Joey Votto's contract

This is an interesting breakdown of Votto's new contract

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7859745/joey-votto-cincinnati-reds-pays-pocket-suites-road-trips

It states: "He would earn $75,000 for All-Star election or selection, $75,000 for a Gold Glove, $75,000 for a Silver Slugger, $75,000 for league championship series MVP and $100,000 for World Series MVP.

NL MVP is worth $500,000, with second place getting him $200,000, third place $150,000, fourth place $100,000 and fifth place $50,000."

It's always been my feeling that a player making that much money should be an all-star, Silver Slugger and MVP candidate, so why the extra money for doing what he's paid to do?

 

Seriously.

If you want a bonus for MVP:

 

Like most bonuses, don't you want the guy to achieve them if you're his employer?

 

So if he gets hurt the club saves some cash.

 

Or if he simply doesn't produce as expected.

I never understood the complaints about incentives. The team didn't give Votto these incentives just to be nice. It was part of a negotiation.

 

If you really want to give him incentive, pay him $500,000 and tell him it raises to $20 mil if he wins the MVP award.

 

He already won one MVP award and didn't get a bonus for it, when he was making $525,000.

 

Which would be fine, except they wanted to make an offer he might actually accept.

 

The Reds should have offered Votto a minor-league deal and make him prove he belongs in The Show.

 

Or they should have sent him back here to Mimico and make him try out for the Etobicoke Rangers again.

 

To play a kid's game?

 

To make hundreds of millions of dollars for his owners.