MLB award bonuses are history

[EStreetJoe]

What kind of incentives will players and agents ask for now?


http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3142555

just the start of the story...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Baseball players no longer would receive bonuses for winning the Most Valuable Player, Cy Young or rookie awards bestowed by the Baseball Writers' Association of America under a rule passed Wednesday.

Starting in 2013, players with such bonus clauses in their contracts will be banned from receiving votes for any BBWAA awards. Hall of Fame voting is not affected, nor are manager of the year or non-BBWAA awards such as the World Series MVP or Gold Glove.

"When we first started giving out these awards it was just to honor somebody. You got a trophy, there was no monetary reward that went with it," BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O'Connell said. "I honestly don't think people vote with that in mind. But the attachment of a bonus to these awards creates a perception that we're trying to make these guys rich."

The vote was 41-21 on the rule, which was brought up by The Associated Press several years ago. The BBWAA appointed a committee to discuss the rule with the commissioner's office and the players' association.

 

[Gold]

same as they do now -- innings pitched and plate appearances. All-Star teams are OK, because that is recognition as a top player which is not voted by a small group of sportswriters.

 

[EStreetJoe]

same as they do now -- innings pitched and plate appearances. All-Star teams are OK, because that is recognition as a top player which is not voted by a small group of sportswriters.

I sorta figured that. But will be interesting to see what kind of movement there is in those plateaus (higher or lower) to reach the bonus level now that post-season award bonuses are coming off the table.

 

[playthrough]

Without award bonuses, I fully expect to see players needing off-season jobs for the first time since the '50s.

 

[bigpern23]

Interesting.

I thought it odd when A-Rod's contract didn't include bonuses for MVP, etc., but I just chalked it up to the huge bonuses that came with his "historic achievements."

Now I'm guessing the Yankees knew this was going to pass easily.

 

[TwoGloves]

Lord, how are guys making $15 million going to survive without that $100,000 bonus?

 

[ondeadline]

It was funny that some players had a bonus in their contracts for being named division series MVP when no such award exists.

 

[heyabbott]

Interesting.

I thought it odd when A-Rod's contract didn't include bonuses for MVP, etc., but I just chalked it up to the huge bonuses that came with his "historic achievements."

Now I'm guessing the Yankees knew this was going to pass easily.

The Yankees, traditionally, have declined to include such bonuses in the the contracts they negotiate. I can't say they've been strict in enforcing the policy, because I don't know for sure, but it is their stated policy since Big Stein started handing out large contracts.
Rodriguez' new contract does not contain award based bonus.

 

[Gold]

The performance bonuses have never been allowed. It is only with permission of the Commissioner that A-Rod's performance bonuses will be allowed. Appearance bonuses are reasonable because a team is validating the value of the player.

Performance bonuses based on Home Runs, Wins, RBI, strikeouts shouldn't be allowed because moving a runner from second to third with no outs in the late innings is more important than trying to hit a home run or an extra-base hit.

 

[mike311gd]

The performance bonuses have never been allowed. It is only with permission of the Commissioner that A-Rod's performance bonuses will be allowed. Appearance bonuses are reasonable because a team is validating the value of the player.

Performance bonuses based on Home Runs, Wins, RBI, strikeouts shouldn't be allowed because moving a runner from second to third with no outs in the late innings is more important than trying to hit a home run or an extra-base hit.

Unless, that is, the player succeeds and drives in the tying or winning run. But I understand and agree with your premise.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

And after the "look at me" publicity, they say naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071207&content_id=2320887&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Retreating from the hardline it adopted at the recent Winter Meetings, the Baseball Writers' Association of America has decided on a moratorium on its resolution to disqualify from its awards players who can earn bonuses through them.

 

[Gold]

The Baseball Writers Association really had no way of enforcing the rules because they don't have a right to see all 800 contracts. Their only option would be to stop voting for the awards.

The system of having the writers' vote for the major awards has generally worked well with some exceptions. There are some bad choices which people might point to, but the system is a good one and is much fairer than if the leagues or baseball personnel voted for it. Many writers now write in their columns how and why they vote, and I think the overwhelming majority take it seriously.

I remember in 1978 reading Moss Klein's column explaining why he voted for Jim Rice over Ron Guidry. He wrote that he decided in favor of Rice because of what he did in the last two weeks of the season. I disagreed with that - Guidry's 25-3 record with a 1.74 ERA has only been matched by Gooden's 1985 season where he was 24-4 and with luck could have won 30 game. But the fact that Moss Klein disclosed this gave a good idea about how and why these decisions were made.