Giles not ready for prime time
Aug 13th, 2008 by Bill Burt
The Boston Red Sox did everything in their power to acquire Brian Giles from the San Diego and almost pulled it off.
There was one problem. Giles didn’t want to come, which was odd. He is 37 year old and has never won a World Series.
The Red Sox saw him as a potentially solid, veteran bat in case of injury (see Mike Lowell).
A career .293 hitter, who is hitting .293 this season. He has only eight homers this season, but 281 for his career.
Anyway, here is a brief Q&A Giles did with the San Diego Union-Tribune after he vetoed the potential trade.
Q: What kept you here?
A: “I got an opportunity in my last contract to do what was best for me and my family. I gave my word when I signed. I want to fulfill that commitment. Some players might have jumped ship. I’m not that type of a player. I am here for a reason. I want to see it through.”
Q: But you possibly turned down at least $2 million extra and a chance at the World Series to remain with the Padres.
A: “I have always played this game to compete as well as have fun. I want to win every day. I’d like to do that here. I don’t play baseball because of the money. Money was not a factor.”
One comment so far... to “Giles not ready for prime time”
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1Marcel said:
I think the headline here is slightly unfair. The man is already unbelievably rich, so the extra two million doesn’t really matter from a financial standpoint. As far as can, the only reason that clause is in there in the first place is to hopefully discourage teams from trading for him (as is evidenced by the fact that the teams made public on his no-trade list are all high-payroll teams.) I really think it comes down to what’s more important to him, the chance to win a world series or the ability to stay in San Diego with his family.
