The story behind one of baseball’s most legendary contracts

The Mets are sitting atop National League East and enjoying a good return so far on the team’s $196 million payroll. But included in that figure is nearly $1.2 million for a player that hasn’t stepped to the plate in more than 20 years, and one the team will continue to pay for another 14 years. Here’s more on the now-infamous arrangement between an athlete and an owner, and the most notorious Ponzi scheme in history.