Minor League Poverty

Since most MLB have 5 or 6 affiliates they might have to ante up a bit to keep them.  After all having 75 pitchers in your organization has got to be better than 30 if you only had 3 teams.

I don't think the amount of money involved would be large by MLB standards.  Assume there are 100 players at A ball on down in each organization, to bump up pay by say an average of $5,000 per player is $500K per year.  Hardly a bankruptcy expense.

Agree $500,000 is not a bankruptcy expense.  Perhaps each team could cut off an affiliate or two, that should break them back to even.  Then there are a lot less players in "minor league poverty". 

4 teams (25 per team) of players at A or below = 100 players.

$5,000 X 100 = $500k

AA and AAA levels probably have less troubles in this area but if you want to throw AA in then a organization with 6 affiliates would be covering 5 teams or $625k. 

Yes there is always that.  The need for arms will argue against that happening. Old maxim: Have to throw at least 10 against the wall to get 1 or 2 to stick.

50 - 60 years ago it was not uncommon for teams to carry 9-10 or more affiliates and teams like the Yanks, Cards and Dodgers got up to 17 or 19 some seasons. 

By that logic there should be no signing bonuses.  After all what have they done to earn it since they have zero experience in pro ball. 

This is a labor issue and my point was to show it is absolutely unnecessary financially for these players to be hosed the way they are.  A few more crumbs off the table and they can eat better and have a slightly better living arrangement.  No one gets rich.

How it gets split is a detail to the point.  The money is there and if anyone was looking out for these guys they'd get it and probably a lot more.  It is pretty easy to abuse 3,000 individuals that are living a crabs in the bucket life chasing a dream especially when there are another 10,000 standing behind them praying for the chance.

I'm not going to divulge players by name. Many Latin American players send money home. Several MiLB players have families they need to support here. I don't really know how or why it's justified to have a wage scale that almost entirely prohibits these individuals from supporting their families.

Saying that if you're in the minors for 4-5 years, you need to move on is an opinion. It has nothing to do with players' salaries.

I get paid fine, and I do get reimbursed for my expenses. What's the connection between my job and the job of a minor league baseball player?

You find the players that people here have no empathy for. OH! 

OK lets give minor league players minimum wage.  Heck, lets double that.  I am all for it! Do they deserve it, sure, why not?

What I don't understand is how eliminating the draft would change or solve this issue.  Seems the very best prospects would get even more money having 30 clubs bidding for their service.  Definitely the agents would love that.  What do you suppose the 30th round pick is worth on the open market. All 30 clubs passed on him at least 29 times. The large market teams would love getting rid of the draft.

There are players selected earlier than you might expect because they are college seniors with no leverage. Would they be worth more money without the draft? Seems without the draft, the rich would just get richer.  Doubt it would help solve anything for the lower end guys.

I do think players in the minors should be paid better.  But for now there is reality to consider. It is what it is!  The player has a choice if he is drafted or someone wants to sign him as a free agent.  If someone offers you an opportunity, you either take it or you don't. This has nothing to do with working in an accounting firm.  I could shovel dirt all day at $25 an hour and make a decent living or I could be below the poverty line and play baseball. I could sit behind a desk starting out at $60,000 or go play professional baseball. It's my choice if given the opportunity, I would pick baseball. If I really loved flipping burgers for some reason, I might pick that over a high paying job. Bottom line... It is my choice!

Why do college grads attend MLB Tryouts?  Spend there own money traveling to Tryouts hoping they can hook up with one of those poverty level jobs?  Why do grads from the highest academic colleges enter into professional baseball when they could earn $80-$100K starting out doing something else?

If someone had a business that required 10,000 employees, knowing most of them will never end up helping your business profit a dime.  9,000 of those employees will simply be replaced by others and all will be an expense... What would you do? Give everyone a raise?

