Minor League Baseball Players Can't Afford Rent or a Decent Meal

[@dogsbark5750]

A friend of mine was a AA starting pitcher. He got injured and called up the same day. He is now a trainer, sending kids to D1 and recently 3 kids to Williamsport. He trains my boys and 20 others, along with camps and group training. He makes more money training kids into stud pitchers than he did as a stud pitcher in milb.

[@gia6582]

The greed in the world is sickening.

[@utsavman47]

@@RogersFamilyHandyman they're in a contract you goof, they can't simply leave.

[@TifDaJeweler]

@@utsavman47 dont sign your life away for shit money ya goof

[@Bredaxe]

​@@lindmorn5909I know this is a touchy subject, but national socialism turned the around. Living wages, family time, housing for everyone, healthcare. Germany was thriving while Americans were boiling shoe leather to eat and in some cases selling their children to survive.

[@tomservo5607]

Ever since the Democratic Party infiltrated MLB the corporate greed has gotten so much worse.

[@danielplainview926]

How hard can it be for the owners to at least construct dormitory style housing for a team of 30 players and some half decent food?

[@jfdrac]

iT ISNT but rich people dont like to part with money and they all pressure each other not to set a precedent

[@jodi183]

It's more like 5 MiLB teams per MLB team. The number of minor league players per MLB team is something like 180-200. That said, when you have a multibillion dollar industry, there's always a way to pay everyone a fair wage. Marlins are the least valuable team and are worth 1 billion. These players aren't asking for much more than a liveable wage. And considering that some of them do actually get called up to the majors to play but still on that minor league deal, is exploitative. And the amount of yo-yo-ing teams do these days w/ minor league player "options" (the amount of times a player can be sent up and down between major and minor league teams) you'd think these guys would get a pay increase every time they get the call up to play for the big league team. They don't.

[@jfdrac]

@@jodi183Yup just when you think you have found the most exploited group of workerss you find another...and unlike most they cant just walk away since they have contracts

[@travisvanalst4698]

They do. According to a lot of the minor league players, they do have housing and better food now.

[@travisvanalst4698]

@@jodi183I don’t disagree with you. But most of these teams may be “worth” $1Bil, But that’s not the liquid amount that the team uses for operation. Most of these teams are financing stadiums still, paying for ticket vendors, field workers, trainers, contractors, coaches at all levels, staff at all levels, stadiums at all levels…etc. Again, I don’t disagree with you but there’s more to it than just “they make millions, they can pay millions”.

[@jektonoporkins5025]

I'm an airline pilot and I sat to a single A minor league player one time when I was getting deadheaded in the back of a plane. We had a great conversation and I sympathized with him greatly. After I graduated with my aviation degree I worked as a flight instructor for a nominal wage of $15/hour but half of that went to the school, so I was really making $7.50/hour. But that figure is derived from the time the engine starts running until the engine stops running and doesn't count any other time. So if I worked from 8-6 realistically I'm getting paid $7.50/hour for 5 hours of flight time. Luckily I was living in a town with 10,000 people and sharing a rent house with two other guys so my rent was a manageable $183/month. I used to think that was the most exploitative job until I talked to this single A minor league guy. Holy shit. The difference between me and him is that once I hit 1000 flight hours I was pretty much guaranteed a job at a regional airline...this poor bastard had to COMPETE with everyone else to move up the ranks. That's just awful.

[@DMalltheway]

yup, it’s so cutthroat and there’s many great players with high potential who leave baseball just to earn a decent living

[@mysteryboxreviewschannel]

Unfortunately this has been an issue for a long time. Too many former major leaguers end up in poverty as a result of this.

[@sidlikeslasaga]

This is one of the reasons I find baseball so fascinating and love cheering for the underdog players that find away. The struggle is and determination needed to climb the ladder is incredible. At the very minimum they should provided housing and minimum wage…at MINIMUM. As they’re expected to be in shape all year, they should either be provided facilities to train or a yearly increased salary to be able to afford professional level training. And people who say “you’re playing a game for a living, play for the love of the game”, how can you enjoy anything in your life if you can’t afford necessities or have a place to relax.

[@thomaspaswater1470]

If an employer requires you to work, you should be compensated. Milb players get no pay for spring training, extended spring training or playoffs. In effect milb players are required to work seven months and get paid for only five.

[@pjbuma13]

Not sure how true the AAA average salary of $14,700 is but it’s definitely not true anymore as of the 2023 season. Minimum salary in complex leagues is now $19,800/year and low A minimum is $26,200. Plus they are required to be provided with room and board or a stipend to pay for rom and board if not provided. Also players are additionally paid $625/week during spring training and $250/week for off season workouts at home.

