Bonus rule
The bonus rule was a contractual rule affecting major league baseball intermittently between 1947 and 1964, meant to prevent teams from assigning certain players to farm teams. The rule stipulated that when a major-league team signed a player to a contract with a signing bonus in excess of $4,000, the team was required to keep that player on their active roster. Any team that failed to comply with the rule lost the rights to that player's contract, and the player was then exposed to the waiver wire.
The rule was first instituted in 1947, removed in December 1950, and re-introduced in December 1952.[1] As in force for the 1953 though 1957 seasons, a player subject to the rule had to be on the team's active roster for two full seasons, after which he could be assigned to a farm team without repercussions.[1] The rule was again rescinded in 1958, but re-established for the 1962 major-league expansion, with different and more relaxed stipulations. It was finally abolished in 1965, when the Major League Baseball draft was initiated.[1]
History of the rule
[edit]In the late 1930s and early 1940s, major league franchises found themselves bidding against one another for the services of young players. These engagements subsided when World War II broke out. When the war ended, the bidding wars resumed and resulted in skyrocketing signing bonuses. To counter this, in 1947, the major leagues implemented the bonus rule. The rule's purpose was to prevent the wealthiest teams from signing all of the best players and from stashing those players in their farm systems. Additionally, the bonus market was weakened as a result of inhibited competition. In return, this limited labor costs.[1]
The legitimacy of the rule was challenged several times after it was initially implemented. In December 1950, the rule was rescinded.[1] In December 1952, a committee chaired by Branch Rickey revived the rule. It was this iteration of the rule that stated a team had to place the players who met the bonus rule criteria on the major league roster immediately. Furthermore, the player had to remain on the roster for two years from the signing date.[1]
Although players were signed as a result of their potential, many of them were not able to succeed. In an extreme case, pitcher Tom Qualters was on the active roster of the Philadelphia Phillies for all of 1953 and 1954, but pitched only 1/3 of an inning in one game of the 1953 season, and did not get into a game at all in 1954. Qualters did not appear in his second major league game until 1957, and never recorded a victory as a big league pitcher.[2]
Incidents like the Clete Boyer trade (detail below) showed how the bonus rule could be circumvented. Rumor also spread that teams were ignoring the rule and bribing players. In 1958, both leagues voted to rescind the rule. In addition, they rescinded it retroactively. This eliminated the major league roster requirement for the players signed in 1957.[1]
After the league added four new teams (the Angels and Senators, followed by the Colt .45s and Mets), the bonus rule was reintroduced in 1962. The difference between the new version of the rule and the previous one was that a player had to spend just one full season on the roster instead of two seasons. The rule was rescinded permanently in June 1965, after the introduction of the Major League Baseball draft.[1]
Avoidances
[edit]
Instances of teams skirting the bonus rule include Paul Pettit, signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the end of January 1950.[3] While his bonus was a record-setting $100,000 ($1.31 million in 2024), the contract was actually with with the minor-league New Orleans Pelicans, where Pettit spent the 1950 season before making his major-league debut in May 1951.[4][5]
The New York Yankees worked out a deal with the Kansas City Athletics whereby the Athletics signed Clete Boyer to a contract at the end of May 1955. At this time, the Yankees were perennially finishing at or near the top of the American League, with the Athletics at or near the bottom of the standings. The Athletics used Boyer sparingly for the two years they had him.[6] Then, in early June 1957, just days after the first date at which the Athletics could send Boyer down to the minor leagues, they sent him to the Yankees as the player to be named later from a trade the previous winter. This trade did not sit well with the owners of the other American League teams. They claimed that the Yankees had used the Athletics to hold Boyer. However, the deal was allowed by the league.[7]
Notable players who received large signing bonuses during the two years that the rule was not in effect—December 1950 to December 1952—included Jay Porter, a $67,500 bonus in 1951 ($817,702 in 2024),[8][9] and Dick Groat, a bonus of approximately $35,000 in June 1952 ($414,430 in 2024).[10][11]
Bonus players
[edit]
