Interesting question for baseball fans to debate over?

Question

In response to the Yankees third consecutive first round exit from the playoffs, everybody is asking who should take the heat. Is it the manager, the general manager, etc...

But, look at this in a different way. In the real world, in the jobs you and I work in every day, if we show up to work and fail to perform to our boss' expectations, we get fired. Shouldn't the players be held accountable? I know this would never happen because they are union and under MLBPA protection, and I know at times if a player underperforms he can be traded or cut, but looking at it in the simplest of ways, I think that if players knew their jobs were on the line with failed performances, they could get fired, these players would then always come to the ballpark and give 100% every day just like we do in our workplace.

I think the players are way to coddled these days, which means they don't seem to care whether they win or lose, regardless they will collect a pay check.

My other thought was to pay based on performance. Eliminate huge contracts and sign every player to a standard $250,000 contract, regardless of who you are. And if you hit certain bonus incentives, you can earn more money. Just like in the real world, if we perform above expectations we can get bonuses and raises. Salaries are out of control and as long as players are guaranteed their money, they don't care if they hit 130 RBI's or 13 RBI's. This would create a more balanced playing field and again make players strive to give 100% on the field every day and in practice.

What are your thoughts?

Apparantly Yahoo Answers is full of simple minded people who lack the creativity to think out of the box. It's not meant to be a literal situation. And this has not been asked a dozen times in the last 12 hours, read it carefully, you'll see the difference. What about the pay incentive option I brought up? Please, serious comments only.

Again, this does not pertain to the Yankees. They just spurred the idea for this question. This is a "GENERAL" question.

Answer 1

While I agree with you to some extent that salaries have gotten way out of line, I don't think the solution is in tying salaries to a player's individual performance, particularly his statistics. Having played a lot of ball in my life, I can tell you that it is not always the players with the gaudy statistics that are the most valuable. Let's use as an example a player that maybe gets a bonus for hitting 40 home runs in a season. He's got 39 going in to the last game, comes up in the late innings with a man on 1st and nobody out, and the manager wants him to lay down a bunt to move the man to second. Will that player want to do what his manager has asked him, or will he make a cpule lousy attempts, then swing for the fences? Likewise, if a pitcher is within a few strikeouts of getting his bonus, will he perhaps lie to his manager when he instead should tell him he has nothing left and should come out of the game? Baseball is rather unique in that there are times when the proper thing to do is to sacrifice your own statistics for the good of the team. (hitting to the right side with a man on first would be one example of this - you may end up grounding out, but you've done your job)
I tend to look at players as being paid based on their potential worth, and perhaps even on their past performance to some degree. I think rather then trying to limit them as to what they can make, instead there should be a rule limiting the length of a contract. Perhaps if a player could sign for no more then 2 - 3 years, the incentive to play hard would be greater then it would for a player with a 10 year deal. The unfortunate side effect of this would be that players would probably move more frequently. In addition to this, I would propose that MLB adopt a salary cap, but borrow apage from the NBA with it's "Larry Bird" clause, which allows teams to go over the cap to re-sign their own players. That perhaps would then allow a team to keep a player for a longer time while still being able to reward him financially.

Answer 2

Do you honestly think that players don't care about winning in the playoffs simply because they have guaranteed contracts?

If you look at the stats of some of the guys from the Phillies, Cubs, Yankees, or Angels, there is no doubt that you'll find some guys who have underperformed, but is that because they didn't care, or didn't try? This isn't meant as Jeter-bashing, but in the ALDS he was 4 for 17 for a .176 average.
Should the Yankees cut him?

There are 2 reasons Jeter hit .176 in the playoffs, and not giving 100% isn't one of them. He hit .176 because a) he faced good pitching, and b) 17 at bats is a small sample. I guarantee if you were to research the careers of some of the all time greats like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, etc. you'd find a few 4 for 17 stretches.

So I don't think that cutting players if they don't perform well in the playoffs would really work, because it's not lack of effort that causes low stats.

I don't think the base salary plus incentives is that good an idea either, because then players will constantly be trying to pad their stats, and that's not always in the best interest of the team.

