Hendu also knocked in the winning run in that Game 5 on a sac fly. And then hit what would have been one of the other biggest HR in Sox history if we had won WS Game 6.
Sports fans in general have the mentality of self-centered, coldhearted, miserable, hateful pricks. They want their thrills and their championships and they really don't give a crap about anything else.
That's just one side of the equation. Owners need the revenue side too. The fans are revenue and fans want good players and wins. And good players are extremely expensive.
The San Diego Padres needed wins and fans so they shelled out ridiculous contracts to Hosmer and Machado.
It's natural that sometimes there will be conflicts between the interests of a union as a group, and the interests of one of the members as an individual. From a union's perspective, the group has to take precedence.
What Pedroia signed in 2013 was actually a 6 year extension to an existing contract that was due to expire at the end of 2021.
If you want to call it 8 years, then by the same token you have to call Sale's 6 years and Bogey's 7 years.