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The Minor Leagues

jp24jp245,000+ posts

I've read and listened to many sources about what it's like in the Minors. This synopsis, from a financial advisory group (of all people) that works with athletes, is the best I've come across. I hope they don't mind me sharing -- and wonder what those who know would say about their descriptions.

 

Here's a link to the article, titled "A Day in the the Minor Leagues" published in April 2015 -- if it's too much to read below:

http://athletewealth.com/whattoexpect/

 

................

 

THE MINOR LEAGUES

There should be a bumper sticker with the slogan “I survived the Minor Leagues”. But unless you actually live the life of a Minor Leaguer, this slogan is lost upon all of those enamored with the life of a pro-ball player. Rest assured that the Minor Leagues, much like the college experience, is one-of-kind, fun as heck, and an experience well worth partaking in. But truthfully you need to really be ready for the Minors in order to enjoy it and get through it, because along with the good definitely comes the bad of those really long bus trips, constant fast food marts, cheesy motels, less than acceptable meal money, long, hot days, and very little compensation in those first several years of pro ball.

 

Let us begin with the finances of Minor League ball. Just so you know, the normal work week in the Minor Leagues is 60 hours, and about $1,100 per month.  Do not despair, it goes on to get slightly better with each passing year in the Minors, but not by much, or at least not until you have spent several years in the Minors at the Triple-A level. Now you can clearly see how your signing bonus can dwindle over the course of a Minor League career, and how mom and dad have to step in to rescue you from financial suicide.

 

Meal money on the road is $25 a day. In addition,  there are clubhouse dues that each player must pay to the “Clubbie” that takes care of all of the clubhouse needs such as, cleaning your spikes each day, preparing the food, doing the laundry, not to mention many other jobs. He is paid about $10 a week in Rookie Ball by each player, and as you progress through the Minor League levels dues increase to $7 dollars a day in AA and $15 dollars a day in AAA.

 

When you can get over the excitement and awe of getting drafted and playing in professional baseball, you will need to then get over the shock and astonishment of the MiLB pay scale. It would serve you well from this point forward to think of Minor League baseball as job whereby you have been hired, and now you have to do your job, or risk getting fired. Now that you have all of the finances broken down, listed below is what you can expect a typical day to be like at each level in the Minor Leagues.

 

EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING AND ROOKIE BALL

Based in Florida in the Gulf Coast League or in Arizona in the Arizona League, Extended Spring Training consists of all new draft picks and Latin players that have not made a Long Season A-Ball Club. This is the only level that consists primarily of day games, making for early mornings.

  • Consists primarily of 60% Latin players, 35% high school draft picks, and 5% college players. The percentages for college players get higher as you advance.
  • After Spring Training, Season goes from April through August.
  • Play five games per week, one practice day, and Sundays are off.
  • Season schedule is 60 games, plus an additional 40 in Extended Spring.
  • 5:30 a.m. Wake up call. Eat breakfast at the clubhouse or the hotel that has been arranged for you to live in.
  • 6:00 a.m. Pitchers conditioning and training room is open.
  • 6:30 a.m. Dressed in uniform on the field and ready for early work. Position players have more specialized work that could be specific to one thing, such as 30 minutes of bunting, or defensive work. Before team workouts begin each player has done some sort of early work.
  • 7:15 a.m. Team practice begins and consists of batting practice, team fundamentals and bullpens.
  • 8:45 a.m. Back to the clubhouse for a snack.
  • 9:30 a.m. Back on the field for pre-game time.
  • 10:00 a.m. Game time. Games usually last about 3 hours.
  • 1:00 p.m. Lunch is served upon completion of the game, and players take part in post-game workouts such as strength and conditioning or running. Training room is open at this time for any treatment of injuries.
  • 2:00 p.m. You are most likely exhausted from the heat and physicality of the day. Generally, players head back to the hotel to sleep or relax by playing cards or video games.
  • 5:30 p.m. Mandatory dinner with sign-in sheet.
  • 11:00 p.m. MANDATORY LIGHTS OUT which is checked on occasion by staff. Although most have passed out long before this.

