Randy Johnson is a bit more complex than Pearlman makes him out to be

By Craig CalcaterraJan 6, 2010, 1:04 PM EST
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Following up on the Pearlman thing, here’s a link to a lengthy story from 2002 by the legendary Pat Jordan in the New York Times. It’s a profile of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling during their Diamondback heyday.

It’s a nice compare and contrast.  Jordan doesn’t sugarcoat Johnson’s surly demeanor. He’s definitely a hard man to get to know and a harder one to like.  But unlike Pearlman, he at least tries to understand it and puts it in an understandable context.

After reading it, ask yourself: did Jeff Pearlman ever actually try to get to know Randy Johnson before calling him an “pathetic human being” and a “punk?”  Or did he simply walk up to him on a day he pitched and expect him to open up his world to some writer with an obvious contempt for his subjects?

Buster Posey has opted out of the season

Buster Posey has opted out
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By Craig CalcaterraJul 10, 2020, 12:30 PM EDT
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Buster Posey has opted out of the 2020 MLB season. The San Francisco Giants have issued a statement saying that they “fully support Buster’s decision. Buster is an integral part of our team and will be sorely missed, but we look forward to having him back in 2021.”

Posey and his wife are adopting identical twin girls who were born prematurely and who are currently in the NICU and will be for some time. They are stable, but obviously theirs is not a situation that would be amenable to the demands of a baseball season as it’s currently structured.

Poset had missed all of the Giants’ workouts so far, Recently he said, “I think there’s still some reservation on my end as well. I think I want to see kind of how things progress here over the next couple of weeks. I think it would be a little bit maybe naive or silly not to gauge what’s going on around you, not only around you here but paying attention to what’s happening in the country and different parts of the country.” He said that he talked about playing with his wife quite a great deal but, really, this seems like a no-brainer decision on his part.

In opting out Posey is foregoing the 60-game proration of his $21.4 million salary. He is under contract for one more year at $21.4 million as well. The Giants can pick up his 2022 club option for $22 million or buy him out for $3 million.

A veteran of 11 seasons, Posey has earned about $124 million to date. Which seems to be the common denominator with players who have opted out thus far. With the exception of Joe Ross and Héctor Noesí, the players to have opted out thus far have earned well above $10 million during their careers. Players that aren’t considered “high risk” and elect not to play do not get paid and do not receive service time.