Denny Neagle

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Dennis Edward Neagle Jr. (Born September 13, 1968 in Gambrills, Maryland) is a Major League Baseball player, presently a free agent. He was last under contract with the Colorado Rockies during the 2004 season. However, he did not play due to injury.

In 2001, Neagle signed what is considered to be one of the worst baseball contracts in history, for 5 years and $51 million, considering his mediocre 4.52 ERA the previous year. Pitchers receive amongst the highest dollar values on their contracts because of the scarceness of their talent, but 5 year contracts for pitchers are considered highly stigmatized since pitchers like Neagle, Chan Ho Park, Darren Dreifort and Mike Hampton, all devastatingly underperformed their contracts due to injuries and inconsistency.

Neagle missed 2004 due to ligament and elbow surgeries. However, he ran into legal problems at the end of 2004, which allowed the Rockies to cancel the final year of his lucrative contract.Rockies Terminate Neagle's Contract Namely, he was found engaged with a prostitute and 3 days later caught speeding while drunk.

On January 24, 2006, Neagle pled guilty in Jefferson County, Colorado, on one charge of patronizing a prostitute. Although the sentence can carry a maximum of a $500 fine and up to six months in prison, Neagle was only sentenced to 40 hours of community service.

Over the course of his 5 year contract with the Rockies, he accumulated a record of 19-23 in 370.1 innings pitched, with an ERA of approximately 5.56.