ADVANCED ROOKIE BALL

  • The season starts the second week in June following the MLB Draft.
  • Consists mostly of 40% Latin players, 40% college players, 20% high school.
  • Considered more of a college league because most of your college draft picks are sent to this level.
  • Play 90% night games with a 70 game schedule.
  • Most players are housed with families in the city you are based in.
  • 1:30 p.m. Pitchers usually arrive at the yard as well as all players with injuries.
  • 2:00 p.m. Position players arrive. Lunch is offered in clubhouse.
  • 2:30 p.m. Pitchers condition and position players work out.
  • 3:00 p.m. Position players and pitchers do early work.
  • 4:00 p.m. Meet as a team.
  • 7:00 p.m. Game begins
  • 10:00 p.m. Shower, eat, and head home by 11 p.m. It is a long day and it is an absolute grind come July.

LOW-A, HIGH-A, DOUBLE-A, TRIPLE-A BALL

  • Consists of approximately 45% college players, 35% high school, and 20% Latin players.
  • In full season Minor League baseball you play 144 games in approximately 158 days.
  • At all of these levels you play 90% night games.
  • For the most part, on home stands, teams practice some sort of team defense.
  • Games against opponents at these levels are usually 4 game sets. That means you play the same opponent 4 straight nights. It is that way because of the travel. Road trips are never longer than 12 days at a time, but the average trip is 8 days long.
  • Every day is the same routine. A day off is cherished and hopefully it is not spent on a long 12 hour bus trip back home. Just about every league is a bus league except AAA. In AAA you fly to most away games.
  • Some teams set up housing for players with local families in Low-A. In High-A, Double-A and Triple-A you have to find and pay for your own living arrangements.
  • 1:30 p.m. Pitchers usually arrive at the yard as well as all players with injuries.
  • 2:00 p.m. Position players arrive. Lunch is offered in clubhouse.
  • 2:30 p.m. Pitchers condition and position players work out.
  • 3:00 p.m. Position players and pitchers do early work.
  • 4:00 p.m. Meet as a team.
  • 7:00 p.m. Game begins
  • 10:00 p.m. Shower, eat, and head home around 11 p.m.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE ORGANIZATION

Depending on the Minor League level you are playing, and the organization you are with, there is a big difference in how you are treated and perceived as a Minor League player. Some organizations treat you like a player that will one day be a part of something special in the Big Leagues, while other organizations treat their Minor Leaguers like second class citizens. The turnover rate in the Minor League system is extremely high. It is not only players, but coaches, player personnel and scouts that are transitory. There are organizations that are extremely scout driven in their decision making, and there are also organizations that put player development as the keystone in their decision making. The difference is this: if the player development people are making those decisions, the best players move up with not nearly as many politics.

 

In Minor League organizational Winter Meetings, which usually take place after the season sometime around December, the MiLB executives and top player personnel gather to discuss roster placement of each player for the upcoming new season. These decisions are usually based on four factors; stats of your previous year, your age, whether you are a high school or college draft pick, and your evaluation reports from your coaches from the past year. These rosters are 90% set in stone prior to arriving to Spring Training with the exception of some MLB trades, MLB or MiLB injuries, unprepared players, or players that come into Spring Training who have made drastic improvements, surprising all and winning themselves a spot on a higher roster. At this time a topic of discussion is which players will be released from the organization before Spring Training begins. Being released can happen at any time during the year, including Spring Training, the season itself or after winter meetings.

 

Pro-ball definitely takes away from your individuality in the way of how you can dress and wear your facial hair. Dress codes are enforced from your casual wear to your uniform. Clubs feel like you are representing them and they want a certain look for the organization. Team rules and organizational policies are all heavily enforced. Beware rebels! Fines for facial hair, long hair, improper attire, forbidden logo t-shirts, etc. can be minor, but hefty fines are reserved for breaking curfew, and for being late or missing a team game, practice, or event of any kind. In the end, know that all the fine money goes into a large pot to be shared at the end of the season with a party.

 

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM COACHES

Coaches at the Minor League level for the most part are all ex-pro ball players that are loaded with great knowledge to assist you in your journey through the Minors. At times you will be coached by ex-Big League players who have had tremendous success in the Big Leagues, but for the most part your coach will be someone that has been a career Minor League player.

 

Your coach is your daily evaluator and in many instances the person who will directly assist you in getting to the next level if you have the talent and show aptitude. Organizations confine coaches in what they can teach and restrict them to organizational guidelines. Any major change such as changing an arm slot or adding a pitch to a pitcher’s arsenal, or thinking a position player should be a switch-hitter has to be cleared by the Field Coordinator and the Scouting Director, and it is a pretty big deal to make a change of any kind to a player, especially at the lower levels.

