The relationship between Madison Bumgarner (34) and Arizona ended tragically. It was belatedly known that the results left behind were tragic, the investment efficiency was also tragic, and the internal relationship was not very good. The image of Bumgarner, who has yet to find a new team, has also been damaged.메이저사이트
North American sports media ‘The Athletic’ drew attention on the 23rd (Korean time) by reporting that Bumgarner had a constant conflict with the front office while playing for Arizona. ‘The Athletic’ reported that Bumgarner and the front office were at odds over pitching issues, and this relationship never healed and eventually led to a tragic release.
Bumgarner, who earned a reputation as San Francisco’s ace and the league’s representative “fall man,” signed a five-year, $85 million contract with Arizona ahead of the 2020 season and changed his uniform. Arizona had no doubt that Bumgarner would lead the rotation as the team’s ace, giving young players time to mature. However, Bumgarner collapsed from the start and never lived up to expectations.
After starting off with a sluggish 6.48 ERA in nine games in 2020, Bumgarner stayed with a 5.23 ERA in 69 games over his three-and-a-half years at Arizona. Obviously not the number you would expect from a player who earns close to $20 million a year. He struggled this year as well with 3 losses and a 10.26 earned run average in his first 4 games. Then Arizona drew a knife. With a one-and-a-half year contract and $34 million left on his contract, Bumgar just let you go. It was a shocking move.
‘The Athletic’ analyzed that the breakdown of trust between the two was crucial in the background of this unconventional decision. The beginning of the conflict goes back quite a long time. Bumgarner has been sluggish in the early part of 2020, but has pitched relatively well in the last two games of the season. At the time, when asked by the local media about his secret, Bumgarner expressed his displeasure by replying that he was “avoiding scouting reports provided by the team.”
‘The Athletic’ saw that the conflict and tension between Bumgarner and the front began after that interview. In fact, Bumgarner and Dan Haren, Arizona’s pitching power analyst, exchanged uncomfortable feelings over this remark, and eventually the conversation was cut off. Quoting a source, ‘The Athletic’ introduced that it was a serious conflict, saying, “After that incident, the two did not speak again until the end.”
The analysis of ‘The Athletic’ is that Bumgarner, who was consistently sluggish, was stingy with changes. According to reports, the Arizona front asked Bumgarner to make changes in various aspects, starting with the position on the pitch and the type of pitch combination. His grades were declining and he was not easily rebounding, so it was an effort to find another way.
But Bumgarner paid more attention to the speed he fell than listening to the advice of the front desk, and the main point of the report in ‘The Athletic’ is that he was obsessed with finding the original speed. ‘The Athletic’ said ‘he had a hard time accepting that he wasn’t the pitcher he used to be’.
After all, Bumgarner was known to have had similar conflicts not only with the front desk, but also with the coaching staff in July 2022, which led to dissatisfaction within the Arizona organization. Arizona, who eventually judged that it had crossed the bridge of no return, cleaned up without regret when Bumgarner failed to rebound even at the beginning of the 2023 season. This is because trying to fill the remaining year and a half of his contract period could only harm the team atmosphere.
That could be why Bumgarner still can’t find a new team. Bumgarner has been unemployed for a month. Since Arizona pays all of the remaining $34 million in annual salary, teams that need Bumgarner only have to pay the minimum annual salary in the major leagues. no financial burden But nobody is reaching out to Bumgarner. Due to his poor skills, there is a possibility that the story of this single-minded general could have been widely known to other teams.