The Washington herald., 1911-02-10

If there is one team In the American
League which, on the dope. ought to be
especially disappointing to its clientele
and a mighty deserving clientele it is.
too-that team is the Boston Red Sox,
says Paul Bruske in the Detroit Times.
Every member of the HubiteS' pride
will start the season of ISL dissatisfied
with lis job and at odds with his en-
ployer over the matter Of salary.
The cause of the lack of harmony be-
tween playing and controlling ends is the
existence in every one Of the Boston con-
tracts of a bonus clause, which sets
aside a certain sum of money to be
handed to the player in case. through
the season of 1911, he adheres to the
training regime prescribed. fields up to
the satisfactory mark. bats what he
should. and then some. or. if a pitcher
wins often enough to make him deserv-
ing
Contrary to the usual plan. these Bos-
ton bonuses are not additions to the
salary which the player would have re-
ceived anyhow. They are, instead, de-
ductions from that sum. and allow the
management of the club to exercise a
fnirg power at the end of the season.
for which the players contract signature
gives consent
Taylor Bonuses Misnamed
Bonuses in the past have been regarded
as promises of supplementary and ad-
dtional reward. The misnamed bonuses
of the John i. Taylor plan are merely
threats to insure good behavior. AS one
OF Taylor's players has expressed 1t. it's
a case of heads l win, tails you don't
lose anything. Players who succeed in
getting those bonuses a the end of the
season will get approximately the sal
aries at which they would have been
signed. We're the word bonus eliminated
from the dictionary and the system of
added rewards unknown. Players who
don't land the bonus will find they are
500 short on the final pay day.
Much has been written and said re-
garding the ACCESSIBILITY of bonuses in
baseball contracts. In general. the mag
mates have fought shy of the plan eX-
cepting only those who find it necessary
10 insert good behavior clauses in the
contracts of some of their men. To sign
up an entire team on good behavior
clause contracts is something new. But
rs novelty is apparently nothing to alarm
the intrepid son of a rich parent who
pilots the eaters of beans. All his stars
but Catcher Carrigan have signed, though
their protests were long and strident.
Detroit made one essay at the bonus
system when. in 1867. the management
of the club offered bonuses to all his
pitchers who should succeed in winning
twenty or more games The scheme
worked to perfection. to all appearances.
as Detroit surprised the other league
teams and. in fact. the entire world of
baseball, by winning its first major league
remnant of enfpaVOr
Navin Abn ndons Bonuses.
But the plan was not considered a sue
cess 10y President Navin. who abandoned
the idea after one years trial This
looked like a dangerous move, but it
was one which seemed to work out well.
as the Tiger pitchers twirled their team
into another championship, and, in 1903.
made It three straight.
President Navin, of the Tigers, be-
lieves that the harm done by 4 bonus
system is far more apparent than the
good. He found that one of his pitchers
got to sulking when faced by dangerous
opponents, and that all his staff showed
a yearning desire to pick off the easy
teams. Ill-feelng regarding the assign
rnents was several times on the verge
of cropping out.
Bonuses Breed Jealousy.
In general. the jealousy which Is in
varibly the result of a bonus system is
the principal argument against the use
of the system. And it is a condition
which appears just regularly in the
other departments Of the game as among
the hurlerS.
In ono experiment with the bonus sys- !
tenn. Mr.. Navin paid all his pitchers |
whether they had qualified under the let !
ter of the rule or not. Since that time |
he has signed all his men-one player |
only excepted-to straight. out-and-out !
contracts. There has been one good :
behavior contract sent out from the
Detroit Office this year There was one
last year. and ils existence in the play
eTs contract did not deter him from
its provisions. In this case
the bonus was withheld, and the PLAYER