“It took awhile. I’m glad I get this opportunity to clarify, because the fans in St. Louis think that it’s all about the money,” he tells Bensinger in a conversation taped during spring training. “If you do the math, I came to California and I’m going to make less money than if I would’ve stayed with the Cardinals because of tax (rates) and everything. I had another team (the Marlins) that was offering me a lot. A big, big contract. I didn’t want to go, that wasn’t in my heart.”
He soon thereafter took the Angels’ offer because he said he thought he was more appreciated by that club’s ownership than that of the Cardinals.