June 1, 2004
MAKES IT HARD TO BE A COMPLETE MISANTHROPE:
Daily Dish (Joe Domagalski, June 1, 2004, Baseball America)
Tim Stauffer was a two-time All-American at Richmond and the Padres' first-round pick in 2003, yet these days he's better known for something he did off the field.Posted by Orrin Judd at June 1, 2004 7:08 PMAfter the Padres drafted Stauffer with the fourth-overall pick last June, the two parties tentatively agreed to a $2.6 signing bonus. But before he signed, Stauffer had an MRI that revealed a partially torn rotator cuff and frayed labrum in his pitching shoulder.
Some players suggested Stauffer hide the results from the Padres until after he signed, instead of telling them about the injury and having to settle for a much smaller bonus.
Instead, Stauffer decided to disclose his injury and eventually signed for $750,000.
"I try not to think that I'm the guy whose honesty might have cost him $2 million, but instead got him $750,000," Stauffer said. "If you look at it that way, I don't think I did anything special. I just did what I had to do."
So he lies for the $2 million. The Padres figure it out eventually, and that's when the lawyers get involved and so at that point, win or lose, he'll make less than the lawyers, and even if he ends up with more than $750,000, it will be neither painless or pretty. Not only that, but now the Padres even have some incentive to help him get better.
"You can't cheat an honest man." -- William Claude Dukenfield.