[@mrsmukk]

That's what l thought....this must be a old video, l know the Astros organization pays for ALL minor leaguers housing

[@briggsc4]

We have a minor league team where I'm at, the Dust Devils an Angels affiliate, I had no idea these guy's had it this bad and they are always happy to sign my sons baseballs, I'm going to start tipping these bros!

[@wallacemusic160]

Wow this is a harsh way to treat the players who go on to either make the show or flounder until being beat into submission.

[@marciablackman2146]

MLB players should be in full support of the demands of minor leaguers. They were there themselves and should do what’s right for their baseball brethren. G_d knows the owners can afford to pay living wages.

[@BrooklynBalla]

They don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them.MLB players will get blackballed in an instant.

[@larrystaley21]

Takes a player who perhaps do to family is already very rich, can take the lead and if black allied, is really not hurt at all. Of course guessing very few MLB players fall into that category.

[@williammullin5059]

They're all too happy to pull the ladder up after them.

[@drew8979]

Ironically, my friend's dad is a part owner of a minor league team and we were talking about this and he said that this is why he is on the business side of baseball and not the player side because the lifestyle is brutal to get to the big leagues.

[@showcaseSampa]

As soon as Minor Leagues had their demands in part met on salaries ( not quite up to par yet ), Owners voted for contraction of Minor League at A Ball Level in number of affiliates. Some affiliates are outright owned by the Major League Baseball Club, while others are affiliated but independently owned. The player and training personnel payroll expenses are picked up by the Major League Club. ] as of now, at least Minor Leaguers have Union Representation, but they are still represented by the MLBPA, whose minor league ballplayers might not be at their heart. Since all of the in Ball Park revenue in operating a Minor League Ball Club is kept by the Franchised Minor League Operator, it means, Major League Owners have little to no interest in the welfare of minor leaguers. They see the whole thing as a feeder and at that, they want to keep the expenses at a fixed bracket. Minor League, short of player transactions, it is seen as a cost center, not a profit center. If you, as a Bal,l Player, are signing up for a pro contract, and your bonus does not meet your projected living expenses, then just walk away. At some point, the owners will get the message and start making due adjustments. Depth and options is what they want, it must then come at a price.

[@serafinacosta7118]

That is what is missing from this narrative. It is lopsided , despite ballplayers hardships.

[@michaelpyatt831]

At the end of the day the players union should be speaking up for these guys and demand at least a liveable wage

[@lunarguardian01]

This is awful.

[@georgemarsh2152]

Those owners with extreme wealth should share it with minor leaguers. It's morally right and can keep going minor league ball, which can best prepare players for the big leagues. Not everyone wants to see pro baseball guilty of exploiting minor leaguers.

[@markieschofieldjr9076]

This the world we live in. Higher ups only care about their wealth and riches. Don’t don’t give a damn about helping people.

[@fozziclan6639]

It’s actually not morally right because it’s their money and they can choose what they do with it. Thank God socialism isn’t in the US.

[@fozziclan6639]

@@markieschofieldjr9076why should they care about helping people? If they earned all of their money, it is their fucking money, not anybody else’s.

[@kchididdy]

IMO, this is working as intended. Low pay encourages those who are not talented/skilled enough to play pro baseball to fail fast and find an alternative career. If the pay were satisfactory, these players would eventually find themselves without a career at age 30-35 y/o. It's better to fail fast.

[@fleabaglane]

Read alot on this subject, and he's not making this up, and it is a horrible way to treat players that make you millions in the stands speak up America

[@larrystaley21]

These are the minor leaguers affiliated with MLB teams. Can only imagine how worse it must be for players in the independent minor leagues (i.e. Pecos League, Pioneer League, etc.).

[@KASC92]

The MLB players have the most power to change this if they organize in concert with the minor league players to get them adequate housing, food, and a living wage

[@DMalltheway]

Of course but they don’t want to give up their percentage to the minor league players struggling

[@agame2033]

So upsetting. Minor leaguers need better stuff yet alone pay

[@saksmarcus]

You can tell this dude is from the suburbs. You’re not in the big leagues, they’re not gonna pamper you, this is actually BETTER than how most people making 17,000 are living, all I see are some dudes that need to clean their apartment

[@christiancox972]

yeah, you yell him! i mean, just embrace the fact that America is swiftly becoming third world already and go get in the big leagues, ya big babies! most working people are malnourished and unhappy, that's just how things are supposed to be! those whiny suburbanites and their aspirations to make at least the national minimum wage-- can't they see how much better they're doing than other people below the poverty line? i mean, geez, they've got a mattress and light bulbs, and that's a hellofa lot better than you're living, right? townie busch leaguers

[@theindooroutdoorsman]

Making less than minimum wage is insane.

