Sunday, February 25, 2018

When You Know You've Been Around These Bases Before - MLB Free Agency 2018 (cont.) Pt 1 of 2




Exits and goodbyes in professional sports normally process fairly quickly, right?  A trade happens and the player leaves the dugout or clubhouse with a few goodbyes and well wishing hugs.  Free agency happens and a player moves to another team perhaps with a public word of thanks to the fans and former teammates, but this is then followed by a festive press conference, lots of smiles, showcasing of the new uniform jersey and overall excitement of the change, right?  The player has made the move he/she believes is in their best interests and they are invigorated by the change.  Cigars for everyone!!

And then there's the recent case of Eric Hosmer.  In Narnia's post And Where the Other Half Will Land, Remains a Mystery - MLB Free Agency 2018, we took a look at his changing of teams from the OTP point of view because the switch signaled the end of he and Mike "Moose" Moustakas as longtime teammates, infield corner-stones and close friends.  Narnia recognized and "saw" something very special between them.  

In the case of "Hos", his long awaited free agency decision came after the off-season had concluded, and almost through the end of February. It even came AFTER the beginning of spring training, following several press mentions of behind-the-scenes negotiations & talks between the Kansas City Royals' front office and San Diego Padres.  Royals GM Dayton Moore had unloaded several players and their large salaries and the longer the negotiations lasted, the more it seemed probable that Hosmer would return to the Royals.  

Not to be.

When word broke on Twitter late Saturday evening (Feb 11) that an agreement between Hos and the Padres had been reached, the heartbreak for Kansas City fans was deeply felt.  Everyone waited for the official announcement, through Sunday Feb 18. On Monday the 19th, Hos took his physical and word came that the press conference would be Tuesday the 20th.  Some of the pictures which came from the conference were rather somber looking, to be frank.




Let's try a different angle.  Indeed, it was a sobering moment at the press conference for Hos as he explained his reasoning for choosing the number 30, which had been Yordano Ventura's jersey number before he was killed in January 2017, in a vehicular accident.



This is Eric's new Twitter avatar:


And to add to the festive atmosphere, there was an added "guest":


On-again, off-again professional "girlfriend"-to-the-athletes, Kacie McDonnell, who came back on to the scene in the spring of 2017 and pops up for public events and now apparently, free agent signings.  

 At Eric's side at the table during his press conference?  Well known sports agent, Scott Boras.


Another fan shared the same question on twitter that I had in my head when I first saw Boras at Hos' side:


 

Changes in social media were next.  It took a little while for Hosmer's twitter and Instagram to change from 1B: Kansas City Royals to First Baseman: San Diego Padres.  His twitter header changed as well with a more, er....hirsute filter.


Pretty darn serious looking, isn't it?  And there must be a new app for adding body hair.  Either that or Hos abandoned his manscaping habits, just like a particular California boy we know.  Shout out to Jake. Quite amazing.  Hmmmm...

Next, there was "text-gate".  On the day of the Padres' "unveiling" press announcement, Royals' manager Ned Yost was asked if he had talked to Hos lately.


 

And it was true that Ned Yost nearly died this past winter after a bad fall from a hunting tree stand on his property, which he was repairing.  Later as 'textgate' unfolded, we found out that Eric Hosmer had changed his cell phone number over the off season.

 Interesting, isn't it?  Changing one's cell phone number but not giving it to the manager of your long-time team, even though it was not certain if you would return to that team.  Sounds like the move of someone who knew they would not be back. Or is that the impression that was intended to be given?

 There was also the jersey number change.  Eric Hosmer had been number 35 with the Royals.  At the press conference, he announced he would be number 30. Randy Jones of the Padres retired as #35 and he was quoted already as not giving it up.  Imagine, as a ballplayer not being aware of or having given any thought to your jersey number until two (2) minutes after he signed the new contract, that the Padres' number 35 had been retired?



via GIPHY
But the explanation given for choosing #30 was understandable and the sentiment and enduring tie to Kansas City seemed to hit directly at the hearts of crestfallen Royals fans.  For many, all was forgiven.




