Blue Jays fans try to win over David Price with online pledges
What would you do to keep all-star pitcher David Price playing for Toronto?
Bake him cookies? Get a tattoo? Run around naked?
Those are all actual things people are promising online at Any Price for David, a website devoted to persuading the pitcher to re-sign with the Blue Jays. The site, launched last weekend, is collecting "personal clauses" from fans for Price's potential contract — essentially small incentives to be added to the $200 million he's expected to make from whatever team signs him.
"I promised to chug a bottle of shampoo, which I will do," said the site's co-creator Laurent Abesdris.
"I don't want to do it, but sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do."
Abesdris was talking with a friend and fellow Jays fan living in California about how fans could "sweeten the deal" for Price when he decided to take the initiative. He works in marketing at J. Walter Thompson in Toronto and started brainstorming ideas with his co-workers on Friday.
"Is there anything we can do to genuinely sway him? All we can do is show him that we're passionate," he said of those discussions.
They came up with the idea of "personal clauses" in statement where you enter your name and then what you "agree to" if David Price stays.
So far more than 7,000 clauses have been submitted to the site.
"I think my favourites are the ones that are really honest and lovely," said Abesdris. "People offering him a home cooked meal or people offering him lessons in French as a second language."
Bizarre pledges pour in from Chuck Norris, Santa
The pledges posted to the site range from those personal, heartfelt promises to the bizarre and tongue-in-cheek, as well — because of course this is still the internet we're talking about.
"There are some really fun ones like people signing as Adam Sandler claiming that they'll never make a movie again," said Abesdris. "Or people claiming to be Donald Trump saying they'll drop out of the race."
Others include Chuck Norris agreeing "to let David Price live" and a pledge from the king of "Claus" himself — Santa.
"If David Price stays in Toronto, I, Santa Clause, agree to bring gifts to all the good boys and girls," Santa's clause reads.
So, what happens if Price goes to the Boston Red Sox?
Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Abesdris says the plan is to submit the list of clauses to Price's agent on Friday, what happens after that is still anyone's guess.
For his part, Abesdris thinks Price could stay if he's given "the money he deserves" because the Jays are a team with the potential to win it all next season. And yes, he does plan to honour his own shampoo chugging clause.
"If in fact David does sign, you can come and find me again and maybe we can put that on film," he said.
