Phil Hughes had his best year as a pro this year with the Minnesota Twins. The righthander started 32 games and finished 16-10 with a 3.52 ERA. Had it not been for a rain delay on Wednesday, Hughes would be $500,000 richer.
Hughes had a base salary of $8 million this year plus incentives. One of the incentives was a $500,000 bonus if he pitched 210 innings or more. Hughes was at 96 pitches when he finished the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday to record his 629th out of the season. That means Hughes pitched 209 2/3 innings. He did not return to the mound after an hour-long rain delay.
“I was very aware of it, but some things aren’t meant to be,” Hughes told reporters after the game, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “I’m very proud of my season regardless of that.”
Manager Ron Gardenhire said he would have sent Hughes back out for the ninth if not for the rain delay, since his pitch count was relatively low. Despite the fact that the Twins are in last place and really have nothing to play for, Gardenhire said he will not pitch Hughes in relief this weekend just so he can reach 210 innings.
The right thing for the Twins to do in this situation would be to give Hughes the bonus anyway. He ended up pitching eight innings of five-hit, one-run ball and probably could have thrown a complete game if not for the rain. Plus, Hughes’ dominant performance allowed him to set the single-season MLB record for best ever strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.63). Hughes walked just 16 batters all season.
Pay the man.