[@thispersonrighthere9024]

what's worse is that the owners LOBBIED for this.

[@slayermcrx7519]

instead of paying the big league players the extremely exorbitant pay they get, they should set some of that aside for the minor league systems

[@TB-ex8wl]

Reality: you are a mediocre athlete playing a game.

[@serafinacosta7118]

I recall a former farmhand for the SF Giants , who got his law degree, Garret Brosius , leading a class action lawsuit against Major League on the account of these exploitative practices. Every major league team covers on field payroll at the minors , from the lower levels and up. Affiliate minor league teams only meet payroll for administrative and ballpark personnel. Players coaches, are given minor league prorated pay rates , outside the 40 man playing roster. In the paper a $50,000 a year contract looks good , only it is only paid a portion of it. The lawsuit wrang some concessions , but it also forced the minor league development programs towards contraction , mostly at the lower levels. Which sends borderline talent into independent ball leagues. With lower pay rate. It’s a losing proposition. Only 5 % make it to the show. And yet, young fortune seekers bank to the odds.

[@edc3743]

I've only paid to see MLB twice in over 60 years. TWO TIMES TOO MANY. I will never PAY DIRECTLY EVER AGAIN, bad enough i watch some games on cable. In a letter to Manfred I said PAY YOURSELF $14K STARTING **right now**, SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT.

[@AJice1980]

I thought double A and triple A players get 2 free meals a day

[@Last_Tryy]

crazy cus im playing career on the show so currently im a trash panda well actually I moved up to AAA im in the the salt lake bees team waiting for my shot at angels its sad seeing the reality of baseball hopefully there can be organizations in place to help these guys

[@mikeyisniceha]

In season housing finally just happened 🙌

[@i8dacookies890]

Nice Drawfee shirt! I didn't expect to find that here!

[@prospectoscriollo]

This was different from my friend's experience who got signed by the yankees and took him 5 years to make the Majors for 3 seasons. He got 200K signing business on a 1.8 million USD contract. I never asked him how much he got a month but I remember in his first year he bought a BMW M3 and a house in miami. Is this only for top level players? Round 3 draft pick if that helps answer the question

[@thispersonrighthere9024]

he was definitely a top level player that they wanted to develop in the minors.

[@danielm5805]

If you are in the minors 5 years plus and see that you are not heading anywhere maybe just a get a real job ?

[@buddylove346]

It is a shame to see this happen but it does not surprise me because of all the greed in pro sports, I suppose a strike could help bring changes with the union's help. I loved baseball and played in little league all the way through pony & colt but did not try out for the high school team because my interests changed but the coaches were telling us that if we kept going that we could get drafted onto a farm team maybe start at single A level and I thought about it but looking back I'm glad I decided not to go that direction, it's a hard life.

[@FrankyMarinino]

'Can't afford a decent meal'. What is a 'decent meal'. I'm homeless. If I have to freaking tell a professional baseball player how to take advantage of the resources in your community, you don't deserve to be anywhere the show. If you don't want that ham and cheese sandwich, I'll take it.

[@RollsRoyceGuy]

There comes a time when you should realize that you are not going to make it to the big show and can make more money at Taco Bell.

[@marcmaza2821]

I use to work with a guy he played minor league he also had to work part time!when it was traveling days he wasn’t there

[@kylelamotte6236]

Damn I thought they would at least get housing this is insane

[@JohnSmith-zw8vp]

We're talking only rookie or low A level here right? Surely AAA players get some decent coin...right? EDIT: Seriously??? An average of $14,700 for AAA??? That's not even full time minimum wage!!

[@jodi183]

I know that MLBPA forced some changes to the pay and living conditions that these guys get in 2022. Still, I think it depends on the contract that a player signs. Top prospects are more likely to get paid a little better than those guys that are ranked or drafted lower. The new contract negotiations the MLBPA demanded got the league to agree to these terms: minimum salary is $400 weekly at rookie level, $500 at Class A, $600 at Double-A and $700 at Triple-A.

[@pjbuma13]

It’s also not true. Even before all the changes in minor league pay. In 2022 when this came out AAA minimum salary was $17,500/year not an average salary of $14,700/year. So yeah the minimum for AAA was actually $3000 higher than what they say was the average. And all the salary minimums basically doubled the next year after the CBA. So minimum in AAA $35,800 plus food and lodging and they are paid, given food stipends and free lodging for spring training.

