A lot of baseball players take flak for their high salaries. One of those who did was Kevin Brown, who was the first man in professional baseball to sign a contract worth $100 Million. Sadly for Brown, his deterioration made that one of the worst contracts, as in the final years of his career, he was not a player who should have been among the game’s highest-paid.

This isn’t to say that Kevin Brown didn’t have flashes of brilliance because he certainly had enough of them to warrant such a huge contract in the first place. He was regarded as one of the most intense pitchers, and as much as his temper served to fuel his unparalleled competitiveness, it also would cause his unraveling on occasion. Nevertheless, Kevin Brown was a major reason that the Florida Marlins won their surprise World Series in 1997 and the Padres’ 1998 World Series appearance. He had a brilliant fastball and forkball and rarely gave up the longball.

Unfortunately, Kevin Brown was unable to maintain his skill set, and his production dropped off during his final years with the Dodgers and during his American League return to the Yankees. Had Kevin Brown lived up to the years leading up to his nine-digit contract, he would be a serious contender for induction. As it stands now, it doesn’t look good.

Derrek Lee is an underrated offensive player who has a phenomenal offensive year in 2005 but is not remembered for much else.

Lee was briefly a San Diego Padre before he was traded to the Florida Marlins in 1998.  With Florida, the First Baseman had four 20 Home Run years, peaking with a 31-HR season in 2003, which coincided with him leading the Marlins to a World Series Title.  As most of you know, Lee (along with everyone else who was talented) was packaged away in a disgusting cost-cutting move, and Lee wound up with the Chicago Cubs.

It was with Chicago where Lee had his best years, specifically in 2005, where he led the National League in Hits (199), Doubles (50), Batting Average (.335), Slugging (.662), and OPS (1.080).  Lee was an All-Star, Gold Glove winner, and Silver Slugger and third in MVP voting.  He could not build on that as injuries held him to 50 Games in 2006, but he was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner in 2007, and was ninth in MVP voting in 2009.  With the Cubs, Lee had five 20-plus Home Run years, with three exceeding 30. 

Lee finished his career with Atlanta, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, retiring in 2011 with 1,951 Hits, 331 Home Runs, 1,078 RBIs, and a .495 Slugging Percentage.