 

Coaches will work with you as much as you want and watch videos with you on your games whenever you ask, so seize the opportunity. More often than not coaches will not ask you, they have twenty-five players to look out for, you should be the one that goes above and beyond and come seeking them. Get to know your coaches, and know them well; especially the ones that you think are an incredible asset to your development. You should look at a coach as your personal advocate, someone who is paid to help make you better and get you moving up the ranks of the Minor Leagues.

 

Every coach has to write an evaluation on every player after each game that is then sent to the Pitching Coordinator, the Field Coordinator and the Major League General Manager. These reports are available for viewing to all scouts and any other personnel that wish to see them. This process is done in greater detail at the end of each month and at season end which is the final evaluation that plays a big part in what level you will play at next year. These reports track everything from fastball velocity to mechanical adjustments to mound presence for pitchers, and for position players they discuss abilities such as times down the first base line, and being a clutch-hitter.

 

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM TEAMMATES

For starters, expect to see a ton of players in Spring Training and expect to see talent that makes for the best baseball you have seen so far in your young pre-pro career. You must realize that you are no longer the best player on the field like you might have been in high school or college, but rather just one of many good ones.

 

The first big change from high school or college baseball is the concept that winning and losing is almost secondary to that of the development of players in the Minor Leagues. Now this is not to say that each team does not want to win because each organization of course wants to win the championship at each level, but the most important thing is having the Big League team win, and the Minor Leagues are in existence just for the disposal of the Big League club.

Players quickly learn that the numbers they individually put up are the deciding factor in whether or not they move to the next level, and not whether the team wins or loses.

 

THE MINOR LEAGUE HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE

It is always good to know the chain of command in any organization that you go to work for.
Here is the hierarchy of Minor League baseball:

  • Director of Player Development
  • Director of Scouting
  • Field Coordinator
  • Pitching Coordinator, Hitting Coordinator, Catching Coordinator, Infield Coordinator,
  • Outfield Coordinator, Base Running Coordinator
  • Strength and Conditioning Coordinator
  • Training Coordinator
  • Special Assignment Pitching Coach
  • Team Manager
  • Team Pitching Coach, Team Hitting Coach
  • Scouts
  • Trainer

Each Minor League team within an organization has four staff members including the manager, the pitching coach, the hitting coach, and a trainer. Each Coordinator is responsible for going to each Minor League affiliate four times in a season. Coordinators stay for a week and evaluate each player based on their progress and report back to the Field Coordinator. When the “brass” comes to town players and staff are very aware of their presence, and players tend to play tense because they know that they are being evaluated. But the kicker here is to seize this opportunity to shine. If you cannot perform under the pressure of a Coordinator watching you, how will you ever perform in a packed stadium with thousands of fans watching you? In the Major Leagues, the hierarchy is totally different than the Minor Leagues and is dependent upon the owner, the ownership group, the General Manger and a host of other executives.

 

The above mentioned list of hierarchy is all of the people that can make or break your career. Just do your job; stay focused and play ball well by giving it your all every chance you get, and hopefully your ability will take you where you want to go.

 

 

 

Last edited by jp24
Original Post

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TPMTPMHSBaseballweb Member since 2003

This is a pretty accurate description.  I agree with the statement about after the excitement of being drafted wears off, shock sets in.

 

One thing, the higher you are drafted, the less time spent in the lowest levels.  Late drafted college players do not always end up in the college leagues , again it all depends on where you were drafted.

 

Not every manager or coach is your buddy. The same problems that exist in HS exists in milb, once again its all is about which organization drafts you.  Their pay is pretty bad also, and they want to advance just as badly as you do. Same goes for the trainers.  Always keep that in mind. Not all organizations  have the same philosophy level to level, rather, not be every one does it, "the Cardinal way".  However, its gotten better.

 

My son ate pretty well in both organizations he was in, but that's not always cosistant. Someone told me about what a very rich organization serves for breakfast during spring training to their milb players and I was shocked.

 

They left out injuries. Lower level milb players as well as those drafted late are at the mercy of the teams paid medical staff. All minor league players are allowed a second opinion but organizations may only pay for their top prospects to be seen by the top sports surgeons.  Just keep in mind that most ml players do not use the team doctors for obvious reasons.

 

After reading about something I already know about, my advice remains the same, unless you get lots of money to sign, go to college.

TrumanTruman5,000+ posts
Originally Posted by TPM:

Not every manager or coach is your buddy. The same problems that exist in HS exists in milb, once again its all is about which organization drafts you.  Their pay is pretty bad also, and they want to advance just as badly as you do. Same goes for the trainers.  Always keep that in mind. Not all organizations  have the same philosophy level to level, rather, not be every one does it, "the Cardinal way".  However, its gotten better.

