And The Guy Doesn’t Even Play Baseball

Ford Motor Co. Chairman Alex Trotman’s compensation rose 30 percent to slightly more than $7 million last year after he cashed in $1.3 million worth of stock options.

The pay package for Trotman, who didn’t exercise any options the year before, was disclosed Monday.

Trotman was paid $5.74 million in salary, bonus and other compensation last year, up 6 percent from 1995.

Ford profits rose 7 percent last year, but in recent months the company’s stock has lagged well behind that of General Motors Corp., Chrysler Corp. and the Dow Jones industrial average. Analysts have complained that the company’s costs are too high.

Ford’s board of directors gave Trotman a 28 percent raise in his base salary, to $1.92 million from $1.5 million. It was the first such raise in three years for Trotman, who also is Ford’s president CEO.

The effect of the raise on his total pay was offset by a smaller bonus of $2.5 million, down 17 percent from his 1995 bonus because Ford did not meet financial targets required for a larger payment.