Minor Leaguers to get a Raise

[Seth Stohs]

https://apnews.com/1512f5a4cf9a65f16a2641244e0c00fd

 

 

Players at rookie and short-season levels will see their minimum weekly pay raised from $290 to $400, and players at Class A will go from $290 to $500. Double-A will jump from $350 to $600, and Triple-A from $502 to $700.

 

It's something...It's still not much, but it's something...

 

https://twitter.com/Matt_Winkelman/status/1228408492190507008 

[DocBauer]

At least a step in the right direction.

[Monkeypaws]

So does that mean the plan to kill all those teams has itself been killed?

[Shaitan]

I agree that it's still too low.

 

But a 30% raise is pretty good in general. Gotta start somewhere.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I guess it's not about the money at that stage of professional baseball, is it. If it were, I suppose none would play baseball in college for free.  If the minor league players   wanted a raise, they could join the US Army and make a private's salary of $20,700 annually for 24/7 availability and a difficult, challenging, dangerous job. This is something I love about the free enterprise system we have in the US. We can train, learn, serve, work, where we want, as long as we can do the job..We have the freedom of choice.

[Thrylos]

$400 a week is $10 an hour, which is reasonable.

[darin617]

 

I agree that it's still too low.

 

But a 30% raise is pretty good in general. Gotta start somewhere.

It's still a disgrace how low minor league players salaries are.

[old nurse]

Any player gets a signing bonus. Anything below 125,000 on the later rounds does not count per what I have read does not count in the bonus pool. There really shouldn't be a problem starting your career with enough money for a few years. Yet players sign for little of nothing for the privilidge of persuing a dream. It is their own fault

 

[AZTwin]

A lot of the high school players get a free education if things don’t work out worked into their deal as well

[goulik]

A few things to remember with the low wages:

1) there are a lot of other benefits along with this like room and board which is normally the majority of your bills

2) comprehensive and fully paid health insurance

3) this is a part time job for them, they have other baseball jobs and seasons and other non baseball jobs so this is not their ANNUAL salary

 

Having said all that, I think the MLB teams could do better but that should have been a Union thing a long time ago. I put some blame on the PA

[mrtwinsfan]

Do they get meal money also ,  amounts listed anywhere ?

[Trov]

I agree it is nice they are finally making a living wage, but at the same time, they choose that life.  No one is forcing them to play.  Now, some players may have given up on their dream to make a living wage and maybe this will let some of those diamond in the roughs to eventually shine without having to sacrifice having a family.  I hope the employees that are not players are also getting raises.  As someone who once went to minor league job fair, pay is crap and they expect you to work 2 jobs, the one you work during game day and time, and ticket sales person rest of the time.  You got to love the job if you willing to do it.    

[Mr. Brooks]

A lot of the high school players get a free education if things don’t work out worked into their deal as well

Do you have a source for that info? I've never heard of that before.

[Mr. Brooks]

A few things to remember with the low wages:

1) there are a lot of other benefits along with this like room and board which is normally the majority of your bills

2) comprehensive and fully paid health insurance

3) this is a part time job for them, they have other baseball jobs and seasons and other non baseball jobs so this is not their ANNUAL salary

 

Having said all that, I think the MLB teams could do better but that should have been a Union thing a long time ago. I put some blame on the PA

It may be different in other organizations, but I don't think the Twins provide room and board.

[SwainZag]

 

It may be different in other organizations, but I don't think the Twins provide room and board.

 

I live in Billings, MT where the Reds Rookie team plays and almost all of the players here are hosted by families during their season.  Keep in mind the R season is only 3 months long, but for those 3 months their housing and most meals are paid for by the family and/or the team.

[AZTwin]

Do you have a source for that info? I've never heard of that before.

Might have to do some digging. Went to college out west and had some friends on baseball teams or went the pro route then went back to school. It may be anecdotal but from what it sounded like was that it was pretty standard practice

[Mike Sixel]

 

A few things to remember with the low wages:
1) there are a lot of other benefits along with this like room and board which is normally the majority of your bills
2) comprehensive and fully paid health insurance
3) this is a part time job for them, they have other baseball jobs and seasons and other non baseball jobs so this is not their ANNUAL salary

Having said all that, I think the MLB teams could do better but that should have been a Union thing a long time ago. I put some blame on the PA

 

You fail to point out they need to buy their own equipment, unlike other jobs. And that they often are in extended spring training (no pay received for that time), and that they train nearly year round now (and pay for that) so they don't have as much time for other jobs. They often have to pay for their "meal that is provided in the clubhouse". 

 

People really should read some of the articles by actual minor league players about how much money they lose each year trying to make this all work out for them.

[goulik]

 

You fail to point out they need to buy their own equipment, unlike other jobs. And that they often are in extended spring training (no pay received for that time), and that they train nearly year round now (and pay for that) so they don't have as much time for other jobs. They often have to pay for their "meal that is provided in the clubhouse". 

 

People really should read some of the articles by actual minor league players about how much money they lose each year trying to make this all work out for them.

Does the clubhouse meal they have to pay for come out of their food stipend? I know many if not most or all have food stipends. All I was saying in my post is there is more to it. I COMPLETELY agree with you and have an issue with unpaid spring training, Extended Spring Training as well as the instructional leagues in the fall. ALL these should come with pay and THE PLAYERS UNION should get behind making changes to this especially since they all went through it. Why is MiLB not allowed to be part of the MLB PA? 

[goulik]

 

It may be different in other organizations, but I don't think the Twins provide room and board.

