Will Wrecks Foster bring fans to the park even when he is on the DL?
As a team not expected to win a lot of games, the River Monsters know they need to figure out creative ways to bring fans to the park. The obvious choice is to sign popular fan favorite type of players to supplement your roster. Sometimes that can be tricky and counterintuitive though. Finding those types of players cheaply usually leads to an aging veteran who isn't going to help your team win. And if your team can't win games, the fans are going to get frustrated and not come no matter who is on the team.
This is where Rex Foster comes in. A very popular, fan favorite who is well past his prime. From a baseball standpoint, he adds no value to the team. But he was good not too long ago and fans seem to like him. So from a money standpoint, the $1.5 million is not really a sunken cost. He should earn some/all of that back in merch and ticket sales. So the question becomes where does he play?
That's the beauty in the flaws of Rex Foster. He doesn't play. He gets hurt. That's what he does best. When he comes back, he gets hurt again. So for that first week of spring training when everybody holds their breathe hoping their stars don't get hurt, we'll be running Wrecks Foster out there every day. So that when opening day hits, he'll be signing autographs in the concourse with his arm in a cast rather than taking up a roster spot.
