Big Papi versus Major League Baseball

I heard Jim Rome discussing David Ortiz (Big Papi) of the Boston Red Sox on the radio this morning and it made me curious. I think Papi is a loveable jerk. I’m also a Yankees fan.

MLB wants all players to keep at least one foot in the batters box at all times. The goal is to speed up the game. The penalty for stepping out of the batters box will be $500 per at bat.

David Ortiz says he won’t oblige. He uses his time stepping out of the batters box to think about how the pitcher will pitch him. Even though he’s probably lying because he’s a jerk I’ll accept his premise.

Can he actually afford to step out of the batters box whenever he wants? Probably but let’s look at the numbers.

Big Papi gross (pre-fee) salary — $16mm in 2015.

Big Papi plate appearance (last 3 years) — 383, 600, 602. Average is 538

538 plate appearance x $500 = $269,000 in fines

Big Papi Net Gross Salary Post Fines = $15,731,000

So, Big Papi can easily afford to step out of the batters box whenever he wants. His only job in the game is to hit. Even though I dislike Papi it makes sense for him to flip his nose at MLB for these potential fines.