| | In his final season with the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], he was injured prior to the beginning of the season, leading to the often-reported (but untrue) story that his injury led to [[Albert Pujols]] making the Cardinals' roster (the beginning of what will most likely be a Hall of Fame career); in reality Pujols had already played well enough to make the roster. | | In his final season with the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], he was injured prior to the beginning of the season, leading to the often-reported (but untrue) story that his injury led to [[Albert Pujols]] making the Cardinals' roster (the beginning of what will most likely be a Hall of Fame career); in reality Pujols had already played well enough to make the roster. |
| − | Bonilla, however, is more noted for the deferred contract agreement he made with the [[New York Mets]] after the 1999 season, where he was released but still owed $5.9 million: he and his agent agreed to defer payment at 8% interest, with a first payment of around $1.19 million due on July 1, 2011 and annually on that date thereafter until 2035, resulting in total payments of $29.8 million for not playing with the team. (The Mets owners agreed to the high interest rate as they were supposedly making more than that on investments; however, the investments were made with Ponzi scheme fraudster [[Bernie Madoff]].) | + | Bonilla, however, is more noted for the deferred contract agreement he made with the [[New York Mets]] after the 1999 season, where he was released but still owed $5.9 million: he and his agent agreed to defer payment at 8% interest, with a first payment of around $1.19 million due on July 1, 2011 and annually on that date thereafter until 2035, resulting in total payments of $29.8 million for not playing with the team. (The Mets owners agreed to the high interest rate as they were supposedly making more than that on investments; however, the investments were made with Ponzi scheme fraudster [[Bernie Madoff]].) As such, July 1 is humorously referred to by sports fans as "Bobby Bonilla Day". |