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That article should be mandatory reading for every baseball fan in America as well as every player. Most eye opening was the claim that $7.5 million would give every minor leaguer a $50k per year pay check. Then they could also demand pay for Spring Training. I am anti-union in general but if something ever needed a union it is minor league baseball players.
In all fairness give the MiLB players some money to be comfortable with. Major leaguers with gigantic contracts are making more money than they will ever need. At this point it is up to the owners to balance it out. We need a full minor league system. Too many jobs lost otherwise.
Give pre-pro kids a reason to play the game not a reason to avoid it.
I think the minor leaguers should get more pay too, but as we are reminded on this board regularly, it is easy to spend other people’s money.
Of course they could change how they spend their money. I see that the Yanks choose to give a big chunk of their $$$ to one guy. Clubs are out there spending.
I don’t disagree with that. I am just saying that people tend to be either pro-ownership or anti-ownership depending on which issues matter the most to them personally.
Broad generalizations can be right or wrong. Personally, I am pro doing what is right. I am often accused of being pro-ownership, but a $10.3 billion business paying employees less than minimum wage should be illegal. Only because MLB lobbied Congress to enact a law to get around it, is it not.
Now, if Mr. Manfred would only explain why his $10.3 billion business cannot work to accomplish all of those admirable goals without eliminating 42 minor league teams. It should not be an "either-or". https://t.co/7qNppwG5L8
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 13, 2019
Minor League Baseball releases an issue-by-issue rebuttal on MLB's arguments in PBA negotiations. As has been mentioned before, strap in. More bumps ahead. pic.twitter.com/9fZApum1OW
— Eric Fisher (@AEricFisher) December 14, 2019
Brian, thanks for posting that Eric Fisher tweet of Josh Harris’s response to MLB on the minor league baseball situation. I don’t tweet so I don’t see a lot of that stuff but I sure got a short education in the MLB-MiLB interaction in that document. I am still in the dark about MLBs purpose in starting this whole thing but I am sure as most others are that $$$$ is at the root as it always is.
Will Congress allow this?
Major League Baseball threatens to walk away from Minor League Baseball entirely https://t.co/G5SkSYP2xr pic.twitter.com/C2KGWKSb77
— HardballTalk (@HardballTalk) December 14, 2019
This is one of the few national writers who has been defending the contraction plan. I find some of his comments rather odd.
Seeing a lot of people upset with Manfred this AM. Probably have a good reason. Ever looked at the succession plan? Not all policy flows from the top. I don’t think any of this changes if you removed him.
— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) December 14, 2019
A week or so ago, he asked via Twitter for media and fan reaction to the proposed Dream League. I replied that I could not see how it would be successful if local ownership had to cover all expenses, including player procurement and player and coach salaries. In his response, he changed the subject. Odd.
Is this new proposal making a bad decision worse? Should baseball fans feel disdain for the Commissioner?
The Commissioner is executing the plan agreed to by the owners, with Jeff Luhnow reportedly the mastermind. However, Manfred is likely responsible for the tactics being used by MLB and appears to be tone-deaf to the public criticism. It will be interesting to see if the owners continue to have a united front as the opposition gains steam. Congress may not do anything, but I see them as a huge wild card – but only if they do more than send angry letters and provide media sound bites.
I never thought I would be citing Bud Selig as a positive example, but here we are…
“Baseball is a social institution, and as such, it has profound social responsibilities.” – MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, 2011
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 14, 2019
Manfred is likely responsible for the tactics being used by MLB and appears to be tone-deaf to the public criticism.
Brian, I wouldn’t be surprised if the tactics Manfred is using aren’t being suggested or advised by Luhnow and the McKinsey organization.
I would think most owners would be free market supporters in most of their business dealings. Thus it seems ironic that they dont let the individual teams decide how many minor league teams they want. Houston has already reduced by 2. If that works for them great. If the Braves want 12 let them have them. At the most just put a limit on how many at each level.
