samflamont:

The following stories are true and simply amazing.  Every time you buy a ticket to a MLB game you can thank guys like this and the front office for the hefty price tag.  What a joke, watch the game on TV and go catch a Little League game.  Even though these stories are not exactly helpful to players or coaches they are entertaining and baffling, so I have put them here for entertainment purposes.

Josh Booty, Florida Marlins
The Marlins coaxed 1994 draft pick Josh Booty to give up football for a then-record $1.6 million signing bonus. What they got for their money was a .198 batting average in 1,745 minor league at-bats, 13 games of major league cameos (hey, he hit .269) and a good deal of angst. After failing to win a regular job with the team, Booty went back to college football

Bobby Bonilla, New York Mets
The Mets are still paying for the mistake of signing Bobby Bonilla in 1992 … and they will be for a long time. Bonilla struck a deal with the team in 2000 in which it purchased an annuity rather than pay him the remaining $5.9 million of deferred money that he was owed. So every July 1 from 2011 to 2035, Bonilla will receive $1.19 million, with the total payments adding up to nearly $30 million.

Drew Henson, New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys
Henson successfully cashed in on two sports. In 2001, he signed a six-year, $17 million contract with the Yankees, forgoing his senior football season at Michigan. He hit .111 in nine major league at-bats before giving up and returning to football. That didn’t work either. Henson received a guaranteed $3.5 million from the Cowboys in 2004 as part of an eight-year contract. Henson appeared in seven games for the Cowboys, making one start. He hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since, despite comeback efforts with the Vikings and Jaguars.

Derek Bell, Pittsburgh Pirates
Despite hitting .173 for the Pirates in 2001, Derek Bell threatened to go into “Operation Shutdown” in spring training if he wasn’t promised a starting job in ‘02. After suffering through a miserable spring training, Bell was released by the Pirates, who paid him $4.5 million not to play another game in the majors.

Juan Gonzalez, Cleveland Indians
Gonzalez received $600,000 for one major league at-bat in 2005. He strained his hamstring in his first game and was done for the season. Fortunately for the Indians, Gonzalez’s injury made room for Grady Sizemore to become an everyday player.

ESPN researcher Mark Simon

I would like to take this time to personally thank Juan Gonzalez for turning down the contract that would have bankrupted the Detroit Tigers.  Thanks for nothing while you made your brief stop in MO Town…all he did was cry because the fences were too deep.