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Reply to "MLB and the ruse of "Save America's Pastime""

2020dad posted:

What about the car salesman who works pure commission?  What about coaching stipends for HS coaches that clearly do not add up to minimum wage?  NBA and NHL have only one minor league correct?  MLB has minor league teams galore.   You know the deal when you sign it.  Think of it this way, its a progression.  Travel ball costs you good money.  Then in college you get a price break on tuition.  Then in the minors you actually get some money though not much, then if you make it to MLB you are on easy street even if you 'only' make the minimum.  There is another option.  Go get a job like everyone else.  We have had this conversation so many times.  I remain unsympathetic.  You are chasing a dream.  Bottom line.  Up to you how far you want to chase it.  My son would love to play baseball in college and no doubt could at lower levels.  D3 or lower D2.  But nobody is going to give him more than a token couple thousand dollars to entice him to pay thousands more in tuition.  He will have to play football in college to pay the bills.  Thats real life.  No we are not willing (or able) to throw untold thousands of dollars into his college education we don't have to just so he can continue to pursue baseball.  Baseball is for all intents and purposes over.  He will play throughout high school for fun but the days of spending tons of time working on his game are over.  His game has suffered some because of it but he is also nearing school records for squat and deadlift and is 270lbs. as a sophomore.  Its a choice.  So is minor league baseball.  If the deal is a raw deal in your eyes then leave it for somebody else.  Frankly I am sick of the crying about this.  Just don't sign the deal!!!  If you are a 30th round pick with a signing bonus of $8000 then don't you already know its probably over?  Do 30th round picks ever make it to the MLB?  Of course.  With any frequency?  Don't be silly.  You are there to play catch with who they feel are the real prospects.  If my son had that chance I would say go for it!  Have the time of your life and we will help you as much as we can.  But better have a plan B, like use your status as a drafted 'professional' baseball player to leverage a coaching position or something else in the baseball world.  But don't go in thinking you are a big shot and you are getting screwed.  Work hard by all means and give it your best shot.  You never know I suppose.  But don't then turn around and say you are being cheated.  Its an opportunity nothing more nothing less.  If you don't want it somebody else does.  

84% of American MLBers come from the first ten rounds. They receive bonus money. It’s get them by. But, there’s still no reason why the minor league minimums should have been increased by inflation over the years. It hasn’t.

Comparing baseball minors to NBA and NHL minors doesn’t work. It’s why I was critical of the article. The writer doesn’t seem to understand the differences.

NHL players are drafted at eighteen. The team holds their rights for four years. It allows players to go to college on scholarship until they decide they are ready to sign. Players don’t sign until they are at least ready for the AHL (one level below the NHL). European players tend to stay in Europe until they are ready for the NHL. Canadians stay in Juniors or play at an American college.

Two players per NBA team can be in the G League on two way contracts. It allows the player to spend up to 45 days in the NBA. The rest of their season is in the G League. Those two players are #14 and 15 on the NBA roster, They only get called up due to injuries and rarely get on the court. Very few players from the G League have NBA careers. Most of the better prospects go straight from the draft to the NBA. You’re not seeing the NBA stars of the future in the G League. It’s the holding on to their last hope league before going to Europe for better pay.

 

 

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