I look at minor league baseball similar to an extended tryout.  The MLB clubs are looking for MLB players.  It's like going to a MLB try out, and after awhile they keep some around for an extended look.  In this case they have seen the players and signed some for an extended look.  What if minor league baseball had zero salaries?  Maybe they just house you, feed you, and take care of the basic needs.  The players they want the most get big bonus, others are still trying out.  Because somebody decided playing in the Rookie League is a job, it needs to be handled like an accounting firm? The majority of those playing their first year of professional baseball don't look at it as a job.  They are hoping to make it a job and have a career in baseball.  In many ways I look at it as further advanced education.  And we all know how expensive education can be.

Lastly... How do we count hours in order to pay a fair wage to baseball players?  Is it 8 hours a day.  Is it 12 hours a day?  Is it 24 hours a day?

There is no answer to the question "what is a MiLB player worth." 

But I would love to see something that resembles more of a true marketplace that the current system allows, given that MLB has an anti-trust exemption, and the MLB players have exclusive rights to bargain for the pay of MiLB players. 

That ain't a recipe for a market. 

So, I would like to see no draft, but a cap on signing bonuses for each team, based on where the team is in the draft order. 

Also, no collective bargaining contract. Let each player negotiate for the terms. A big bonus might involve a six year commitment, and also get a good monthly salary. Some players (the equivalent of today's undrafted) might sign for a one year commitment, no bonus and low or no monthly pay, just to play and prove himself. Then renegotiate the next year with whatever club will give the best deal.

That is the only way to answer what a player "deserves" - and it will be different for each player. 

You just undermined your argument.

They make enough money to live on, plus they have money left over to send to people in other countries.

The reason they have enough is that their food, lodging, travel, clothes are paid for.  People making minimum wage don't get that.

You folks should be ashamed comparing privileged MILB players with hard-working minimum wage workers.

Mr.Kremer, good calls in this one.

From the NY Times on Marvin Miller (who IMO may be the most important sports figure in the last 50 years) following his death:

In July 1976, the union and management agreed on limitations to free agency: a player would need six years of major league service before he could seek a deal with another club. That accord seemed like a concession Mr. Miller did not need to make. But he concluded that limiting the stream of free agents would fuel the ball clubs’ bidding wars.

So it seems Marvin Miller who was always the smartest guy in the room would have agreed with you and made a better deal for the players.  As you point out it would certainly make for a fairer system on a pay for performance basis.  Also there would not be those albatross 7 and 10 year deals being made. 

"You folks should be ashamed comparing privileged MILB players with hard-working minimum wage workers"

"The reason they have enough is that their food, lodging, travel, clothes are paid for.  People making minimum wage don't get that"

Really?

Their clothes are paid for? They get pants and their jerseys ,hats, They have to pay for their own gloves, batting gloves, cleats,(sponsored high signing bonus guys get a lot of stuff free

Transportation? yes to games most cant even afford to have their cars there

Food? They pay club fees and some of this goes to the spreads

Lodging? rookie ball usually does but other levels it is not provided (some have host families but not all)

Many times 6 guys share a room with air beds in the living room?

This is what irritates me. People making comments when they really know little about what really goes on.

yes it is a great learning lesson, yes it is great to get the chance but please don't act like minor league players in the low rungs of baseball are pampered. That really irritates me. And again not one of them is saying to feel sorry for them.

.

fan, I thought I would hit him from the left, after I hit him from the right.

Here's one thing I REALLY don't get.  MiLB players get their salary - which everyone agrees is not very much (whether something should be done or not is not unanimous).  But why, out of that small salary, do they have to pay some back to the team for "club fees"?  That makes absolutely no sense.  Why not just pay them less or give them the advantage of clubhouse stuff for free?  I don't get that.

I may be completely wrong, but I will make a stab at what I believe is an educated guess. 

The MLB club pays the "salary" of the player. The Club dues are paid to the Affiliate to cover the club house expenses. So if the "salaries" were lowered by the cost of the club house dues. The MLB would have to shift that money to their affiliate.

Do these club house fees/dues exist in independent ball?