"In 1939 I led the league in hitting with .349. Naturally after a year like that you look forward to talking contract. But when I sat down with Rickey, he said, "Well, your home run production stayed pretty much the same." No mention of my batting average. So the next year I hit 43 home runs, which is still the Cardinal club record, and led the league in runs batted in. But my average went down. When I went in to talk contract this time, he said, "Well, your batting average wasn't so good. Would you be willing to take a cut?" I led the league in runs batted in, and he wanted to know if I'd take a cut!"
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Johnny Mize, as quoted in Baseball When the Grass Was Real: Baseball from the Twenties to the Forties Told by the Men Who Played It (1975) by Donald Honig, p. 104
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Branch_Rickey
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Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey (December 15, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was actively involved in Major League Baseball for 50 years. During his career in baseball, he developed the farm system. However, his most significant accomplishment was helping to integrate organized baseball in 1946, when Jackie Robinson played his first and only season with the minor league Montreal Royals. Robinson would integrate Major League Baseball on April 15, 1947, as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
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