Phillies Manager Fines His Team 50 Cents Every Time They Screw Up. The Pot is Almost $1,000

Image: Thinkstock
It’s death by a thousand cuts for the wallets of Philadelphia Phillies players this spring. Team manager Pete Mackanin instituted a policy of fining players 50 cents for every mistake they make on the field.
“If you don’t get a bunt down, everyone pays 50 cents,” Mackanin said before Thursday night’s rained out Grapefruit League game against the Braves at Champion Stadium. “If you don’t hustle, everyone pays 50 cents. If you miss a cutoff man, everyone pays 50 cents.”

Image: MLB.com
Mackanin says his goal with the policy is to make his players more attentive to detail—and more accountable to each other.
“When I announce the fines and this week you have $2.50, a half-dozen players get on that guy,” Mackanin said. “Not meanly, but like, ‘Come on, don’t do that anymore.'”
He said that, as a team, they are “closing in on $1,000” total, and added that the money will be donated to the MLB’s Baseball Assistance Team.
The micro-fines are new, but players better get used to them. The team just agreed to a new contract with Mackanin that will keep him at the helm for 2016 and 2017.
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Phillies Manager Fines His Team 50 Cents Every Time They Screw Up. The Pot is Almost $1,000

Image: Thinkstock
It’s death by a thousand cuts for the wallets of Philadelphia Phillies players this spring. Team manager Pete Mackanin instituted a policy of fining players 50 cents for every mistake they make on the field.
“If you don’t get a bunt down, everyone pays 50 cents,” Mackanin said before Thursday night’s rained out Grapefruit League game against the Braves at Champion Stadium. “If you don’t hustle, everyone pays 50 cents. If you miss a cutoff man, everyone pays 50 cents.”

Image: MLB.com
Mackanin says his goal with the policy is to make his players more attentive to detail—and more accountable to each other.
“When I announce the fines and this week you have $2.50, a half-dozen players get on that guy,” Mackanin said. “Not meanly, but like, ‘Come on, don’t do that anymore.'”
He said that, as a team, they are “closing in on $1,000” total, and added that the money will be donated to the MLB’s Baseball Assistance Team.
The micro-fines are new, but players better get used to them. The team just agreed to a new contract with Mackanin that will keep him at the helm for 2016 and 2017.