On Wednesday the 21st, while KC fans were still tweeting every crying gif they could get their hands on, this story headline appeared from the Royals' MLB beat writer (via a Padres Twitter Q&A): "Duffy Proud to Be Hosmer's 'Best Teammate' "
Hosmer, a free-agent first baseman who signed with the Padres, participated in an #AskThePadres Twitter Q&A on Tuesday night and was asked about his best teammate ever.
Hosmer responded, "I'm gonna say Duffy. He was always bringing in stuff for the whole team. He's the pitcher always on the top step when he's not pitching."  

To try and figure out who was closest-to-whom regarding the core group of Royals who had played together for so long, (i.e. Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Jarrod Dyson, Salvador Perez, Lorenzo Cain and Danny Duffy) would be a challenging task under any circumstances because they all did appear to get along so well.  However, to go one step further and actually ask Hos who had been his "favorite" teammate  "Ever?" seems a bit on the childish side, don't you think? Then again, upon reflection, maybe not. At least, not if the real purpose of the headline story was more of an opportunity to reassure everyone that Hos' very visible BFF, Mike Moustakas, really was not that important to him at all. Hmm. Now I wonder why that would be?


to be continued in Part 2 
pic sources: Associated Press, Giphy, Bleacher Report, San Diego
                     Tribune
our playlist:  listed at the end of Part 2 of 2
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

When You Know You've Been Around These Bases Before - Free Agency 2018 Pt 2 of 2


continued.

The reactions of fans at the reality of their favorite team player leaving for greener pastures cannot be expressed appropriately.  The crying and sobbing gifs and cries of "Don't leave us, Hos!" on social media far outnumbered any excitement of Padres fans. Eric Hosmer was the calm of the storm for the Kansas City community and organization. He was an eloquently spoken representative, often sought out by the media, always with the right words.  That he would leave for a larger salary was anticipated, but when his departure became official that he was leaving for a team further down in the standings than the Royals, well let's just say that the baseball savvy observers did have to wonder at least a little bit about his choice.


 

There's the expected and then there's the unexpected. How about unexpectedly expected?


 


 

Super Agent Scott Boras seemed to have coined a meme at the press conference with the reference to the Padres' farm system as being a bed of hot lava talent.  



Hot. Talent. Lava.

Three words, uttered by new San Diego Padres player Eric Hosmer’s agent on Tuesday, have excited a city and fan base that doesn’t always have a lot to be excited about.

[edit.]

At Hosmer’s introductory press conference, Hosmer’s agent Scott Boras said the following:

“I think the organization is a volcano of hot talent lava. To turn that lava into major league rock, that’s a hard thing to do. It’s a very, very difficult thing to do. … What Eric Hosmer brings is he went through all that in Kansas City. He along with many people were all prospects. They were, too, that major league lava, and they turned into championship rocks. When you can have a young veteran champion, I think your chances of guiding lava into rocks are pretty good, and I think that’s the destiny and the plan.”

The quirky quote gained a lot of attention on social media and MLB Network Radio even turned it into a song.

The hashtag #hottalentlava quickly caught fire [get it] on social media, and the team was seen wearing shirts that said both #hottalentlava and #majorleaguerock at spring training in Peoria, Arizona on Friday.

Fans are loving the new motto. - "San Diego is Loving 'hot talent lava' as the Padres' New Motto"
 

Less than 48 hours later following the press conference?  

There were T shirts, all ready to go.



via GIPHY

 So things are cooking in San Diego by Friday the 23rd, two days after the press conference, time to move on.  Royals fans, time to also move - oops, not yet. Not quite yet.



A full-page ad taken out in the Kansas City paper, tears flowed all over again, while at the same time, the bruise soothed.

Aaah yes.  Well done.  Classy and also the #goodbye that never ends, lol.  Come on, Mr. Hosmer, let the jilted begin to heal!  

 And still, another free agent client of Scott Boras' is without a team as of February 25 - Mike Moustakas.  Yes, that's right, both Hos and Moose share the same agent.  Does the pairing of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal ring a bell? Maggie left CAA in December of 2011, Jake followed very soon afterwards, the announcement of his departing for WME as well coming barely two months later on January 9, 2012.  But in this case, these two men will not follow each other to the same team.  They'll be separated professionally for the first time in their major league careers.

