Food for thought if we hear people around the league puffing their chests about how Barry Bonds Broke The Rules™, courtesy of the AP:
That provision [of a contract that could give Alex Rodriguez more money from the Yankees if he breaks Barry Bonds’ career HR record] must be drafted carefully because of Major League Rule 3 (b) (5), which states no contract shall be approved “if it contains a bonus for playing, pitching or batting skill or if it provides for the payment of a bonus contingent on the standing of the signing club at the end of the championship season.”
Even with that, the commissioner’s office allowed the Boston Red Sox in 2003 to give Curt Schilling a provision for a $2 million raise in a season following a World Series championship. Boston won the title the following year.
Way to hold yourselves up as the honest ones, guys. In 10 years are we going to hear about how Rodriguez and Schilling should be banned from baseball, because the league “looked the other way” on these contract rules violations?