The Oakland Athletics were the talk of baseball in the early 2000s, using a front office style that is now referred to as “Moneyball.” During that time, Billy Beane and his front office watched as they produced two American League Most Valuable Players, Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada, only to watch them both leave via free agency.
In 2004, another cornerstone of the offense became a free agent. But Eric Chavez broke the trend when he signed a six-year contract worth $66 million, the largest deal in team history.