Manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo revealed Monday that the Nippon Ham Fighters are introducing an evaluation system at his request that will reward contributions to victories, Sports Hochi reported.
The Fighters have had a lot of well-pitched games where the starting pitcher lacked run support and was unable to get a win, and Shinjo wants his guys to be rewarded for that, and for, well, playing like Shinjo, who hit the ball hard, struck out a ton, rarely walked, and didn’t hit for average.
“A pitcher who doesn’t allow a run can be evaluated like a pitcher who wins a no-hitter or a shutout. In that way, they won’t get down on themselves. Even if they don’t win because of bad luck, their salary will increase that much in the offseason,” Shinjo said.
“Also, pitchers who are used as pinch-runners will get credit for that as well.”
Shinjo said, however, that he is not into rewarding Japan’s obsession with “productive outs.”
“I’m not a fan. I prefer guys trying to drive the ball and hit for extra-bases,” he said.
This is not a new idea for Shinjo, who asked to be evaluated that way as a player. The skipper, who wants people to call him “BIGBOSS,” boasted that even though he didn’t hit for average, he was always the team leader in the postgame untaxed cash payouts teams make to players after wins known as fight money.
“Even though I was like a .240 hitter, I always got the most prize money. I’d strike out three times but then hit one into the gap to drive in two in a 2-1 victory,” said Shinjo, who added that there would be penalties and things that would receive low evaluations, such as hits that didn’t contribute to victories and poor pitching.
Evaluation systems are typically the front office’s responsibility, but Shinjo had already informed them of his thinking.
“I think the team might get angry with me in the second half,” he joked but said he wanted something to keep the players’ motivation up and give them some incentive.
The irony is that this team really needs no incentive to play more like their manager. The Fighters hitters don’t hit for average, lead both leagues in fewest walks and most strikeouts and home runs.
Shinjo, who said in his introductory press conference last year that he wants a number of his players to aspire to be TV celebrities, didn’t say whether popularity would figure into the equation, or mention that in many ways.
