August 15, 2007
Market Demand
Matt Watson notes the price of a Daisuke Matsuzaka autograph and comments:
Can you imagine paying $449 for a Ted Lilly autograph? Or one from Shawn Marcum, Noah Lowry or Tom Gorzelanny? All four of those starting pitchers have an ERA lower than Dice-K's mark of 3.59. I'm not saying that earned run average is the end all for comparing pitchers, but it definitely helps put the ridiculousness of the lingering hype surrounding Matsuzaka in context.
Yes, the guy has talent. But no, not enough to miss a car payment over.
Dice-K and the Red Sox did a good job of making the pitcher appear unique. And unlike the other pitchers listed above, there is international demand for a Matsuzaka autograph. Maybe Ted Lilly should start doing beer commercials in Japan!
Watson is, of course, completely ignoring the difference between pitching in the NL and AL, in order to emphasize his point.
Not saying that Dice-K has fully lived up to the hype, but he hasn't exactly been Hideki Irabu either. After some rough early outings, he's established himself as a solid #2 behind Beckett. Yeah, the memoriabilia market is boosted by (a) Dice-K's rockstar status in Japan and (b) the Red Sox hype machine... but does anyone seriously think Ted Lilly is a better pitcher?
