Life in the minor leagues

My son found this article to be a pretty solid description of life in the minor leagues. Written by one of his teammates from last summer. Covers a number of topics including salary, health insurance, travel, day in the life, etc. The life is not glamorus but is one he loves.


"Imagine a life where you constantly travel to several out-of-the-way towns in Anywhere, USA via bus. Imagine making less money than you typically would, had you been employed in a retail outlet. Imagine the odds of you reaching
your goal are 10% or less. Imagine being in an industry where there is an annual 25-30% turnover rate of employment. Doesn't sound very enticing, does it? This is the life of your average minor league baseball player. When the
general American public thinks of professional baseball players, they think of Alex Rodriguez and his average $25 million per year salary or the lavish lifestyles led by those who play a game for a living. But what most don't
think of is a 22 year old earning $1300 a month and living on McDonalds and Waffle House entrees. Sure, the major leaguers make an exorbitant amount of money to play a game most of us would play for almost nothing. But when one considers the often-rocky road leading to the pot of gold, one has to wonder
if the risks and hardships are worth it??

Upon signing a minor league contract, a player's rights are essentially
owned by the big league club for a total of seven years. Several factors can influence that seven years (arbitration, Rule 5 draft, six-year minor league free agency, etc), but we'll focus solely on the average prospect. Assuming
that the prospect gets drafted (out of high school, junior college, or college), that player will normally be assigned to Rookie League or Short-Season A ball. Generally speaking, high school signees will head to
Rookie ball and college players will be assigned to Short-season ball. Not
counting signing bonuses (more on that later), first year players will earn an average of $850 a month. Throw in $14-$18 a day in meal money and you have yourself a meager income. Pay scales increase depending on the level of
assignment as follows:

1st year: $850 - $1000 per month
A ball: $1050 - $1250 per month
AA ball: $1250 - $1450 per month
AAA ball: $1500 - $2000 per month

Health insurance is free of charge unless the player has a wife and/or dependents he needs to insure. All transportation costs are covered at the beginning and end of the season to and from the assigned home city and the player's home of record. It is true that several Triple A players make more than $2000 per month. However, those are commonly six year minor league free agents or players who come from outside affiliated baseball (independent
leagues, for example). Again, this treatise focuses solely on those prospects who sign a standard minor league contract upon being drafted or signed.

Considering the low salaries, it's difficult to imagine anybody wanting to forego college or a real job to play a game in which only 10% of players graduate to the major leagues. It's even more difficult to imagine considering other non-monetary factors. The biggest gripe among minor leaguers is the incessant and boring road trips. The average road trip in
the lower minors is 7 hours and that is via bus. I rued riding in a school bus for 15 minutes let alone 7 whole hours. If the away city is typically less than two hours away, the team will often commute to and from the
ballpark for that series. On a longer road trip, the accommodations are less than ideal. If you thought the Econo Lodge in a big city was bad, try one in Elizabethton, TN.
The living arrangements at home generally aren't ideal either. Rookie ball and short-season players often live in dormitory-style
rooms with 2-3 roommates. Others live with host families similar to foster kids. Those fortunate to have commanded a large signing bonus or come from wealthy family may opt for a larger apartment. Regardless, living
arrangements in the minors are often temporary homes - promotions and demotions dictate how long a player will live in a particular city.

For Latino players, language barriers can cause several problems. It's not easy to communicate with others who aren't familiar with your culture and language. Therefore, most Latinos must quickly learn English. Some never master the English language, but learn to communicate via baseballese. If a player is among the better prospects in the system, they will typically be assigned to Instructional league after the regular season ends. This is no
picnic. The players practice early, play games in the midday, and practice late. Players are told frequently that their sole function in the
organization is to make it to the majors. Fundamentals are stressed and massive weight training programs are instituted. After all, a high school kid playing 25 games over the span of 3 months will have to find a way to
make it through 100+ games during the minor league season and playing almost every day. The players must be strong physically as well as mentally to make it.

Here is a typical schedule of your average Class A team:
1:00 pm: Pitchers report to the field
2:00 pm: Rest of the team reports-stretch/ loosen-up
2:30 pm: Take the field-infield/outfield practice, throwing exercises
4:00 pm: Batting practice - about 50 swings each
5:00 pm: Put on uniforms and chat with fans, more stretching and throwing exercises
6:15 pm: Warm up for the game
7:05 pm: Game time
10:00 pm: End of game

That's a long day with a lot of physical activity. Being mentally and physically fit is essential and having a strong work ethic is required.

For all of the negatives previously mentioned, it must be somewhat disheartening to know that only 10% of minor leaguers eventually make their
way to the big leagues. That percentage increases the higher up the organizational ladder one climbs. 33% of AA prospects will make an appearance in the majors and 3 of 4 AAA players will see time in the big
leagues. Expanding these percentages out even further, players drafted after the first 20 rounds of the Entry draft have a 7% chance of reaching the majors. Conversely, 2 out of 3 first round picks see time in the majors
(whether they've actually earned that right is another story). For all of the negative attributes of the minors previously listed, there are some positive features. The salaries may be low, but signing bonuses of draft
picks can be extremely rewarding. The accompanying numbers show the high,
low, and average signing bonuses of high school and college draftees from 2003.

2003 Signing Bonuses
High School Picks College Picks
Round High Low Average Round High Low Average
1 $3.7m $975k $2.05m 1 $3.6m $750k $1.69m
2 $1.1m $550k $760k 2 $2.07m $560k $782k
3 $512k $395k $440k 3 $500k $215k $286k
4 $400k $240k $299k 4 $375k $100k $247k
5 $300k $175k $212k 5 $215k $50k* $171k*

* The actual low was $1k, but was taken out for statistical purposes

As you can see, unless a player is drafted in the first five rounds (especially for high schoolers), the signing bonuses aren't that attractive!

Being drafted in the later rounds (there are 50 rounds total), sometimes yields only a few hundred dollars, especially for college seniors who have virtually no bargaining power. The life of a minor leaguer is rough, very
rough. But the reward at the end of the day can be monetarily and emotionally gratifying. The realization of a dream is the ultimate goal. The
riches and fame that come with playing major league baseball are dangled like a carrot in front of these minor leaguers as they embark on the long and arduous journey of minor league ball. Much like every other industry in
the real world", the strong do survive. The next time somebody talks about the greed of major leaguers, think about the trials and tribulations that players may have endured while playing in the minors, etc."