In 2004 the Mets were considered the front runners to sign Vladimir Guerrero but ended up low balling the slugger, who signed a five year deal with the Angels. The Mets said they obtained a report that Vlad had a bad back and wouldn't be worth a big contract. Many fans felt that the back was an excuse for not spending money, while Vlad side believed the information was leaked to lower his value...The players association has asked Major League Baseball to begin an investigation into the amount and source of the medical information on Vladimir Guerrero that the Mets used as their reasoning for not extending him a longer, more lucrative contract offer. source NY Times 1/16/04Whatever the Mets reasoning they were wrong, Guerrero provided four exceptional years and even in his one down year it was much more then most players could provide. For the first four years of the deal he played over 140 games in which he hit 27 or more home runs, 91 or more RBIs, and hit over .300. As I said ...
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