Kansas City Royals’ Eric Hosmer: The Better He Gets, The Higher The Price
By Mark Howe
With an All-Star Game MVP added to his resume, it seems like Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will cost his team a record contract to keep him after 2017.
It’s safe to say New York Mets manager Terry Collins is tired of getting beat by the Kansas City Royals. Even though the Mets took three of four regular season games this season, the Royals in general, and Eric Hosmer in particular, seem to have the Mets field boss’ number on the big stage.
Hosmer homered and drove in a second run with a single in the American League’s 4-2 All-Star Game win over the National League on Tuesday night in San Diego. The effort was enough to earn Hosmer a Most Valuable Player award, and along with Royals teammate Salvador Perez‘s two-run shot, secure home field for the AL in the 2016 World Series.
This coming off last fall’s World Series win for the Royals in which Hosmer made a dash home for the ages.
Hosmer scored the game-tying run from third in the ninth inning on a groundout to Mets third baseman David Wright, with the infield in and the New Yorkers one out from sending the series back to KC. The Royals went on to take Game 5 and the series.
So, are Mets fans tired of Hosmer yet?
“We said the same thing,” Collins said of fans having flashbacks in a New York Newsday interview. “I’m tired of seeing [expletive] Eric Hosmer getting a big hit. [Expletive] sick of it.”
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This season Hosmer has performed at a career-best level offensively. He’s also maintained Gold Glove level play at first base. He’s one of the few Royals stars who hasn’t missed time due to injury. No doubt, if Kansas City is going to play ball in October, Hosmer will be a key cog.
But the better he plays, the less likely it seems he will stay a Royal beyond 2017.
With notorious agent Scott Boras serving Hosmer, it’s easy to speculate what kind of contract Hosmer will command. He’ll be just 28 years old after the 2017 campaign, an age when many players enter the primes of their careers.
Royals Review said it’s possible Hosmer could get a 10-year, $200 million deal.
For even the most optimistic Royals fan, the $200 million number is breathtaking. BUT, consider this:
- There is a lot of talent out there at first base. After all, this was Hosmer’s first ASG appearance.
- On a per-season basis, $20 million a season isn’t that much more than the contract Alex Gordon signed last winter. Many Royals fans figured Gordon was as good as gone.
- Along with Perez and Mike Moustakas, the future in Kansas City belongs to Hosmer. This, arguably more than anyone else, is his team.
- Be careful to not discount the atmosphere and team chemistry Dayton Moore has created in Kauffman Stadium. Players talk, and everyone is trying to duplicate what the Royals have built.
Next: Bryce Harper getting a bad rep?
Then again, maybe the Mets figure if they can’t beat him, sign him. But it’s a cinch Hosmer won’t get any cheaper as time goes by.
Wouldn’t it be great for Royals fans to see an extension signed this winter?