weighing down the conscience
oh man I better not vote for alex rodriguez for MVP- that means he's gonna get a contract bonus...
check the breaking story on mlb.com or espn.com about the BBWAA
okay is this really a problem? according to the baseball writers of america- who get to vote on anything from Hall of Fame inductees to the respective MVP in each league...they felt the need to vote 41-21 in favor to:
"Deny MVP and CY Young Award votes for those players who receive additional contractual compensation for winning the awards"
what the **** is that?
I spoke with Evan Grant and TR Sullivan who informed me why this is-
apparently writers are under scrutiny- by who? their employers and audience. Kinda like how we're under scrutiny by the media, our employers and fans, eh? Everyone is under the microscope now and then, I mean that's why they write a column and put their name on the top- accountability.
okay look how ridiculous is it to make a personal vote against a player because of his contract?
'Media Bias' is now going to be a huge opinion issue with players- some or most of whom are skeptical enough because of the access and freedom that they're granted while in our locker room. A lot of writers are really qualified, intelligent, cool people- maybe that's the 21 people who voted against this.
all this came forth because of Curt Schilling (38pitches.com) made a joke about bribing a guy to get a vote cast for him as a Cy Young candidate, thereby activating an incentive clause in his contract where he gets a bunch of money. Well hey good for Curt to be an amazing player, with a good agent, and negotiate a large contract for himself...we're all entitled to these rights under the CBA- basically if the owners sign it, we get it.
Well like I said below Greg Maddux gets a free golf membership- why are people so tense that just because Schilling makes a joke they've got to take ludicrous and drastic measures? maybe the owners and players can remove the right to vote for MVP and Cy Young for anyone who feels so much pressure (peavy for NL CY- really tough decision!) that they can't remain unbiased. kinda like how people who are scared of foul balls so we give them tickets in the upper deck.
of course this measure won't kick in until 2013- but it would be funny if they really tried to enforce this, and miguel cairo ended up winning the mvp award by default since he didn't add it into his contract.
Amen CJ! So what contract incentives do you have built in...we better find a writer to vote for you before 2013!!! In all honesty that's a brutal idea by them, players should just play because they love playing...and in all honesty Schilling needs to shut-up and pitch.
Report any abuse or spam
I don't understand the thought process here by the writers. Why would you even waste brain cells begrudging someone that was smart enough to incorporate "performance" or "acheivement" into a contract that was agreed to by both parties? Then again, "In few men is it part of nature to respect a friend's prosperity without begrudging him." (Aeschylus).
Report any abuse or spam
peter abraham, a beat writer for the yankees (i know, i know... you despise the yankees, but pete is actually a die-hard red sox fan himself) wrote about this whole dilemma a while back when schilling first signed his one-year deal:
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2007/11/07/did-schilling-create-an-ethical-dilemma/
and the writers wouldn't be voting against those players with incentives in their contracts, the players names just wouldn't be eligible for the ballots at all. it keeps both players and writers from potentially doing something unethical in those situations.
Report any abuse or spam
To me it's the same thing as saying that Tim Tebow can't get the Heisman this year because under University of Florida policy he is a Sophmore...Everyone has someone they are accountable to..A lot of fans have said that they would like to see some type of metric put into players salary. I think this could be soemthing to that nature. Look the only thing that these contenders should be judged on is stats...performance....I don't think Will Smith was nominated for best actor twice because he has a 25,000 Square Foot Home in Beverly Hills and I don't think Barry Bonds has been MVP beacuse he is Mr. Congeniality ..Look judge them for what they should be judged on not for anything else not to mention we shouldn't even look at compensation as a reason to hold someone great back from something they deserve.
Report any abuse or spam
The irony here is that this "action" by BBWAA shows that they don't have faith in their own members. If they had complete confidence that their writers would not accept bribes from players with performance incentives then this vote wouldn't be necessary. Schilling can joke about making a bribe, but it takes someone to accept that bribe too.
Report any abuse or spam
Apparently hiring a good agent who negotiates a good contract is a bad thing.
I disagree with the "Schilling should shut up and pitch" comment. If he didn't talk to the media he would be reviled... see Vicente Padilla. I think Schilling is funny and candid and I appreciate an athlete who will be real with the fans and media instead of just delivering the status quo answer of "well we win as a team and lose as a team and the skipper made the right call and give them credit they gave us a good fight."
It's completely ridiculous to refuse a vote for a player because of their contract incentives. It completely, utterly, and blatantly destroys the integrity of the award. Perhaps the players and coaches could create a new MVP award that they vote on. As far as I know, I don't think the BBWAA doesn't have a trademark/copyright on the letters "MVP."
Report any abuse or spam
This just seems insane. If this is going to be a problem, wouldn't it have already reared its ugly head by now? The votes for and/or the winning of MVP or CY Young helps a player in future contract negotiations. It's an incentive in itself when you sit at the bargaining table as a free agent or arbitration. Under today’s rules what stops a player from bribing a writer now during a contract or arbitration year?
Report any abuse or spam