 

 

I live in Billings, MT where the Reds Rookie team plays and almost all of the players here are hosted by families during their season.  Keep in mind the R season is only 3 months long, but for those 3 months their housing and most meals are paid for by the family and/or the team.

I know Cedar Rapids has host families. A host family from Pensacola posted on here last year and we had a TD group discussion about how that worked there. I believe the GCL and Mussels use the dormitories. I do not know anything about Rochester or Elizabethton. 

 

Here is a related article that has more on the GCL academy.

https://www.news-press.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/07/27/minnesota-twins-player-development-academy-benefits/13223975/

[darin617]

 

A few things to remember with the low wages:
1) there are a lot of other benefits along with this like room and board which is normally the majority of your bills
2) comprehensive and fully paid health insurance
3) this is a part time job for them, they have other baseball jobs and seasons and other non baseball jobs so this is not their ANNUAL salary

Having said all that, I think the MLB teams could do better but that should have been a Union thing a long time ago. I put some blame on the PA

Room and board? I don't think they get that paid for. Why else do you hear about 6 guys living in a 1 bedroom apartment?

[Mr. Brooks]

I know Cedar Rapids has host families. A host family from Pensacola posted on here last year and we had a TD group discussion about how that worked there. I believe the GCL and Mussels use the dormitories. I do not know anything about Rochester or Elizabethton.

 

Here is a related article that has more on the GCL academy.

https://www.news-press.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/07/27/minnesota-twins-player-development-academy-benefits/13223975/

Right, but that isn't the team providing that, it's the community.

[Shaitan]

I don't see how having a job that pays so poorly that complete strangers offer you housing means you have "good benefits."

 

Plus, nobody has mentioned the hours spent in bus stations and airports. Which IS part of the job, just like conditioning, nutrition, practice, research, etc. Calling a minor league job "part-time" is beyond offensive. it's likely 60+ hours per week. They work so many hours that congress created a labor law exception specific to them.

 

[DocBauer]

I may be wrong, but home or away, I do believe meals are provided. Not to ML quality, and maybe not to the degree of upper milb farm teams. I really don't know.

 

Anyone?

 

I applaud those fans/families that support these players. I know the Twins have one of the best complexes in all of milb at Ft Myers for milb, EST and the such, but I don't know how much of that is free or paid for.

 

Again, anyone?

 

Someone mentioned bonus money. Unless you are an overslot candidate, past the first 10-12 rounds your bonus is about $10K to nothing.

 

Were I a billionaire owner, in general, in a multi-billion business who's lifeblood is the milb system, despite how few truly make it, I'd be taking care of my system/players/pipeline the best I could to make MY organization as a standard.

 

And I still place a lot of blame/responsibility on the players union. To this day, they seem to care about who made it vs where they came from.

[TFRazor]

 

And I still place a lot of blame/responsibility on the players union. To this day, they seem to care about who made it vs where they came from.

This. I find it fascinating that there is a "Players' Union" that for some reason doesn't seem to give a damn about 90% of the guys who actually play baseball professionally. This isn't going to get better until the Union gets it's head out of a very deep, dark place and actually becomes a Union for all the players, not just big leaguers

[goulik]

 

I don't see how having a job that pays so poorly that complete strangers offer you housing means you have "good benefits."

You are the first person on this thread to use the words "good benefits" together in this form.

[Squirrel]

This. I find it fascinating that there is a "Players' Union" that for some reason doesn't seem to give a damn about 90% of the guys who actually play baseball professionally. This isn't going to get better until the Union gets it's head out of a very deep, dark place and actually becomes a Union for all the players, not just big leaguers

This. There is such a disparity between the major and minor leagues that you’d think the major leaguers would get it and understand.

[goulik]

For more on why it is still a problem, This article might be informative. Make sure to read at least to the part that includes "Bentley" or you will miss a good portion of the point of it all...

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2062307-an-inside-look-into-the-harsh-conditions-of-minor-league-baseball

[ashbury]

 

This. I find it fascinating that there is a "Players' Union" that for some reason doesn't seem to give a damn about 90% of the guys who actually play baseball professionally.

Players' Union may be what people choose to call it, but that isn't the name. "Major League Baseball Players Association" was not an accidental random collection of words.
 

[Riverbrian]

 

$400 a week is $10 an hour, which is reasonable.

 

Assuming a 40 hour work week. 

[Riverbrian]

It's nice they got a raise. 

 

However, this is one of those moments where I want to shout from the rooftops for everyone to hear. 

 

On page 1,967 or the 2,232 page Consolidated Appropriations Act which was signed into law on March 23, 2018. 

 

[A]ny employee employed to play baseball who is compensated pursuant to a contract that provides for a weekly salary for services performed during the league’s championship season (but not on spring training or the off season) at a rate that is not less than a weekly salary equal to the minimum wage under section 6(a) for a workweek of 40 hours, irrespective of the number of hours the employee devotes to baseball related activities.

It is federal law that minor league players can't get overtime. Minor league baseball players are the very definition of no representation. 

 

It is federal law because someone just tacked it to the omnibus bill that had to be passed to avoid a massive government shutdown. 

 

It was tucked into the bill because the "Save America's Pastime Act" H.R. 5580 was laughed off the stage in June of 2016. 

 

Why was H.R. 5580 introduced at all? After failure, why was it tucked into the 2018 omnibus bill by some corrupt elected official?

 

MLB baseball has representation in Washington and MLB baseball is contributing directly to the campaigns.

 

The Kids don't have a chance. This is the way our world works. 

 

Everybody should be aware of this. Maybe 1 out of 10,000 people know it. 

 

So I post it when I can.