With the news of Ryan Braun's extension, it is fascinating to see Major League teams make value judgements as to which player they have otherwise annointed their face of the franchise - to maintain their organization's brand.
A player like Braun is a public trust more than ever before and making sure he is a a lifelong Brewer was something important to that franchise - to build fan confidence.
Maybe I used to think Major League Baseball players produced and got big contracts and little else mattered - but someone like Braun sort of becomes royalty and their status becomes even more inflated among fans, advertisers, media.
If a team spends $100 million to extend Braun - it means they view him more that just a guy who is obviously expected to be an All-Star performer.
I don't know what it says for the wishy/washy way the Brewers have dealt with Prince Fielder's contracts - I guess they don't consider him as special with regards to his value to the organization and will have no problems 'not being able to afford his demands' when it comes down to paying for him.
However, the lament of 'modern day' professional athletes in Major League Baseball not staying with one team anymore seems antiquated - bitching about a young player getting squeezed such as being kept in the minors due to service time / arbitration issues seems out of place when even seemingly non big market MLB teams are willing to step up and lock up their franchise guys.
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