Inside Julio Rijo's Bank Account

How much money will that guy have made in his career by the time this deal is up? He may well end up netting the most wealth out of any player in Plumpy history.
-Zeustis01

Based on the above World Chat comment, I thought it might be a fun inaugural mini-post to total up Julio Rijo's projected career earnings.

Entering his 12th Major League season, Rijo is already one of the most decorated pitchers in the history of Plumpy Rules. His list of personal awards includes: Rookie of the Year, 10 straight All-Star appearances, two Silver Sluggers, 7 Cy Youngs, 3 World Series, and 1 Gold Glove. And at age 31, he also places inside the top 5 in: career batting average allowed, career complete games, career ERA, career OBP allowed, career shutouts, career slugging percentage allowed, strikeouts per nine innings, career WHIP, and career winning percentage. It's only fitting he'll likely end up as one of the top earners in Plumpy history as well.

Rijo was signed as an International Free Agent by the (then) Syracuse Magma to a Major league contract in S24. His season-by-season earnings are as follows:

• S24 (minors) -- Salary: $327K; Bonus: $42M
• S25 (minors) -- Salary: $327K
• S26 (Major League debut) -- Salary: $327K
• S27 -- Salary: $342K
• S28 -- Salary: $360K
• S29 -- Salary: $378K
• S30 -- Arbitration Y1: $2.3M
• S31 -- Arbitration Y2: $8M
• S32 -- Salary: $10M; Bonus: $6M
• S33 -- Salary: $10M
• S34 -- Salary: $10M
• S35 -- Salary: $10M
• S36 -- Salary: $10M
• S37 -- Salary: $20M; Bonus: $10M
• S38 -- Salary: $20M
• S39 -- Salary: $20M
• S40 -- Salary: $20M
• S41 -- Salary: $20M (Player Option)

Assuming Rijo exercises his Player Option in S41, that will leave him at age 36, having earned $178,362,000. Over those 18 seasons, that averages out to $9.909M per season.

Considering $42M in Prospect Budget really translates to $20M + 2x$22M = $64M, Rijo's total COST at age 36 will have been a whopping $200,363,000. Over those 18 seasons, that averages out to $11.131M per season.

It is difficult to find the highest paid players throughout our league history. The following is a sampling of players who had both long and successful careers:

Einar Pena (SP): $280,671,000
Amos Phillips (SP): $206,902,000
Brian Lewis (LF): $175,509,000
Juan Seguignol (SP): $158,068,500
Edge Yount (1B): $144,216,000
Vic Herrera (SP): $136,017,000
Dorian Dunham (LF): $129,173,000

At his current rate, Rijo would already end up as #3 on this list, $28.54M behind Phillips and $102.309M behind Pena. It seems likely Rijo will surpass Phillips for #2 on this list.

But for Rijo to surpass Pena, he would need to:

• Pitch 5 more seasons (through age 40) at an average of $20,461,800 per season
• Pitch 6 more seasons (age 41) at an average of $17,051,500 per season
• Pitch 7 more seasons (age 42) at an average of $14,615,571 per season
• Pitch 8 more seasons (age 43) at an average of $12,788,625 per season

All in all, as good as Rijo is, I think it'll be tough for him to surpass Pena. Giving what amounts to a second max contract at age 36 seems steep, although Pena was signed to a $104M deal at that exact age...

Time For a Change

Dearest Plumpy owners, after much time, thought, and deliberation, I have decided it is time for me to step down as commissioner of our league.  The MWR needs an overhaul and much like we did 12 seasons ago when we created the MWR and I first took over, I believe it would be best for the league for a new dedicated commissioner to step in, take the reigns, and re-establish the league rules.  I am also simply ready to just play this game for awhile.  I would like to nominate Pajammies as my successor.  He has done remarkable work as commissioner in Double Mendoza (their blog is FANCY), and is someone I know will do what is in the best interest of the league.  That said, if anyone else is interested in becoming commissioner, please let it be known now.  I will of course continue to play in the league, and I will continue to recruit new owners at every roll over as it has become a passion of mine.  It has been a pleasure being your commissioner, and thank you everyone for making this world as awesome as it is.  -zeustis01

Reviewing the Mega Deal: Julio Rijo Leaves Madison

Every once in a great while in this game of HBD, a player comes along who redefines what it means to be elite.  On August 15th, 2012 at 3:03pm EST, Zyrion of the then "rebuilding" Syracuse Magma signed <a style="color:black;" href="http://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=5125671" target="_blank">Julio Rijo</a> to a record $42 million dollar signing bonus to play fake baseball in Syracuse.  In addition to changing the landscape of Plumpy forever (for newer owners, this signing prompted the development of the league's Minimum Win Requirement), Rijo immediately became the top prospect in the league.

