Minor Leaguers as the Working Poor

[osfan83]

Yea. But wouldn't you think MLB, which stakes its future on these guys, would want them doing better than sleeping on the floor and eating crap?

Actually, what amazes me is that MLB thinks paying for a vast system of hundreds of fake baseball teams employing thousands of guys who will never play a single MLB game is the best way to develop talent.

Agreed. 1. I am surprised the teams don't provide better food, it's probably in their best interest. 2. I believe the MLB team only pays the salaries of the coaches and players...all other costs are picked up by the minor league club owner.

If teams were forced to pay minor leaguers more money, they would probably just drop rookie and A ball teams. Then draft more out of college and just operate AA and AAA. NHL teams only have one minor league. Serious players play juniors or college to get noticed....or play over seas.

[DrungoHazewood]

Agreed. 1. I am surprised the teams don't provide better food, it's probably in their best interest. 2. I believe the MLB team only pays the salaries of the coaches and players...all other costs are picked up by the minor league club owner.

If teams were forced to pay minor leaguers more money, they would probably just drop rookie and A ball teams. Then draft more out of college and just operate AA and AAA. NHL teams only have one minor league. Serious players play juniors or college to get noticed....or play over seas.

I think there are two things:

1. Inertia. Baseball loves nothing more than what it's always done.

2. Fear of bidding wars. If you have fewer players under MLB control but playing overseas or in indy leagues it probably means paying a lot for the kid who just hit .432 in Saskatchewan or Korea.

[NJ BIRD FAN]

I think there are two things:

1. Inertia. Baseball loves nothing more than what it's always done.

2. Fear of bidding wars. If you have fewer players under MLB control but playing overseas or in indy leagues it probably means paying a lot for the kid who just hit .432 in Saskatchewan or Korea.

2- Is easily cured with the implantation of an international draft or including all players in the current draft. As a baseball fan for over 40 years this is the most perplexing issue I have ever seen. To not have an international draft is Lunacy on the owners part. It costs them millions upon millions.

[Guest rochester]

I am trying to look at this philosophically, with an obvious bias.

In one corner, you have the folks that believe all minor league teams, and especially the owners, make a ton of money and our greedy SOB's. They also believe that they should make "minimum wage," just ignoring the fact that there is no basis in fact since these are salaried positions. I don't know personally but would assume that there is some other benefits with medical, etc.

In the corner, you have folks that believe that these players have made a definitive (and free) choice to sign a contract for a low(er) wage. They also, most likely, don't believe that being successful is a bad thing if common sense is used, i.e., being a decent steward of the employees and community.

For young players that are from this country, I have no sympathy for their choice - they have an option to go to college or learn a trade and make a decent wage. Shame on them if they complain.

Regarding the greedy owners, I can only speak about my hometown team, Rochester Red Wings, who have been a community owned team for decades. In 2013, they had an operating income of $6.1M with an operating loss of -$200k.

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emdm45eegkg/19-rochester-red-wings/

I can provide many more examples, mainly outside of baseball, but I would say 95% of business owners are not greedy and have sacrificed their time and money in an attempt to provide a goods or service that employs others. Can they afford paying everyone well over "minimum wage"? It all depends on whether they are even making money. I have seen many good businesses and owners close the doors from both problems for various reasons - then they may lose all of their equity, including house, autos, etc. Years ago, I was there myself, though not as severe. In turn, I have helped small companies stay solvent pro-bono. Why? it is my civic duty and stewardship to do so, i.e. it saves jobs! It doesn't make me better or worse.

Is there greed? of course there is.... our own top business schools have put "Ethics" way down the list of importance. It drives me crazy when all business owners get lumped in with the very small percentage of greedy individuals (many are not owners but hired executives).

[NJ BIRD FAN]

Yes. There are quotas. I know Japanese teams only bring in imports above a certain level. If you are making $800 a month in the Sally League you're not going to Japan.

Imagine that, Quotas. What could they be trying to protect? Why wouldn't Japan take all the US players they could if they were superior players?

[Can_of_corn]

Imagine that, Quotas. What could they be trying to protect? Why wouldn't Japan take all the US players they could if they were superior players?

Because the fans wouldn't come out to see a team full of Gaijin even if they won a disproportionate amount of the time?

[NJ BIRD FAN]

Because the fans wouldn't come out to see a team full of Gaijin even if they won a disproportionate amount of the time?

Exactly

[CA-ORIOLE]

Exactly

Yeah. There is a tiny bit of difference between Japanese culture and diversity than ours.

[Guest rochester]

Yeah. There is a tiny bit of difference between Japanese culture and diversity than ours.

oh, you've spent time there also?