Players signed under the bonus rule were referred to as "bonus players" or "bonus babies". These players often went straight to the major leagues and, due to bonus rule, were prevented from spending time and developing their talent in the minor leagues. As a result, the rule came under criticism because it often caused such a player to languish on a major league bench instead of gaining experience in the minors.[12]
During the most restrictive period, 1953 to 1957, at least 58 bonus players are known to have been signed by major-league teams.[a] Four of those players went on to have Hall of Fame careers: Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew, and Sandy Koufax.[1]
Of the four, only Killebrew, a bonus baby for the Washington Senators, saw any minor league service time once his mandatory two-year period expired.[14] Clemente was signed as a bonus player by the Brooklyn Dodgers who sent him to the minors to allow him to develop; however, he was subsequently drafted under the Rule 5 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates after one of their scouts took note his raw skills.[15] Kaline and Koufax, on the other hand, never played in the minor leagues.[16][17]
Other notable stars who signed under the original bonus rule were Clete Boyer, Lindy McDaniel, and Johnny Antonelli.[1]
Under the 1962 rule, which had more relaxed requirements, notable bonus players included Hall of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter and Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa.[1] Hunter did not see any minor league service but did pitch in the Florida Instructional League before his major league debut.[18]
List of bonus players
[edit]| * | Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ A count of 57 is given in a 2004 article by Steve Treder in The Hardball Times.[1] However, Treder omitted Roberto Clemente from his list of players, possibly due to Clemente not playing for the team that first signed him and issued his bonus, the Dodgers. A count of 58, including Clemente, aligns with the Baseball Almanac list of players, for the 1953–1957 period.[13]
- ^ This list is based on the cited source at Baseball Almanac. In two specific instances, Paul Pettit and Jay Porter, players in the Baseball Almanac source are not included in this list, as research by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) indicates that they were not subject to the bonus rule. Their circumstances are discussed in the Avoidances section of this article.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Treder, Steve (November 1, 2004). "Cash in the Cradle: The Bonus Babies". The Hardball Times. Retrieved March 30, 2025 – via FanGraphs.
- ^ Zygner, Sam. "Phillies Bonus Babies, 1953-57". Society for American Baseball Research.
- ^ "Paul Pettit". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ "Paul Pettit Minor & Mexican Leagues Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ Taylor, Dan. "Paul Pettit". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
To skirt the bonus rule, the Pirates had the sensation sign a contract with their New Orleans farm club
- ^ "Clete Boyer". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ Wancho, Joseph. "Clete Boyer". Society for American Baseball Research.
Because of the 'Bonus Baby' rule of the time, Boyer was required to stay on the Athletics' roster for a minimum of two years... The Athletics tried to include Boyer in a trade to the Yankees on February 19, 1957. But Commissioner Ford Frick vetoed the trade, ruling that it would violate the two-year agreement. It is curious that a team such as the Athletics, who were short on talent, would try to rid themselves of a prospect in whom they had allegedly invested a large sum of cash, especially before his required two-year apprenticeship on the varsity was up. Regardless, the 13-player swap was legally consummated on June 4, 1957, with Boyer going to New York.
- ^ Taylor, Dan. "Jay Porter". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ "JW Porter". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ Wancho, Joseph. "Dick Groat". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ "Dick Groat". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ "Bonus Rule". Society for American Baseball Research.
Writing 22 years later, Paul Hemphill, in an article appropriately titled "Whatever Happened to What's-His-Name?" focused on the adverse impact the rule had on the young players. He said: "Forced to sit in big league dugouts—gaining no experience, ostracized by jealous teammates, eventually the source of humor for fans and press—they waited while their potential, assuming they ever had any, stagnated and often disappeared."
- ^ a b "MLB Bonus Babies". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ "Harmon Killebrew Minor League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ Thornley, Stew. "Roberto Clemente". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ "Al Kaline Career Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Sandy Koufax Career Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Catfish Hunter Winter League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