His projections looked legendary, to the extent that when two weeks after the signing Rijo tore his labrum, some league members wondered aloud if the game makers let Rijo slip through by mistake and set him back with the injury to level the playing field.  2 World Championships, 9 All-Star Game appearances, and 6 Cy Young Awards later, the verdict is in: Julio Rijo was no mistake, he's just that damn good.

The question then must be asked, how could an owner of this fake man who has 223 career wins and 2,771 career strikeouts (all accrued before turning 30 this season!) possibly trade such a player?  Well, trade rumors began circulating when Zyrion revealed on World Chat that Rijo would not re-sign with the team after his contract expires this season.  Rather than risk the unpredictable Type A FA market, he made Rijo available in hopes of landing significantly more of a return than he would likely get next season.  The results are the mega deal that went down last night, almost three real years to the day when Rijo was first signed, between the now Madison Magma and the Fargo Malvos.  Let's take a look at why this trade should be a win for the Magma, and why it should be a win for the Malvos as well.

The Deal: 

Madison Magma get https://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=7301723, https://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=6892554, and https://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=6761635

Fargo Malvos get https://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=5125671, https://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=5917254, https://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=4245077

Why it's a win for Madison:

Let's start with the main prize of the return package for Rijo, which is Geraldo Terrero.  Terrero is a true blue chip prospect, signed out of El Seibo, DO last season.  Not only is he already Major League ready, he could make the All-Star team this year, and he's only 21.  With a versus righty split already at 86 and velocity in the high 80s as well, it is not hard to project this SP having both important ratings climb into the mid-90s before his development is complete.  He's not Julio Rijo, but he is a rotation anchor, and is far more of a return than Zyrion would have received next season on the open FA market.

In addition to Terrero, Juan Esposito is a legit ML bat at 1B, and while questions remain about his defense, his potential to OPS close to .900 against RHP makes him a valuable acquisition as well.  Cecchini should slot into the back end of the rotation at some point, though that ugly vs. Lefty rating may prove a hinderance.  In short, Zyrion received 3 future MLers, 1, possibly 2 All-Stars, with Terrero having a shot at winning a Cy Young award or two throughout his career.  Addiitonally, Zyrion cleared $16 million off the books, giving him room to be a player in FA if he so chooses to be this season.  Whether or not Zyrion turns this into the beginning of a full on re-build has yet to be seen, though early indications are that he's willing to move more of his elite veterans for prospects as well.

Why it's a win for Fargo:

They get Julio F'ing Rijo, the greatest pitcher in league history.  Boom, end of story,  Nunez and Nieves are solid additions as well, but this side of the debate starts and ends with Rijo.  Yes, it's only for one season, and yes, losing Terrero to a division rival may sting for the next 11 seasons, but... IT'S JULIO RIJO!  This franchise already won the championship last season, and immediately becomes the favorite to win it again in Season 36.  Fargo also now has the extremely advantageous "home field tie breaker" should they decide to go to a max offer on Rijo next season.  Rijo will undoubtedly hit the open market next season, and if he returns to Fargo, this trade unquestionably will go down as a win-win for both teams.  If Fargo doesn't win the championship this season then loses Rijo to FA while winding up with a mid comp round + 2nd round pick for him, it will be harder to call this one a win for the Malvos.  Then again, it's Julio F'ing Rijo; who wouldn't want to have him for at least one season just to enjoy the ride?

The Case for the Minimum Win Requirement

Recently some long term owners have violated our league's established Minimum Win Requirement (MWR) which has sparked some discussions about why we would allow dedicated owners to leave Plumpy.  Rather than take up an incredible number of World Chat posts, I decided to write a blog post about the history of our league's Minimum Win Requirement and why I consider it a vital piece to the health of our league.

