Joe DiMaggio: The $100,000 risk

Tomorrow marks the 67th anniversary of Joe DiMaggio becoming the first baseball player to earn a contract worth $100,000 dollars. While the question "What took so long?" may pop into your head (he received that contract in 1949 as a 34-year-old, after all), the decision to give him that contract may not have been so obvious. Let me explain.

As was almost custom, in the offseason prior to the 1949 season DiMaggio was one of the last Yankees to agree to a contract for the upcoming year. His battles with the Yankees' front office were infamous, and he often held out for bigger contracts. For example, during his famous 1941 season, the then 26-year-old centerfielder earned just $37,500-- paltry…