 As we look back at this free agency saga of Eric Hosmer's, there are many puzzling aspects Narnia would like to look back on:

 • Isn't it interesting that in late January, there was allegedly a "hacking" of the S.D. Padres' social media which hinted that the Padres had already signed Hosmer.  source

The Padres issued a denial and the proverbial "sorry for any confusion".

• That with such a carefully constructed description of "volcano of hot lava talent" by agent Scott Boras, T shirts, slogan and rally cry were at the ready. Car-Hopped and Ready to Go. #hotnready

•  Eric Hosmer changing his cell phone number during the off season.

 • Allegedly he never contacted Kansas City manager Ned Yost when he had been seriously injured during the off season and many of his other teammates had visibly reached out.  The explanation for Ned not being able to "get through" via text was that Hos' phone number had changed. 

• Hos stating at the press conference that he didn't realize he wouldn't get his jersey number #35 until a few minutes after signing on the dotted line with the Padres.

• The team of choice has an abysmal W-L Pct of .438. The only real selling point San Diego's weather.


 

 • The release of the story of who Eric's all-time favorite teammate was.  No mention anywhere of long-time friend and teammate Mike Moustakas, in either this story, interviews, or the full-page ad.
In stark contrast, Eric captioned this social media post: "not enough room on here to type out everything we've been through together". #family"  

As Jared Padalecki/Jensen Ackles followers, we'll also make note of that "my brother" mention in Hos' Instagram, won't we? *wink*


• The change in Eric's Twitter header, altering his physical appearance to one more rugged and hirsute.
• The beard, I mean "girlfriend" being flown into San Diego to make an appearance at the press conference.  Kacie McDonnell.  Remember that name because she's likely part of the bargain and trade-off* for the lucrative contract, with an established reputation for being arm candy to a variety of professional athletes.  The first introduction came on both Eric and Kacie's Instagram accounts in 2015.  Eric's:


In addition to random "private" pictures, McDonnell appears in high profile situations, i.e., following division or championship title clinches on the field, Gold Glove presentations in NYC, World Series win victory parades, well, you get the drift...



Just another note. I'm not quite sure how they met; the "how did they meet" story seems evasive online. All we know is that they both posted pictures on their Instagrams in late spring of 2015. She had "broken up" with (at that time) KC Chiefs' QB Aaron Murray in January 2015.  When she and Hos allegedly "broke up" in 2017, she immediately left her jobs as a KSHB-TV traffic reporter and network host of Kansas City's Major League Soccer team, Sporting KC and returned to the east coast.  Guess the idea of being in the same town as Hos was unbearable!

 She reappeared in Eric's social orbit via his Instagram in 2017 and now shown to be at the San Diego Padres' press conference.  Will wedding bells be part of this new chapter in Eric's life?  Don't be surprised when it is.  He is 28 years old now and San Diego promises exposure to a larger media market than Kansas City did.  Endorsements have become an important part of fixed income for professional athletes and celebrity entertainers.  An example of just how important endorsement money is and how social media plays into this can be seen in this article on Cristiano Ronaldo and how he was one of soccer's highest paid players in 2017:  source


Even though Ronaldo is gay, he makes sure to have female attachments at the ready.  
Will the change in scenery and leaving behind a successful tenure in Kansas City be worth it for Eric Hosmer?  Let's hope so for his sake.  And undoubtedly an eventual San Diego World Series win would help to offset the sober pictures from Wednesday, Feb 21.  Remember, this should have been a festive, celebratory event:



Which seemed to be only a continuation of this image from the last day of the Royals' season last year:



Narnia will continue to watch for what kind of deal Moustakas is able to obtain, as we wait to see how all this plays out both on and off the field. This is a big change in Hosmer's career and life and with Super Sports Agent Scott Boras one can only imagine how many other "deals" are in the making. 

collaborated:  PG & Methodical Muser
pic sources:  sportsmasher, busted coverage, KC Star
our playlist: Never Can Say Goodbye - The Communards
                    Rikki Don't Lose That Number - Steely Dan
                    Talk It Over - Grayson Hugh
                    The Heartbreak Kid - Icehouse            


Posted by at 5 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)