Goosegg posted:“We’re in 42 states, 160 cities. We’ve got over $3 billion of infrastructure, much of which is still being paid off by the clubs and the communities where they exist,” he said. “This is about constituents, this is about jobs at home, and this is about quality of life at home.”
This is the biggest nauseating lie. Yes, "clubs" are paying it off; THE MILB CLUB pays this. The MLB club pays the salaries of the players - a non-expense of the MILB club. Indeed, paying the players more would DIRECTLY benefit the local community where the MILB plays. Unfortunately, today most MILB clubs are owned by entities (owning multiple teams) and have no real tie to the local community. The days of the local car dealer owning the team are past. This provision actually hurts the communities it is broadcast to help.
I think that major factual point is that there is a distinct divide between the financial health of a MiLB team and the wages paid to the players who are rostered on that team (whose payroll is paid by MLB teams). There is some argument that higher wages might reduce the number of teams affiliated with MLB, but the dollar amounts being tossed around would not seem to justify this argument. It is relatively certain that all AA and AAA teams would survive without question as would all the short season leagues simply out of necessity. The comments made about infrastructure "still being paid off" is along the lines of fear mongering and simply not true as are all the other fears laid out.
Does anyone know what role "Minor League Baseball" (whose president was quoted) plays as it relates to players and owners in MiLB?
Also, does anyone know what laws, if any, govern seasonal employees or apprentices? Is there anything like those which govern tipped employees?