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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

© Ryan Joseph Robinson

In the words of that one-hit wonder Natalie Imbruglia, I'm torn. Last week I was singing the praises of first-baseman Fred McGriff for exercising his no-trade clause to stick it out with the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Now I'm singing the blues because yet another professional athlete has misled the public in the name of the almighty dollar.

While most people seemed to be taking pot-shots at McGriff for turning down a trade to the Chicago Cubs last week, I saw things in a different light. McGriff claimed that he was happy in Tampa Bay. He is a native of Tampa, Florida, and I can't find any fault in a player who is giving his all each and every day even when his team is not in contention. Playing in front of family and friends was the main reason for originally turning down a trade to the Cubs, or so McGriff said.

For once it seemed like winning a championship wasn't the be-all and end-all for a professional athlete. In recent years it has become the norm for a player to demand a trade when his team is hovering around .500 (see: Roger Clemens, David Wells). "Trade me to a contender." That's spineless. Play better and turn your own team into a contender, that's what I say.

Where's the challenge in being just another all-star for a team that could win it all without that one player? That is why I was proud of McGriff for originally turning down the Cubs. The man is a soft-spoken gentleman who has always been a club house leader. For people to suggest that his initial refusal of the trade to Chicago means that he doesn't care about winning is a farce. Is it really hard to conceive that a player would rather play a big part in helping a bad team win instead of playing just a small part in helping a good team win?

Unfortunately we live in the year 2001, where professional athletes have a Ferrari, a Porsche, and a BMW parked in the garage, and they are out looking for a Mercedes to boot. Money talks, and players walk. Fred McGriff is now a Cub because of a $500,000 bonus and a new out-clause in his contract.

I don't necessarily fault McGriff for going to Chicago. Unlike most spoiled athletes, he did not ask to be traded (not that I know of, anyway), and T-Bay obviously liked the Cubs' offer. My only beef with McGriff is this: he claims that he finally agreed to the trade because the Devil Rays were beginning a "fire sale", which proves that they were not committed to improving the team. If getting rid of Albie Lopez (5-13, 5.61 e.r.a.) is proof of a "fire sale" then I am a shape-shifting space monkey.

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