SEATTLE — Way back in 1990, San Francisco Giants general manager Al Rosen raged that MLB was headed for "Armageddon" based on the outrageous free-agent contracts being handed out. What really piqued Rosen's ire was the four-year, $10 million contract given to middling left-handed pitcher Bud Black (given to him by Rosen, it must be pointed out).
Eight years later, Sandy Alderson sat quietly in the back of the room, fuming, during a news conference at the winter meetings announcing pitcher Kevin Brown's seven-year, $105 million deal with the Dodgers — unimaginable numbers that stunned the industry.
"This is an affront to baseball," said Alderson, who at the time was an executive vice president of MLB.
