Eric Bruntlett - Nice Work If You Can Get It

In 1956, Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees won baseball's Triple Crown with 52 hrs, 130 rbi's and a .353 batting average. It was the last time a player led both leagues in each category. That year, Mantle was payed $30,000. Later in his career, Mantle's salary topped out at $100,000. Willie Mays of the Giants, Mantle's contemporary who hit more than 600 career home runs, made a similar sum. Making a very rough allowance for inflation, Mantle's 1956 salary would correlate to $150,000 today. $100,000 would correlate to between $400,000 and $500,000 in today's dollars. Mays and Mantle were widely considered the two greatest players of their generation and of course are near the top when discussing baseball's all-time greats.

The reason for this brief history lesson is to draw a contrast. Last week, utility infielder/outfielder Eric Bruntlett signed a one-year contract with the Phillies which with incentives could yield him about $1 million. Pinch-running and part-time fielding certainly have their rewards nowadays.