Some history...

In Season 24, there was no Minimum Win Requirement.  Teams were allowed to lose or win as much as they wanted.  The then Memphis Problems were poised to win their 3rd of 4 championships over a 6 season span, a period of dominance where the rest of the league constantly felt like they were fighting for second place.  Simultaneously, the then Syracuse Magma were in the midst of an historically bad season, one in which the Magma won only 43 games.

Then along came Julio Rijo on the International market.  When his career is all said and done, it is entirely possible that Julio Rijo will go down as the greatest pitcher in Plumpy history.  In Season 24 when he appeared, 15 owners had budgeted at least $20 million in prospect payroll.  Everyone who saw him wanted Rijo, but the problem was, one team had filled his ML squad with sub-AAAA scrubs for the league minimum and was paying less than $18 million dollars in player salaries.

Julio Rijo signed with the Syracuse Magma for a record $42 million in prospect money, a record that holds to this day.  When taking budget transfers into account, Zyrion spent a total of $64 million dollars to get Rijo.  On his signing day, the World Chat lit up with protests about how unfair it was that the Magma were doing everything in their power to lose, and were rewarded with arguably the greatest pitcher in league history.  The precedent that was being set was scary: if you wanted to get the best IFA, you had to systematically destroy your team for a 3-6 seasons in order to do so.

Now this is not meant to in any way demonize Zyrion.  He broke no league rules that we had in place at the time.  He is an incredibly savvy and dedicated owner, who was far from the only guy tanking at the time.  He just did it the most effectively.  He also got the #1 draft pick the next season which turned into Cy Young award winner Frank Leonard.  Once he started competing again, his low player payroll allowed him to continue to splurge on IFAs, as he signed superstuds Lariel Cubillan, Pedro Martin, and Pablo Macias over the next several seasons, helping to create the Magma that we know and fear today.  (Editor's note: Zyrion has also made some brilliant trades and ballsy free agent signings that have turned his franchise into an empire.  As I said, the guy is a savvy.)

The aforementioned Memphis Problems had utilized a similar albeit less blatant tanking strategy when creating its powerhouse.  With no MWR, the Problems accrued 7 consecutive seasons worth of top 10 picks, while simultaneously leading the league in IFA spending.  This created an absolute juggernaut of a franchise that won 4 World Series in 6 seasons, boasting the league's best record year after year.

Between Memphis's dominance and Syracuse's IFA spending, the overwhelming consensus in Season 24 was that something needed to be done in order to bring parity and competitive balance back to the league.  Several ideas were proposed at the time, and a league vote was held to determine which MWR would best fit our league.  The consensus was that all owners had to win 55 games in one season, 120 games over two seasons, 185 games over three seasons, and 260 games over four seasons.  This allowed owners room to undergo a rebuilding project, while also protecting the league from teams intentionally having a bottom 10 record for 4 years or more, and from filling out their ML roster with AAAA quality players.  The hope was that as time went on, parity would return to the league and the game would become more fun again.

And it's worked.

It's taken a long time, but the league is more competitive and balanced now than it's been in a long time.  7 teams are poised to make the play-offs this season that did not last season.  That's incredible.  In the three years before the MWR was put into place, we lost 7, 6, and 10 owners each season at the rollover.  Over the past 5 seasons with the MWR firmly in place, we've lost 3, 2, 3, 1 and 5 owners each season.  There are many factors that I believe keep owners interested in returning to the league, but knowing you have a shot to turn your team around and make it a play-off contender without losing 100 games for multiple seasons in a row is massively important.

Ultimately, we're all here because we love baseball and we love fantasy sports.  This is fun and for many of us, it's one of the main hobbies of our day to day lives.  It really sucks having to lose people who want to be here, but we have to draw the line somewhere.  The 55-120-185-260 MWR is the fairest way we've been able to come up with.  Bad luck happens, and that's why we have a vote.

I am firmly in favor of allowing owners who violate the MWR and are removed from the league to return at the helm of another franchise, and I am open to discussing that idea further on the World Chat.

Thank you all for being a part of this league.  It is a pleasure being commissioner of Plumpy.  Good luck to everyone in the post-season.