CC, practicality seems to have no place in this discussion. Remember the core issue here. It is NOT the number of affiliates. It is the matter of having to pay EVERY minor leaguer a higher salary. Ownership has been trying to maintain a united front.
BHC, Manfred’s background is labor negotiations, so I don’t know if McKinsey is being engaged on this matter, but it is an interesting angle to consider. If Manfred continues in this direction, he may need to engage crisis management consultants.
MLB mirrors society in that the top dawgs are getting richer, while those without any power are being pushed aside. And there is really no middle class.
But it has been this way in professional sports for some 40 years now. Decisions are made based solely on financial impact, and not overall good.
It’s the same in the non-sports world. Homes and insurance were once used for shelter and protection against disasters. Now they are both heavily used as investment tools. It is a different world, which has squeezed more out of the middle and widened the gap.
well I don’t care at all for this commissioner. but I will say this. getting a chance to play baseball should never be about the money as far as dreamers go which I consider guys who are generally thought of class A ball players. should they get basically nothing, no but playing A ball is not a job, its chasing a dream. so while I think ownership is being greedy and no teams should be cut, I think players need to think also. if you are an A ball player right now, a very good chance in less than a couple years you will be doing something else, while someone else hopefully will be getting their shot at the dream. hell if I would have had the talent to make it just to A, I would have gladly slept under a bridge just to do that for a little while.
Bernie Sanders reacts to Manfred’s latest comments, threatening to make MLB answer to Congress.
I’m outraged, @MLB. Threatening to walk away from the entire minor league system is the exact opposite of negotiating in good faith. pic.twitter.com/sSFcGO0KGc
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 14, 2019
The only problem 1982willie, is teams aren’t going to keep a guy employed if he isn’t playing well. So, the argument that they’re chasing a dream, while true, should not justify MLB teams not paying their players at least minimum wage.
Bernie is 100% correct in mentioning MLB’s anti-trust exemption.
Newsflash: Some MLB team executives are openly supporting the contraction plan they all approved. For some reason, MLBTR did not understand that or at least seems surprised.
Perhaps the teams are trying to deflect some criticism from Manfred’s tactics.
Of course. Though his tactics have been harsh, the Commissioner is working from the directive reportedly proposed by the Astros and approved by the teams, 30-0.
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 15, 2019
To CC’s point, I looked up the data.
MiLB facts. Eight of the 30 MLB organizations are already down to seven minor league affiliates (including the Dominican Summer League). Nine others have eight teams and the other 13 organizations have nine teams. So, some have chosen to invest more than others.
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 15, 2019
This Reds pitcher does not mask his disdain for Manfred.
At least Rob Manfred is trying to ruin baseball at all levels and isn’t discriminating. Something to be said for consistency, I guess. 🙄🙄 What’s your most hated Rob Manfred idea?
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) December 14, 2019
What still gets me are how the owners can be viewed so differently in how they negotiate with MLB players and how they do Milb players, when actually the tactics are very similar. During the winters of 2017 and 2018 the owners played hardball with the players and those offseasons drug on and on with very little movement. Yet what did we hear?
“Well the owners are finally getting smart”.
“They are finally using analytics in their finances”.
“It is their money so they should be able to spend however they want.”
“The players are greedy.”But now that the owners are playing hardball with Milb what do we hear?
“Those greedy owners and Manfred are terrible.”
“Those cheep skates should face the wrath of Congress and the fans.”Believe me, I understand that the owners have seemingly opened up the pocketbooks this offseason and that is a good thing. MLB players make tons more money than milb players do and MLB players have a union. I get all of that but the underlying premise of the owners is still the same. They are always going to try to extract a pound of flesh and push their greediness to the limits. I don’t see the need in one breath to to portray them as heroes against the villainous MLBPA then in the next breath portray them as the evil corporatists against the milbp players. The owners are actually showing their true colors and are being very consistent.
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