[@fishfoolishness4222]

Boo hoo. 😭

[@kristianmedoffical]

the thing is they don't have a lot people show up to minor league games which gives owners the right to pay so little ...its a sad situation

[@serafinacosta7118]

Major league owners have no access to ballpark generated revenue at the minors . It’s a player development contract between the major league coub and its minor affiliates.

[@jodi183]

Doesn't matter because that has nothing to do with the contract a minor league player signs with their big league team. As for minor league games, I've been to many AA, high A, and low A games that were pretty darn close to full capacity. And if a well known big league player is rehabbing on their AAA or AA affiliate, or even in A which happens for geographic reasons, those games will be sold out.

[@hershybleich3057]

This is a business Jesus Christ. Not Humanitarian org omg

[@DMalltheway]

Hey asking for $18 an hour isn’t much, just to help pay for rent and food. And yes they are doing a job.

[@bradenolson7172]

Sob story

[@bobbyhall7472]

Ufc needs a union

[@Bredaxe]

Slavery never died, it just takes different forms. I'm no Communist but it's evident capitalism needs some serious reforms.

[@dannettebrousseau1065]

It's not about money man. If you play because you want the mone,, your chasing the wrong dream. MLB is a joke and they don't even draft they way they used too.

[@Chris-ip9qg]

some MLB players making the mega dough should contribute to AAA AA A ..david price was class act😎

[@celestialarmor695]

I never knew this wow those billionaires could at least give the 1000 a month

[@shaunmcallister6557]

I'm going to say an unpopular opinion in my opinion do you really have to draft out of high school what do 1 + 5 players maybe make the Major leagues out of high school also all the undrafted players that come from South America you can play four years of college ball and many years in the minors and never make it so you're telling me they would rather take someone that's from South America and I'm not belittling anybody but let's honestly think about that I personally believe that the minor leagues overall hurt Major League baseball and the fact that you can sign international players for next to nothing

[@Uwolz]

Them crowds be having 100 people.

[@historian111z]

be a minimalist like Correa.

[@croweater1]

You are playing a game for a living. Go and get a real job, then complain

[@erich84502b]

Minor hockey isn't much better

[@gospelslang9027]

Fake news. It is well documented that minor league players are compensated extremely well. They get the privilege of opportunity. The ability to dream. That is far greater than the money they seek or the meals they crave. Your teacher told you that the likelihood of you being a major leaguer was not likely to happen and to have a back up. However, you believed in yourself and bet on your talent. You made your bed, now sleep in it.

[@mr.iforgot3062]

Boo Hoo

[@salvagemonster3612]

Then don’t play it and go get a job

[@orlandoswift7398]

I love this sport and a lot of people would call u an asshole for saying that, but youre not wrong, and thats because if more minor leaguers did that u would actually start to see change as demand for players would rise.

[@DMalltheway]

That’s is a job they are doing, tough shit.

[@jamallinyear3465]

Ok but they they are under contract so leaving isn’t an option just cuz they want to.

[@larrystaley21]

Sound like a mean person to me. I would personally never want you as a friend!!

[@markdavis4794]

Last I checked minor leaguers CHOOSE to follow their dreams of making MLB. That is your choice. Live the life or get a real job.

[@JohnAnderssonTV]

You missed the point. All jobs should pay a livable wage

[@emc59789]

Stop whining it costs to chase dreams. Y’all acting like it doesn’t happen in other professions

[@aborteddemocrat-ux7ue]

Now you know how a woman feels when she clocks in at work

[@Baseballbash]

@mlb @milb

[@Emacee1701]

Boo-hoo! Let's feel bad for the jocks. They made the choice. They could have done their own homework, taken their own tests, gone to college and gotten a paying job. But, no. They could even have played baseball AND gone to college, taken real courses and gotten a real degree with a free ride scholarship and no student debt for the rest of their lives. But, no. They knew what the job paid and they took it. Much of the blame goes to parents who value sports over AP calculus and to school systems who give jocks a privileged and pampered experience which does not prepare them for the real world.

[@pointuout2020]

I’m to the point in hearing about all kinds of career paths through growing up. That theirs nothing you can do to get a real career any more! Now we are all just rats and slaves to the very few who have more money than they know what to do with it… truth hurts!

[@thispersonrighthere9024]

this is why i chose not to have kids. the establishment won't be getting any indentured servants from me.