Remember when your mom made you put a few quarters into a jar any time you said a curse word? Philadelphia Phillies' manager Pete Mackanin is employing a similar tactic this spring, only he's probably using some expletives of his own as he forces players to donate a small fund every time one of their teammates makes a fundamental error.
The first-year manager told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that players are forced to make a donation of 50 cents every time a fundamental mistake is made.
"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.
It's unclear where the accumulated fines will go, but Mackanin went on to tell Zolecki that nearly $1,000 in collections have been made this spring.
This strategy from Mackanin is interesting. On one hand, he has a young team that needs fundamentals stressed and are impressionable enough to go along with something like this. On the other hand, fining players every time they make a small mistake like this — no matter how small the amount, speaks to a manager that probably will have a shelf life. The Phillies may be fine with Mackanin doing this, knowing he probably isn't their end-game as a manager. But it will be interesting to see if Mackanin, a first-time manager at age 64, continues a strategies like this into the season, where players may begin to tire of it.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
