees took years of data, and found out that their players were hitting it with the wrong part of the bat. So, they designed a bat that moves the barrel downward to where Yankees players have been hitting it.

Thor

Wouldn't that require a new swing method?

Geo

No, because remember, they’re still swinging the bat normally, it’s just a certain part of the bat is bigger. It’s actually designed for the player in question to get more pop out of the swing they already have.

Thor

Why are people mad at it if everyone can use it?

Geo

That’s the other side to this argument; anyone can use it. However it is worth noting that it’s working better for the Yankees because they’ve been working on it for years. Versus how other players are just buying them without the same level of customization and aren’t getting the same results. Other teams are frantically trying to replicate these torpedo bats by making facilities of their own entirely dedicated to these kind of bats.

Thor

That sounds expensive and a bit scummy, honestly.

Geo

Now; here’s the kind of effect it’s having. You know how in opening week of our fantasy baseball league Aaron Judge (a Yankee) scored like fifty points and scored four or so home runs?

Thor

Yeah.

Geo

Well, he and the rest of the team broke a record for most runs scored in a single opening series—an opening series being three to four games—and players on the Yankees who usually aren’t great are hitting absolute nukes left and right. They even scored twenty runs in one of those games!

Thor

Dang, that's a lot, right?

Geo

Well, take it this way, in the average MLB game both teams will score seven or eight runs combined. There are a few people on other teams that are finding success with these kind of bats as well. Not all of them though, it’s mainly a Yankees thing.

Thor

That's insane, I see why there's outrage; it hardly seems fair.

Geo

The Brewers actually scored eight runs, which is a lot, yet still lost by twelve. The torpedo bat problem has actually gotten bad enough to where people are drafting entire fantasy teams of people using torpedo bats, AND ITS BEEN WORKING! Now, as a pitcher, here’s my opinion. Keep in mind I play baseball and other closely related sports all the time. I honestly don’t see a problem with the Torpedo bats. I mean, all they do is move the barrel down. Yes, it makes the hitters better but I feel like the only reason people are getting mad about it is because only one team is actually using them regularly. I don’t think people would be mad if every team was doing this.

Thor

That's fair, actually.

Geo

Plus, maybe that’s just an excuse to pitch better. I mean, most pitchers cheat anyway.

MORE ABOUT THAT TOMMORROW...

Back to Home