Ken Griffey Jr. Negotiation - Essay Example

The parties to the negotiation for Ken Griffey's services were divided into four categories. Those categories include: Ken Griffey and those individuals representing or affiliated with Mr. Griffey, the Cincinnati Reds and all those working with them, the Seattle Mariners and their management, and the New York Mets who were minor players in the drama. Bit players including the commissioner and the commissioner's office, the Cincinnati and Seattle baseball fans, and the players that were traded for Griffey could have had some impact as well (especially looking at the transaction five years later).

Each of these four entities and the bit players all played their role in the transaction. Some had more impact than others, and some made this entire deal quite interesting to watch from an analytical viewpoint. The setting for this transaction was that Ken Griffey was finishing a contract with the Seattle Mariners. He was a 10/5 year man, which meant that he had control over where he was ultimately going to play baseball, and for what team because he had veto power over any trade involving himself.

It was not that he was dissatisfied with the Mariners, and he especially was not dissatisfied with their more than lucrative offer of over $17 million per year, but the was more a case of his wife and family's dissatisfaction with not being able to see Daddy during the season, since they lived in Miami and Seattle is just about as far away from Miami as you can get and still be in the same country. This case hinged more on the matter of love than the love of money, which is quite evident based on the fact that Griffey signed for less money than for what Seattle's offer was worth.

The only mistake that the individuals representing Griffey made was that they could have probably gotten even more money from Cincinnati than what they did by holding out a little longer than what they did. Brian Goldberg, Griffey's agent and advisor, knew that no matter what team Griffey ended up playing for, he (Goldberg) was in for a big, fat commission check from this transaction. His advice to Griffey was probably to make a choice based on where he (Griffey and his family) was going to be happiest.

Goldberg knew that Griffey would probably be the happiest in Cincinnati, because of other factors as well. Those factors included the fact that Griffey's father had also played for the Reds and was a revered figure in the city because of the success of the team while Griffey's father was playing for them. The team at that time was nicknamed "The Big Red Machine" and won two straight World Series championships. From an analytical standpoint, the New York Yankees could benefit from this knowledge by finding out exactly who the ballplayer is married, engaged or seeing and their feelings about living in New York.

Since it was not the money that clinched the deal, then in any future negotiations the Yankees might make, we may wish to keep in mind the spouse, or loved one, of the player and 'wine and dine' them as well as the player. (I'm sure The Boss has already thought of this being the entrepreneur that he is, but I thought I'd throw it in for reference). In analyizing the actions of the New York Mets, who, during the negotiations, attempted to entice Griffey to play in New York instead of Cincinnati a number of the actions that they