It's pretty rare in this day and age that a professional athlete would spend his entire career with the same team. It's the business side of things.
Slugger Justin Morneau is the latest Major League Baseball player to make the move from being a one-team man. The Minnesota Twins traded the former MVP to the Pittsburgh Pirates Labor Day weekend. The move didn't come as some huge shock to the Minnesota sports world. The Twins are struggling for yet another season, and the talented Morneau is a free agent after this season. In fact, Morneau's name came up before the July trade deadline. So in theory, fans had a chance to prepare for him to be dealt.
Like a few professional athletes, Morneau struggled with concussion issues. He suffered the pesky injury in 2010 and arguably hasn't been the same player since then. It's really too bad. Morneau has lots of home run power.
Morneau replaced Dougie
To be honest, I wasn't all that broken up about the trade. Maybe it's because I long ago accepted the reality of sports as a business, and therefore don't like to have lots of favorite players on my hometown team. Or maybe it's because Morneau replaced first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz (who was a player I was fond of).
The Gold Glove Mientkiewicz was traded from the Twins to the Boston Red Sox July 31, 2004. The Twins happened to be hosting the Sox at the Metrodome when the trade took place. My family and I had tickets to the game. It was odd to see Mientkiewicz in a different uniform, but I had no problem being part of the ovation during his first at-bat with his new team. Mientkiewicz went on to catch the final out in the World Series that season.
From then on, when he was healthy, Morneau was the fixture at first base for the Twins. It was nice to have a guy with a powerful home run swing.
A shot at the postseason with the Pirates
It has to be nice for him right now since he was traded to a playoff contender, while the Twins limp through the month of September. Pittsburgh has been a basement-dwelling team for many years, so it's refreshing to see them doing well.
Morneau made it clear, even before the trade, that he loves playing for Minnesota and would like to stay a Twin. Since he is a free agent after the season ends, many fans are saying (hoping?) he'll sign with the Twins. If he does, he'll earn major points in my book, because I'm sure he could get more money elsewhere. If he doesn't, I won't be surprised.
I think one of the biggest factors might be how well the Pirates do this season. If he gets a taste of a World Series, why come back to a Minnesota team that's a mess? It'll be interesting to see what happens. Best of luck Morneau.
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