THE HOT CORNER
Well here we go. The baseball implementation of Mutually Assured Destruction, where the threat of being destroyed is something that is not only a risk to the loser. Yes, the loser is emotionally crushed, and perhaps they are competitively crushed (depending on how the entire market of opportunities plays out). Certainly their franchise plans are crushed.
Meanwhile, the winner is economically crushed. It’s assured. It’s part of the deal.
Even if you are the player, while you are economically blessed, that blessing comes with the risk of intense pressure and immense fan expectations, things that can wear on the player and the family of the player.