[NJ BIRD FAN]

Yeah. There is a tiny bit of difference between Japanese culture and diversity than ours.

The marketing principal is the same. The reason for the decline in popularity of baseball in the US will be proven to be the unrestricted practice of allowing foreign born players into the league. When baseball was an all American sport, with mostly American players it was far and away the most popular sport in the US. Fast forward to now. Football, a sport that has 99% American players devastates baseball in popularity. It isn't even close. If anyone thinks, that an ever increasing population of foreign born players will not have an affect on MLB, they are mistaken. If MLB teams care about the future of baseball, stop building baseball schools in the DR and build them in Harlem or Compton or Detroit. It is where the great athletes are anyway. Back on topic of the thread. It is economics for owners. If they can get two rookie ball teams of kids from the DR for next to nothing, why not take a shot. In general there are not better players in the DR. They are just willing to play for nothing, because to them, it isn't nothing. That is all fine, but I think it is short sighted in the long term success of MLB.

[CA-ORIOLE]

oh, you've spent time there also?

About three years.

[DrungoHazewood]

Exactly

Maybe you have more in common with Japanese fans than Americans.

[DrungoHazewood]

2- Is easily cured with the implantation of an international draft or including all players in the current draft. As a baseball fan for over 40 years this is the most perplexing issue I have ever seen. To not have an international draft is Lunacy on the owners part. It costs them millions upon millions.

It has a number of disadvantages. Teams that have worked hard to get an overseas advantage would see that disappear. The influx of talent would be curtailed with restrictions on where and for how much they can play. Veterans would rightfully recoil at being treated like high school kids.

[Plutarch]

The marketing principal is the same. The reason for the decline in popularity of baseball in the US will be proven to be the unrestricted practice of allowing foreign born players into the league. When baseball was an all American sport, with mostly American players it was far and away the most popular sport in the US. Fast forward to now. Football, a sport that has 99% American players devastates baseball in popularity. It isn't even close. If anyone thinks, that an ever increasing population of foreign born players will not have an affect on MLB, they are mistaken. If MLB teams care about the future of baseball, stop building baseball schools in the DR and build them in Harlem or Compton or Detroit. It is where the great athletes are anyway. Back on topic of the thread. It is economics for owners. If they can get two rookie ball teams of kids from the DR for next to nothing, why not take a shot. In general there are not better players in the DR. They are just willing to play for nothing, because to them, it isn't nothing. That is all fine, but I think it is short sighted in the long term success of MLB.

Maybe, but the owners don't care about the decrease in US popularity as long as international popularity more than compensates. Similar model with the Prem in the UK; at one time a very high percentage of player were home grown but the popularity did not extend much beyond the UK; upon the opening of boarder among EU countries allowed a free movement of labor throughout Europe, the percentage of Prem players (or a least Stars) is probably at least half. The Prem might not be as popular in the UK as it once was, but it is now a global mega-marketing force to such a degree that it puts the NFL and MLB to shame. By the way, the Prem owners are making large amounts of money...if not in yearly income then most definitely in franchise valuation.

[CA-ORIOLE]

The marketing principal is the same. The reason for the decline in popularity of baseball in the US will be proven to be the unrestricted practice of allowing foreign born players into the league. When baseball was an all American sport, with mostly American players it was far and away the most popular sport in the US. Fast forward to now. Football, a sport that has 99% American players devastates baseball in popularity. It isn't even close. If anyone thinks, that an ever increasing population of foreign born players will not have an affect on MLB, they are mistaken. If MLB teams care about the future of baseball, stop building baseball schools in the DR and build them in Harlem or Compton or Detroit. It is where the great athletes are anyway. Back on topic of the thread. It is economics for owners. If they can get two rookie ball teams of kids from the DR for next to nothing, why not take a shot. In general there are not better players in the DR. They are just willing to play for nothing, because to them, it isn't nothing. That is all fine, but I think it is short sighted in the long term success of MLB.

From my perspective the influx of international players has had a positive overall effect and improved the game. Like it or not, a large and increasing population of "true Americans" are Latino and asian. They identify with these players and I would argue that most white/black "americans" do as well.

Taken to your ideological extreme where some tiny percent of baseball players end up being American born and baseball is somehow wiped from our young cultural identity, I suppose you could be right. That effect seems highly unlikely and or improbable for a number of reasons, including economics. It may be true that football has gained a lot more popularity over baseball over the years, but I highly doubt the a predominant factor has been the players ethnicity or some litmus test of their true Americanism. If that were the case then wrestling would be the number one spectator sport.