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Show BONUS SYSTEM DOES NOT HaP BASEBALL Spurs On at Beginning of Season, Sea-son, but Fails at End UnquestiooaWy Makes Pitcher or Bat. ter Hustle Because of Objective Later Money Is Placed Above Team Spirit. Is tlio bonus system a good thing In baseball? For years certain managers have clung to the system of rewarding certain cer-tain players on the basis of their accomplishments. ac-complishments. On the surface that seems like a perfectly logical way to determine a player's worth. Likewise it would seem that It would spur the laggard on to greater effort, because of the extra compensation promised. It sounds well In theory, but does not work out In practice. It has been customary to apply the bonus system to games won by a pitcher, also the ability of a batter to hit .300, or improve im-prove upon his average of the previous season. In the early season the bonus system sys-tem may have some worthwhile features. fea-tures. It unquestionably makes the pitcher or batter hustle because of his objective. Late in the season, with the result hanging in the balance, it seems to work out Just the other way. In this connection is the case of a certain cer-tain pitcher who was promised $1,000 extra if he won 20 games. With only three weeks to go, the pitcher had to win three games to receive the bonus He had been going badly, and added to this was the fear that he wouldn't come through. The club was In the fight for the pennant Its pitching strength was crippled, and much depended on the work of the pitcher with the bonus contract. Ordinarily a pleasant chap, who accepted the breaks of the game without a murmur, he suddenly became be-came a crab with the umpires and his fellow players. A certain Infielder, promised $500 If he hit .300, reached that figure with two games still to be played. He reported re-ported sick the next day and missed the lost two games. The bonus caused him to place money above team spirit. Knock number two for the bonus system. |