Washington Post article on minor league pay issues

[Frobby]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/07/16/minor-league-baseball-advocacy-mlb-overhaul/
 

Nothing too new here, but this quote made its impact on me:

“I played with guys that were scared just looking at an inside pitch because they had three bats left to last for the next two months,” said Slade Heathcott, a former Yankee who now leads More Than Baseball, a nonprofit that offers grants and other assistance to minor leaguers. “Say breaking a bat means you have to spend $85 on a new one. If you break two bats in a day, that’s 30 percent of your paycheck.”

It never occurred to me that minor leaguers have to buy their own bats.

 

[Can_of_corn]

I suspect the folks viewed as genuine prospects have deals with bat manufacturers.

The unwashed masses?  It being out of pocket doesn't surprise me.

[DrungoHazewood]

You can get a decent lathe for $600, a used one at an estate sale would probably be half that. Go around any major campus at the end of the semester and you can find old loft beds just abandoned.  Pick up the wood, go in with some of your teammates, and save some cash.

[Number5]

4 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

You can get a decent lathe for $600, a used one at an estate sale would probably be half that. Go around any major campus at the end of the semester and you can find old loft beds just abandoned.  Pick up the wood, go in with some of your teammates, and save some cash.

 

[Sports Guy]

I’m guessing a lot of players also get help from parents.

[emmett16]

On 8/2/2021 at 11:32 AM, DrungoHazewood said:

You can get a decent lathe for $600, a used one at an estate sale would probably be half that. Go around any major campus at the end of the semester and you can find old loft beds just abandoned.  Pick up the wood, go in with some of your teammates, and save some cash.

Not sure if you are joking or not.  I played collegiate summer ball with a guy who had a lathe and made his/our bats for the team that summer.  I didn't like them that much, but after my first half dozen of C271s busted I was happy to use them.  

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

 

[Can_of_corn]

I bet after taxes the ballplayer made more.