 

+1

 

This is a big part of where luck comes in.  The competency of the staff and/or their interest in the player affects the player's future (not so unlike one might find in regular corporate jobs).

 

My son struggled some with the organization that drafted him.  He sometimes commented how it seemed like they really didn't show much interest in him.  To some extent that was expected given where he was drafted (15th rd, with low 6 figure money) and performing at average for high A.   He was released mid season as he struggled with new coaching staff, but was pick up by another organization with a staff and location he was more comfortable with and he then had a great second half of the season.  At the end of the season the organization signed him for another year that included a little higher than normal salary in his contract.  It's still all about performance, so we take it day by day and now we'll see how it works out next season. 

 

 

 

P PGStaff10,000+ posts

Our son played at every level from rookie ball to the Major Leagues over about 11 years with 5 organizations. Obviously there were many ups and downs.

 

He absolutely loved it from beginning to end.  Given anything he could do, he wouldn't have traded for anything else.  We never heard one complaint.

 

Then again, he never looked at it as work.  He was a baseball player.  We never looked at it as though he had a real job. He was playing a game and he would get a real job after he quit playing that game.

 

I do understand that most look at it much differently. That's why it isn't for everybody.

TPMTPMHSBaseballweb Member since 2003
Originally Posted by Truman:
Originally Posted by TPM:

Not every manager or coach is your buddy. The same problems that exist in HS exists in milb, once again its all is about which organization drafts you.  Their pay is pretty bad also, and they want to advance just as badly as you do. Same goes for the trainers.  Always keep that in mind. Not all organizations  have the same philosophy level to level, rather, not be every one does it, "the Cardinal way".  However, its gotten better.

 

+1

 

This is a big part of where luck comes in.  The competency of the staff and/or their interest in the player affects the player's future (not so unlike one might find in regular corporate jobs).

 

My son struggled some with the organization that drafted him.  He sometimes commented how it seemed like they really didn't show much interest in him.  To some extent that was expected given where he was drafted (15th rd, with low 6 figure money) and performing at average for high A.   He was released mid season as he struggled with new coaching staff, but was pick up by another organization with a staff and location he was more comfortable with and he then had a great second half of the season.  At the end of the season the organization signed him for another year that included a little higher than normal salary in his contract.  It's still all about performance, so we take it day by day and now we'll see how it works out next season. 

 

 

 

Truman that is great, sometimes it isn't a good fit, its like going to the wrong place to go to school, and a transfer opens up a whole new opportunity. I know of players that really struggled with their drafting team, got traded or released and resigned and things worked out.

Best of luck.  No matter what happens, it will prepare him well for his future endeavors.

TrumanTruman5,000+ posts
Originally Posted by TPM:
Originally Posted by Truman:
Originally Posted by TPM:

Not every manager or coach is your buddy. The same problems that exist in HS exists in milb, once again its all is about which organization drafts you.  Their pay is pretty bad also, and they want to advance just as badly as you do. Same goes for the trainers.  Always keep that in mind. Not all organizations  have the same philosophy level to level, rather, not be every one does it, "the Cardinal way".  However, its gotten better.

 

+1

 

This is a big part of where luck comes in.  The competency of the staff and/or their interest in the player affects the player's future (not so unlike one might find in regular corporate jobs).

 

My son struggled some with the organization that drafted him.  He sometimes commented how it seemed like they really didn't show much interest in him.  To some extent that was expected given where he was drafted (15th rd, with low 6 figure money) and performing at average for high A.   He was released mid season as he struggled with new coaching staff, but was pick up by another organization with a staff and location he was more comfortable with and he then had a great second half of the season.  At the end of the season the organization signed him for another year that included a little higher than normal salary in his contract.  It's still all about performance, so we take it day by day and now we'll see how it works out next season. 

 

 

 

Truman that is great, sometimes it isn't a good fit, its like going to the wrong place to go to school, and a transfer opens up a whole new opportunity. I know of players that really struggled with their drafting team, got traded or released and resigned and things worked out.

Best of luck.  No matter what happens, it will prepare him well for his future endeavors.

 

I have no doubt how it's already prepared him for his future, as it's already evident.  He loves the game and he's often been referred to as a "hard nosed player" (the stubborn attribute he's always had since birth) that doesn't give in.  And he has such a level head on his shoulders, his experience in baseball will always be an asset to him whatever the conditions or outcome.

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