There is nothing as risky as investing in the FA market. There is nothing more to be desired if a player brought in with a large amount of money does his or her part, but in the opposite case, the aftereffects in and out of the club are bound to be great.
The 2016 Chicago Cubs are the most successful club in the free agent market in major league history. The Cubs spent $289.8 million on the free agent market ahead of the season. Reinforced by Jason Hayward (8 years, $184 million), Ben Zobrist (4 years, $56 million), John Lackey (2 years, $32 million), and Dexter Fowler (1 year, $13 million), the Cubs were 103 that year. After winning the National League Central Division with a record of 58 losses and 1 draw, he won the World Series by defeating the Cleveland Indians with 4 wins and 3 losses. It was a thrill to win a historic championship for the first time in 108 years since 1908.
The World Series MVP at the time was Zobrist. He played in all 7 World Series games and posted a batting average of 0.357 (10 hits in 28 at-bats), 2 RBIs, 5 runs, and an OPS of 0.919. Zobrist played 147 games in the regular season that year as well, displaying a batting average of 0.272 (142 hits in 523 at-bats), 18 homers, 76 RBIs, 94 runs scored, and an OPS of 0.831, showing off his peak skills by being selected as an All-Star.
On the 13th (Korean time), the American media Bleacher Report selected and posted the ‘Best 5’ and ‘Worster 5’ of all-time FA investment, and it ranked the 2016 Cubs first among the best 5.
Second place was the Boston Red Sox in 2018, which spent $127 million in the offseason. JD Martinez, who was recruited for 5 years and 110 million dollars, was the main contributor to the championship. In 150 regular season games, he recorded a career high batting average of 0.330, 43 home runs, 130 RBIs and an OPS of 1.031. In the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he hit a batting average of 0.278, 1 home run and 5 RBIs, and was also selected as the series MVP.
The third place is the 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers. This is the season Ryu Hyun-jin debuted in the major leagues. Ahead of the season, the Dodgers signed Zack Greinke in the free agent market for 6 years and 147 million dollars to secure the 2nd starter. Oh and spent $25.73 million on posting fees. He invested more than 61 million dollars in Ryu Hyun-jin alone. 먹튀검증
The results were stellar. Greinke took the mound in 28 games and recorded 15 wins and 4 losses with an ERA of 2.63, while Ryu Hyun-jin posted 14 wins and 8 losses and an average ERA of 3.00 in 30 games, playing the role of the 2nd and 3rd starters. The Dodgers, which only recorded 86-76 in 2012, took first place in the National League West with a record of 92-70 in 2013 and advanced to the League Championship Series, announcing the start of the Dodgers dynasty. After that, the Dodgers vomited the spirit of playing fall baseball for 10 consecutive years until last year.
Of course, Andre Idyer, Yasiel Puig, Hanley Ramirez, and Adrian Gonzalez, who joined the Dodgers before that, played a big role, but the contributions of Greinke and Ryu Hyun-jin, who contributed to the stability of the rotation, were the foremost.
The Dodgers, who won 82 wins in 2011 and 86 wins in 2012, recruited two pitchers to strengthen their vulnerabilities, and in 2013, they formed a joint ace with Clayton Kershaw and won the National League West title with three good pitches as a springboard. It was,” he said.
Ryu Hyun-jin signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays in December 2019 and left the Dodgers. Having undergone Tommy John surgery in June of last year, he is recovering smoothly ahead of the final season of his contract with Toronto. If you come back in the second half and do your part in starting 10-11 games, you can avoid ‘Worst FA’.