The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-01-13
Two or Three Have Been At
tached to the Documents
Sent Out to Date
NAvlN BELIEVES THEY
ARE USUALLY HARMFUL
Has Better Scheme, He Thinks,
Which He Is Trying Out
This Season
BY RALPH L. YONKER.

"
This will be poor year for those
Tigers who have looked forward to
bonuses. There viii be only two. or
at most three, Tigers. who will have
the clause calling for some special
conditional remuneration In their con.
tracts.
These bonuses will be given to Ger.
tain members OF the team, If they
sign their contracts as sent them,
upon their succeeding In remaining In
condition throughout the year, which
in these cases practically means shun-
ring the cup.
Frank Navin. president of the De.
troit club, believes that bonuses are
bad things as general rule. He ad-
mits that there are exceptions TO the
case. But he has taken stand
against any wholesale bonus scheme
for the Tigers.
To the Tiger president there seems
no sense In paying man biz salary
and then coming across with little
more because he has done what he
was paid to do.
There is no business except base.
ball In which that is done, he con-
tends. In any other business a mans
salary Is paid for his work and he Is
cpected to do his best in that work
without any thought of extra com
?ensation simply because he does his
duty
or course, players cannot see the
subject in this light There are al.
ways times when the thought of extra
money will spur them on TO extra
hard work. There may often be times
when the winning OF a. game would
mean more TO iaagnate than the
honus, and the-fac that the bonus is
forthcoming might be just the incen-
I've needed TO force the pitcher to the
speed needed to cop the contest
But that is matter OF the mag
mates and the players to settle for
themselves.
Navin thinks that he HAS a much
better scheme OF getting Ethe results
OF a bonus and ne is trying this out
on one Tiger this year. II a player
falls down badly one year for any rea-
son which he-can correct by his own
effort, his salary for the next season
IL slashed, perhaps nearly cut In two.
Then the player is given to under
stand that II he plays the kind OF base
ball that he Is capable OF and II he
stays In proper shape, he will be
yiven the full salary he received the
year before with perhaps an increase
even over 1t.
II is only upon the exceptionally
sensible man that this can be used,
however, says the Tiger boss. The
player has to realize that he needs
some strong influence to pull him in
the direction he should follow and Is
willing to allow himself 10 be put
under that influence, knowing that 1t
Ia for his own and as we'll as the clubs
good
Giving a bonus to pitcher II he
wins more than a certain 1dmber or
games. usually 20, which Is practiced
by many clubs and has been practiced
by the Tigers, is considered poor pol
icy by the Tiger boss.
In the first place. II seems to be un-
fair to the other players in the games
won by hat pitcher. For instance, II
The pitchers were to be paid extra for
the games won why shouldn't they
be forced to share up with their team
mates?
The granting OF conditional bonus
places pitcher under an extra bur.
den all the time. The pitcher who
has big bonus hanging over him Is
very likely to be given all the diff
cult games TO pitch For instance. IL
man has won 10 games and must
win 20 to get his bonus, he'll get most
OF tbe games against the Walter John.
sons and Joe Woods and Ed Washes.
A fairer way OF determining the
worthiness of a pitcher would seem
to be Ban ,Lphnson's new method or
getting figures on hurlers by means OF
recording the number of runs made
on them per inning on the percentage
Of hits. But President Nayin SAYS
nay. Whenever pitchers are con-
fronted by statistics they are apt ~
become nervous and sacrifice games
TO keep the figures down.
The bonus system was tried one
year, the first year the Tigers won
the pennant. Each of the four pitch
ers who were working regularly was
offered $500 II he could win 20 games
during the season. Two thousand dol
lars were paid,out as a result of that
offer, Donovan. Eilllan, Siever and
Mullin getting the bonuses.
In 1907 Donovan won 25 games and
lost four. Killian also won 25 and
lost i3. Mullin won 20 end lost 20.
Siever won only l9 and lost 10, but he
was given the bonus despite the fact
that he didn't quite reach the coveted
mark
Bonuses for keeping In condition
are things that players do not like to
discuss and TO save them embarrass-
ment, the fact that such bonuses are
attached to certain contracts, is as far
r..
any public discussion OF the question.
leaving the fans to conjecture as TO
whose names are signed to the condi-
tional contracts.
II is certain. aevever, that the tt