In Honor of Michael Crabtree's Holdout, Lest Not Forget Matt Harrington

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2 years 26 weeks ago, 12:42 PM

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In Honor of Michael Crabtree's Holdout, Lest Not Forget Matt Harrington

Matt Harrington (born February 1, 1982) is a pitcher in baseball and a former first round pick in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft. He was considered good enough to be a possible first overall selection in the 2000 Major League draft, but excessive contract demands by his then-agent Tommy Tanzer caused him to slip to the seventh overall, at which point he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. Harrington, acting on his agent's advice, rejected the Rockies' offer of $4.9 million, refused to sign a contract, and waited for the next draft. Meanwhile the inactivity caused him to lose speed and effectiveness in his once-prized fastball. The San Diego Padres, the next team to draft him, were aware of this and offered him barely $1 million, which was also rejected. Harrington was drafted three more times, each year slipping further down the draft board and offered substantially less money than the previous year. He played on various independent league baseball teams the whole time, and had a tryout with the Chicago Cubs in 2007 after he finally fell off the draft board, but was quickly released. He retired later that year and now installs tires in a Costco in Texas for $11.50 per hour.

He was able to salvage a portion of the baseball money he turned down, due to a settlement of an insurance policy he took out in 2000 and a lawsuit against his former agent. Tanzer, whose own career is defined by these botched negotiations, no longer represents baseball players and now lives in Utah.