Ken Griffey, Jr. Negotiation, Research Paper Example

This case gives account of the negotiations that took place regarding a leading baseball play Ken Griffey Jr. (Griffey) (Lewicki, Barry, & Sanders, 2007). Griffey was expected to become a free agent at the end of the contract and Seattle Mariners knew that Griffey would definitely leave due to both personal dissatisfaction as well as family reasons. Thus, the Mariners wanted to reap economic benefits before the contract’s expiration and its general manager Pat Gillick took the charge to negotiate Griffey’s transfer. Cincinnati Reds emerged as the most likely candidate for a potential deal because Reds were Griffey’s second choice and were more interested than first choice Atlanta Braves. Reds general manager Jim Bowden was an astute negotiator and knew that Mariners are desperate for the deal because they don’t want to lose a player like Griffey for nothing. Reds also didn’t show desperation because Reds owner Carl Lindner made it clear that he would not get Griffey at the market rate. In the end, Mariners got only one guy they were especially interested in and that was Antonio Perez. Reds emerged as the winner in the negotiation and even though a great deal of credit goes to Bowden’s deal making skills, one should not forget that Mariners were already in a weak negotiation position to begin with.

Pat Gillick still did a good job despite being in a weak negotiating position. He succeeded in getting four players of which some have good potential such as Perez and Cameron. Mariners also avoided the possibility of losing Griffey without any economic gains as Griffey would certainly have become a free agent and also had the veto power due to his five years with the Mariners. The intangible benefits were that Gillick saved his job which he would probably have lost had Griffey left without any economic benefit to the Mariners. Since Mariners and Griffey apparently ended their relationship on friendly terms, Mariners also avoided the negative publicity that might have ensued. In addition, Griffey might have developed some goodwill for Mariners, too and may be willing to consider them again in the future.

Reference

Lewicki, Barry, & Sanders. (2007). The Ken Griffey Jr. Negotiation. The McGraw-Hill Companies.