MLB playoff share voting incentivized low-paid video staff to facilitate cheating
Ben Reiter · Ben Reiter – Over the Edge with the Houston Astros (Capital Allocators, EP.166) · Nov 30, 2020 · at 39:46
Journalist Ben Reiter explains how MLB player-voted playoff bonuses warped incentives for front office and video room staff during the Astros sign-stealing scandal.
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“The players were also responsible for voting on who else got a cut of these playoff shares, which non-players. And those could include people like the guys who worked in the video room who were helping the players out all year. And these are guys who make 50,000 dollars a year, maybe 90,000 dollars a year if you're a manager. So if the players decide to vote you one of these playoff shares, your salary's going from 90,000 to like 550,000, right, kind of the player's decision. So where are your incentives gonna lie? Like, you're gonna try to keep these players happy and give them any information they want and prove your worth to them, hoping you're gonna get this enormous bonus at their whim.”
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