For example, let's say it's the bottom of the ninth, and the score is tied at 2. The first guy up doubles. If the next man up has incentives to hit a certain # of homers or RBI, he may swing for the seats. While a homer would win the game, the man on second's run is really the only one that matters. After all, winning 3-2 is just as good as winning 4-2. In a situation like that, generally you'd help your team more by bunting the runner over to third, so a sacrifice fly could win the game. By trying for the homer to reach an incentive, you may strike out and actually hurt your team.

Answer 3

I see what youre trying to say but in a way they are paid off perfomance, its just from the prior years. I agree the players are pampered and should be held more accountable but if you start paying them off of current performance, every player up there will be swinging for the fences and trying to win the game on one swing in the second inning. That would take away the whole "team" concept and be about individuals trying to do it all them selves. it would be funny to watch though, to see 5 guys running after a fly ball cuz whoever catches it gets $1,000 for a put out. and it would probably make them hustle more, but maybe to hard? you could have huge bonuses for the team to win the world series but then again i think you would have everyguy trying to be the hero.

Answer 4

Your thoughts make perfect sense, but the world of professional sports doesn't work that way.

Here's another way of looking at the Yankees situation:

Since 1996, your team has won three (or four?) World Series, with six appearances, and has made it to the post season every year. Should the manager be fired? How about the players? Has their performance, over time, been sub-par?

Answer 5

Your idea sounds good but it wont work in MLB...Today's pay scales and the players union would chew it up and spit it out!!! Players of today are not like Ruth CY Young Joe D Mantle Maris TY Cobb Stan Musial Jackie Robinson Duke Snyder and the list can go on where these players all of them great in their day made a meager wadge.....Could you imagine today's baseball stars getting paid less then a million dollars not happening....I cant see the reason for paying these players millions of dollars to play a sport....They are not Doctors researching a cure for cancer or aids, they are not ambassadors seeking world peace...I agree with you but it wont happen today's players are spoiled rotten and treated like they are KINGS!!!!

Answer 6

I don't give a "hoot" if you have the best of everything on your team....sales, cooking, fishing or baseball....if you don not have a "cheer leader" running the show it amounts to a big fat nothing......Torre should have been replaced since the 4th game of the Florida Marlin series in the 11 or 12 inning when the bases were loaded and Rivera in the bullpen warming up....he blew it then and is still blowing it.......you need a "cheer leader" in the club house and Torre has not been it since.....how can our local high school team not succeed and the one less then 30 miles away win every year.....but more of our atheletes go to college ball and a few of them to the pro level.....they have a "cheer leader" some one that can coach while we don't......bring the same coach here and imagine what we would do.....we instead continue to stick with the "no names" looking for a Belichick ..Parcells...Lombardi that is going to fall out of the sky.....it is the coach's fault....it is his job to bring out the best and with out this "cheer leader" you have nothing!

Answer 7

i personally think that cashman(the GM) should be fired. to be honest with you, i dont think the players underperformed. they played their hearts out to just make it to the playoffs. if you remember they started off really bad and then had an amazing record to finish the year. the yankees were just out played in the playoffs. somebody has to lose. i mean if you think they underperformed and should be "fired" then look at the rest of the league that has been knocked out of the playoffs and the teams that didnt make it. there would be alot of free agents! i think your idea about player incentives and everyone starting at a base salary is ideal but we both know it wont happen.

Answer 8

You can't really compare real world to any major league sport...I don't know many companies where a lot of the workers get paid sometimes 5+ times more than the manager. I know I don't make anywhere near the amount my manager makes. In major league sports it is just an easier fix to get rid of one guy or five guys than it is to dismantle a whole group of the "workers" and try to assemble a new team of "workers" who can perform as well or better than the last group.

Answer 9

the place are your data to assist your accusation? the actuality is, activities followers ordinarily, no longer basically baseball, rely on suggestions heard by employing the media. None all people is interior the locker rooms of those communities so none people extremely comprehend what in fact. I won't disagree that message boards, and so on. are breeding grounds for moronic critiques, maximum of that are only there to ignite arguments.

Answer 10

if you follow your own premise that if players dont do their jobs they should get fired, then you must not realize that even the best players fail 70% of the time..and the failure rate increases from there.. i guess at that rate ALL players should be fired under your premise... if this is your idea of how to make baseball players perform better, well, let me just say, im glad i dont work for you my friend...