
In light of Mike Hampton’s newest comeback, let’s take a look at his greatest accomplishment, and induct it into the Great Moments in Fleece History.
Even though former Astro and Met Mike Hampton was the prize pitcher on the market that winter, when the Colorado Rockies signed Mike Hampton in 2000, it seemed a bit excessive. But I do not think anyone imagined the extent to which Hampton fleeced Colorado at the time. It is a fleece that keeps on fleecing as 3 teams have now been involved and there is still one more year of fleecing to go.
The Date: December 9th, 2000
The Players: Colorado General Manager Dan O’Dowd (the fleecee) and Mike Hampton and his agent Mark Rodgers (the fleecers).
The Fleece: The Colorado Rockies signed 28 year old pitcher Mike Hampton to an eight-year, $123.8M contract which, at the time, was the largest contract in baseball.
The Result: Well, not so good for Colorado. Hampton lasted just two years in the Mile High city, posting a disastrous 21-28 record with a disgusting and hideous 5.75 ERA. (Note to Dan O’Dowd: This was actually LOWER than Hampton’s career ERA at Coors Field prior to the signing – 6.88! What were you thinking? Seriously, were you alright at the time? We need to know. Because this was just plain awful management, sir.)
After the 2002 season, the Rockies actually paid the Florida Marlins to get Hampton out of their sights. That same winter, the Marlins then shipped him to Atlanta, who hoped that pitching guru Leo Mazzone could fix him.
Hampton’s first two years in Atlanta were slightly above average as he won 27 games and posted an ERA close to 4.0. But he was anything but the $16M per year pitcher he was being paid (mostly by Colorado) to be. In 2006 and 2007, the fleecing increased even more as Hampton was out for the entirety of both seasons (collecting nearly $32M in the process) with elbow problems. Hampton is currently rehabbing and hoping to be in the Braves rotation by April so that he can hit the free agent market next winter and attempt to fleece again.
Strangely, Dan O’Dowd (pictured above), who was also fleeced by Denny Neagle that same winter and later by Todd Helton, survived this signing. He changed his philosophy (although probably forced by management) and lead the team through a rebuilding phase that has recently paid huge dividends in the form of a 2007 NL pennant. Still, Dan O’Dowd will probably most be remembered for being fitted for a huge fleece by the likes of Mr. Hampton. This fleece was one of the worst free agent decisions of all time.
Filed under: *Great Moments in Fleece History, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, New York Mets | 2 Comments »