In sports, we always celebrate the failures. Search "worst contracts in sports history" on Google, and you'll get 8.89 million results. JaMarcus Russell, Rick DiPietro, Ryan Leaf, Mike Hampton -- these names (and many more) immediately jump to sports fans' minds when the topic is mentioned.
Often, though, the overperformance can go unnoticed, so it's only fair to point out how much Jacoby Ellsbury is worth this year.
He's paid just $2.4 million this year, more than only Jarrod Saltalamacchia among Red Sox Opening Day starters, but he's worth a whole lot more than that.
Fangraphs.com, among its many nifty tools, lists a player's dollar value. It converts a player's WAR (wins above replacement) and estimates what a player would make in free agency. According to that measurement, Ellsbury is worth $22.6 million.
Though he won't reach free agency until 2014, it's safe to say he's in for a rather hefty raise next year.
That's due in part to an incredible offensive season, which has Ellsbury currently batting .316 (his best mark in a full season was .301 in 2009) with 15 home runs (career high), 54 RBIs (six short of career high) and an .884 OPS.