"I was willing to flip burgers at McD's." great article on O's working side jobs - O'Day the bouncer

[Can_of_corn]

I'm confused by your first sentence. Why would they be buying dollar meals at fast food places if the didn"t have to feed themselves? Twenty five thousand doesn't seem like much to live on. But that's not really my point. The question is how much more would the team benefit if it provided enough financial support to players so they could work on their craft during the off season and not bag groceries. It's true winter ball is available to some. But I'm thinking more of a systematic approach.

BTW I agree with your comment about college athletes but for divison one revenue producing sports only.

Because the vast majority of minor league players are there to provide competition for the minority that can actually help the ML team.

Most actual prospects, if they have any sense at all, will have enough money from their signing bonuses that they are above the poverty line. Sure you get the occasional bonus baby living in their truck but I think that is rare.

Did you notice that folks like Matusz, Gausman, Machado, Tillman and Jones didn't share any stories?

[33rdst]

Because the vast majority of minor league players are there to provide competition for the minority that can actually help the ML team.

Most actual prospects, if they have any sense at all, will have enough money from their signing bonuses that they are above the poverty line. Sure you get the occasional bonus baby living in their truck but I think that is rare.

Did you notice that folks like Matusz, Gausman, Machado, Tillman and Jones didn't share any stories?

I get that most of the players are there to fill out line ups and provide competition to help offer a product to the Milb city. But over the years many lower round draft picks have made it despite having to produce while living through difficult conditions. How many more might make with a little more suppot? It's just a rhetorical question. Seems like some teams have had to look at this.

[Can_of_corn]

I get that most of the players are there to fill out line ups and provide competitions me help offer a product to the Milb city. But over the years many lower round draft picks have made it despite having to produce while living through difficult conditions. How many more might make with a little more suppot? It's just a rhetorical question. Seems like some teams have had to look at this.

Don't go by round go by signing bonus.

Tim Berry was a 50th round pick...but he got 125K to sign.

[atomic]

I really enjoyed reading this article. Makes you root even harder for these guys. I've never understood why teams don't pay guys enough to live at a level above subsistence. Especially at the lower levels. It seems to me that the teams would benefit if the players were focusing on their development rather than trying to feed themselves. I understand it's a business but wouldn't that be a good business investment?

For just a couple million dollars added to each level payroll and everyone could be above,the poverty level. Just think for the price of Jiminez's contract everyone in the Os system would be able to survive of their salary.

[Can_of_corn]

For just a couple million dollars added to each level payroll and everyone could be above,the poverty level. Just think for the price of Jiminez's contract everyone in the Os system would be able to survive of their salary.

I think they want an environment where they have consistent rollover in the lower minors.

They have a constant influx of new players wanting the jobs. They probably don't want a situation where a guy can support his family by pitching in high A for five years in a row.

[weams]

I think they want an environment where they have consistent rollover in the lower minors.

They have a constant influx of new players wanting the jobs. They probably don't want a situation where a guy can support his family by pitching in high A for five years in a row.

The don't want a guy repeating high A.

[Can_of_corn]

The don't want a guy repeating high A.

If you can make a decent living at it a certain percentage will just settle in.

I do still think that you make sure the kids eat right.

[incubus]

I think colleges should pay football players 100,000 K a year as well.

I can't agree with that. It opens a whole new can of worms. The student athletes receive scholarships that over the course of 4 years are valued around $100k and if they are smart they pay attention to the education they will receive. Choose a Yale, Harvard, Notre Dame or Stanford etc.

If you start paying student athletes it creates an issue like baseball has now with the difference between the haves and the have-nots growing greatly. Programs w/ boosters like Alabama & Auburn (& massive schools like Michigan) will overpay and get anyone they want, while smaller schools and the service academies will suffer.

[Can_of_corn]

I can't agree with that. It opens a whole new can of worms. The student athletes receive scholarships that over the course of 4 years are valued around $100k and if they are smart they pay attention to the education they will receive. Choose a Yale, Harvard, Notre Dame or Stanford etc.

If you start paying student athletes it creates an issue like baseball has now with the difference between the haves and the have-nots growing greatly. Programs w/ boosters like Alabama & Auburn (& massive schools like Michigan) will overpay and get anyone they want, while smaller schools and the service academies will suffer.

I suppose they could make the cutoff division 1A schools and force the payments to be the same at all of them.

Of course that will cause the schools to drop division 1A football or make cuts to other programs.

[Frobby]

It's interesting to think about our different catchers. You have Ward, who will make about $14,500 if he spends all year in AAA. Then you have Clevenger, who was in the majors for all of 2012, parts of 2013-14 and probably gets $150-200 k or so. Then you have Lavarnway who is probably in that same ballpark. Then there's Arencibia, who was a MiL free agent. All in all the O's have quite a bit invested in potential back-up catchers.

[incubus]

I suppose they could make the cutoff division 1A schools and force the payments to be the same at all of them.

Of course that will cause the schools to drop division 1A football or make cuts to other programs.

Like I said, whole new can of worms. They receive a free education, and food stipends. Even if they make $100k the cut-off many schools could not afford that and would offer much less. The playing field is already uneven for smaller universities, let's not make it worse.

[OFFNY]

Really enjoyed this article. Just shows you' date=' no matter what your goal or dreams are, if you keep on working on your craft, your dream can be achieved. I've always felt there are a lot of guys on this team that are very easy to root for.

Hopefully this comes out OK, using my phone as I'm using tablet to watch Santa Clara & BYU.

Sun

Thanks, Legends.

On a similar note, this is an article from December of 2012.

At the time, Rick Zagone was coming off of an excellent finish to the season at AAA-Norfolk, and spoke about his exploits and his dream since being drafted out of college (the University of Missouri) 4 years earlier.

THE THREAD: o http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php/130296-Rick-Zagone-Living-the-Dream

Rick Zagone: Living the Dream

http://towncourier.com/urbana/living-the-dream/

[O's are Legends]

Getting put on the 40-man or having a call-up has huge consequences. Great explanation of all the nuances here: http://www.jeffblankbaseball.com/salary-information/minor-league-salary/

Short version, once you're on the 40-man you're making about $40 k instead of $16 k or less. And once you've had even one day of major league service you'll make about $80 k even if you're not on the 40-man. You also get that for being on the 40-man two years in a row.

The other thing is that your salary has to be at least 60% of your combined major league and minor league salary from the prior year. So let's say Joseph doesn't make the team, they stil would have to pay him roughly $250 k this year.

Never knew any of this, thanks for the detailed info!

[Nevermore]

For just a couple million dollars added to each level payroll and everyone could be above,the poverty level. Just think for the price of Jiminez's contract everyone in the Os system would be able to survive of their salary.

I believe that many,if not most Dominican players with large contracts are supporting their extended families. I remember reading something about Sammy Sosa building a ballpark for his old neighborhood with some of his money.