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Because their poverty wages wasn’t enough of a reminder:
The most striking part of the Mets' $57 million spring training renovation may be the home clubhouse. The Mets are only using it for Spring Training, not for the St. Lucie regular season, to give minor leaguers a reminder of the status they're working to earn. pic.twitter.com/k1b3vTTkj3
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) February 10, 2020
Player perspective. Kelly was a career minor leaguer (including with the Cards for a bit) and multiple brief MLB stints.
Tough to forget you’re in A-Ball when you’re rationing 2 plates of spaghetti for 25 guys after games but, sure, leather couches will go to their heads. https://t.co/du5G3gxzy6
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) February 10, 2020
These retirement communities in Florida must have a hard time finding something to spend their money on. $57M is not peanuts. It’s even harder to understand how Jupiter/Palm Beach can anti up $108M for Roger Dean. I’m not complaining. It will be great to see the Roger Dean complex after all the improvements are in place. But it’s hard to understand because the place is really nice just the way it is.
The Jupiter facility was state of the art 25 years ago. Now it is out of date and many key areas behind the scenes to fans are woefully small. A big decision reportedly still on the table is whether or not to tear down the entire clubhouse building and start over. It includes kitchen, laundry, weight rooms, medical, meeting rooms, office space and much more.
No pay during spring training and this is an example of lunch.
Actual lunch on the road at MiLB Spring Training. One slice of deli meat and cheese, an apple, a Gogurt, and a Nature Valley bar. When we tried to make salads at our home complex before getting on the bus, we were told it was not allowed because lunch was already provided. pic.twitter.com/KEfTjro3SK
— Ty Kelly (@tykelly11) February 11, 2020
I sure am glad no one is coming to kidnap me and make me a baseball slave.
Edit: Because I prefer turkey.
These are are grown ass men being fed the equivalent of an elementary school lunch.
Every single one of them is capable of going somewhere else and making a lot more money. Yet very few choose to do that. They are not as miserable as is being made out.
I remember when all this started, I said that if this movement is successful to pay player more, it will result in less pro baseball jobs (basic economics). And yet the same people who bellyache about low pay also bellyache over the (shocking) development that there is likely to be less minor league teams soon.
This happens all the time in life, with the same results, and it always results in the people who wanted to help harming the very people they wanted to help. Those who don’t learn from history…
Private businesses can pack away profits – if they can get away with it. However, they have to worry about such thorns as minimum wage laws and competition from others within their industry. Baseball has protection from both.
And yet we are already seeing the effects that basic economics predicts. Keep “helping” those minor leaguers. I am sure they will thank you when they are selling Lady Kenmores next summer, making a good wage and eating better than half a plate of spaghetti or a crappy sandwich.
Every single one of them is capable of going somewhere else and making a lot more money. Yet very few choose to do that. They are not as miserable as is being made out.
I remember when all this started, I said that if this movement is successful to pay player more, it will result in less pro baseball jobs (basic economics). And yet the same people who bellyache about low pay also bellyache over the (shocking) development that there is likely to be less minor league teams soon.
This happens all the time in life, with the same results, and it always results in the people who wanted to help harming the very people they wanted to help. Those who don’t learn from history…
It’s amazing how the billionaires and millionaires convince people to support them instead of wanting them to just pay their employees a fair wage. I’ll never understand it how people can be so condescending and crass in their defense of owners who treat their employees so pathetically.
Similar arguments have been used against employees organizing to protect their rights back to the Industrial Revolution. Minor league players don’t even have basic collective representation. This is 2020, not 1820.
It’s amazing how the billionaires and millionaires convince people to support them instead of wanting them to just pay their employees a fair wage. I’ll never understand it how people can be so condescending and crass in their defense of owners who treat their employees so pathetically.
I’m not defending the owners. They can fend for themselves. I’m defending the guys who play at the low levels and play for the love of the game. I’m defending the guys whose jobs are going to be taken away by this actions. I know that people’s hearts are in the right place, but the guys at the low levels know the opportunity costs of playing MiLB. They freely make that choice. They are playing because they want to be there. They are chasing a dream to be the next longshot that makes it in the Show. They aren’t trying to be Mike Trout. They are trying to be names that most of us never remember. Guys who are on the end of an MLB bench – who play for 8 teams in 5 years, five glorious years in the Majors.
Those are the guys who are going to get eliminated. Yes, the guys who are left will be better off (for a shorter period of time, because the churn will be rapid). But there are guys who there won’t be room for. Their dream will end early. They won’t get to have stories about playing with 5 guys from the Dominican who can take $12 dollars to the grocery store and then feed 15 guys on what they make. They won’t get to tell stories about how they played against Lance Berkman in the minor leagues.
I don’t care about owners. But I do know basic economics, and I know how these things work. And I know for a fact that there are people just fine with chasing their dreams in poverty. There are far worse things in this world.
You can’t stop progress, though. It’s always been bound to happen, but that doesn’t stop me from being sad and sentimental about it.
<I’ll never understand it how people can be so condescending and crass in their defense of owners who treat their employees so pathetically. >
They are treating their employees just like Congress allows them to treat their employees but not like other businesses are required to treat theirs. It does get complicated when you have MLB paying some of the expense and the minor league team paying some of the costs but no agreement on who is at fault. I haven’t seen many millionaire minor league owners but I could be wrong on that one. The real disgrace is that it would take such a small amount of money to correct the situation. I bet just the money brought in on fines would raise the wages of minor leaguers significantly.
I completely agree with MM3’s statement that it would take a small amount of money to get the minor league players better food and better housing and a little more spending money. Just start signing players like Arendola and Goldschmidt and Trout for a million or two less and that will easily cover it.
Players at rookie and short-season levels will see their minimum weekly pay raised from $290 to $400, and players at Class A will go from $290 to $500. Double-A will jump from $350 to $600, and Triple-A from $502 to $700.
Full story: https://t.co/yAtun8PcwJ
— Jake Seiner (@Jake_Seiner) February 14, 2020
Interesting coincidence (?) drawn.
Rough estimate: At the top four levels, this will cost around $13.5 million (if applied to all players), about the amount it takes to fund the short-season teams MLB wants to eliminate. Certainly makes it seem like contraction is a cost-cutting measure. https://t.co/Bx9Q1CHGey
— Craig Edwards (@craigjedwards) February 14, 2020
I just noticed that this fabulous MiLB pay raise comes in 2021. Does this indicate that MLB hopes to increase the pay on the backs of eliminating 42 minor league teams?
this would all be fine if they don’t cut the teams. but they probably will. just goes to show how greedy major league baseball is, from the top to the teams. they aren’t any different than most companies but that’s neither here nor there. what they were getting paid was a sad joke. this is better but in todays world, its still not a lot when you look at housing cost and such. yea I know they are playing for a dream but that doesn’t mean they should be disrespected that badly.
This place is like a Bernie field office.
Some of you are perfectly fine with the team not being able to take on Arenado’s salary unless they dump salary to offset it, but when they have been forced to add $13 million in minor league expenses, they are greedy a-holes for looking to offset those costs. Titans of industry here.
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