If Phil Hughes doesn't pitch again in the regular season, he will set an MLB record for strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.63) after fanning 186 with only 16 base on balls. Also, if Hughes doesn't pitch again in the regular season, he will lose out on an additional $500,000 that could get tacked onto his $8 million base salary. And the Minnesota Twins pitcher may get denied that sweet half a milli payout because of Mother Nature.
Earlier today, Hughes was cruising in his final start of the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks when it started to pour, forcing the umps to call for a rain delay. At that very moment, the 28-year-old was at 209 2/3 innings for the year. But, there is a clause in his contract which stipulates that if he reaches 210 innings, Hughes would receive a $500K bonus. After a 66-minute delay, the game continued... without Hughes on the mound.
Usually, if the delay goes on for an extended period of time, like an hour and six minutes, managers will not keep the same pitcher who was tossing prior to the break in action out of concern for potentially damaging their player's throwing arm. Even though Hughes was admittedly "well aware" of the possible bonus hanging in the balance, he's resigned to the fact that "some things aren't meant to be."
If there's any silver lining, Hughes did already receive a pair of $250,000 bonuses for surpassing the 180 and 195 inning mark.
UPDATE:
Today, Hughes was given the opportunity to pitch for the Twins this weekend, as the team felt it was right to let their pitcher collect the necessary 1/3 inning for his bonus. However, Hughes has inexplicably turned down the offer, leaving $500K on the table. Despite the fact the Twins are eliminated from the playoffs, and the game would be his last of the year, Hughes is declining the opportunity to pitch. MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger has the full details:
Twins offered Phil Hughes the chance to pitch this weekend but he declined.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) September 25, 2014
Hughes said he was surprised Twins offered him a chance to pitch in relief to reach $500K bonus. But said he didn't want to risk injury.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) September 25, 2014
Hughes also said simply being given the $500K bonus despite not reaching 210 IP mark would set a bad precedent. Said it wasn't meant to be.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) September 25, 2014
Hughes also wanted to thank the fans who campaigning for him to get the $500K bonus. Said it's not often fans want players to get paid more.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) September 25, 2014BRUH WTF.
[via ESPN]
