Minor League Wages -- A Major Issue in the MLB Boom Era

[Mass Haas]

A fine read from MinorLeagueBall.com --

 

Lawsuit by Minor League players, claim they earn less than minimum wage

 

Regardless of promised education wages after the pro career, something has to change here.

[Bombers]

That is a great article and great post Haas. I always wondered how some of the players do it. I know some can get help from parents and have a signing bonus to fall back on for a while. But when you see some of these guys spend so much time at the minor league level on these low incomes, something has to give. I agree that they should be paid more. To me it is in the best interest to the club to ensure they are getting a proper and effective diet. (Which if anyone has tried to do is quite expensive.)

 

One thing the article doesn't mention is the actual figures. Here is what I could find, whether it is accurate or not, I am unsure:

http://www.yougoprobaseball.com/how-much-money-do-minor-league-baseball-players-make-get-paid.html

 

Standard 7 Year Minor League Contract:

 

The Standard 7 Year Minor League Contract consist of a pay scale for each level of the minor leagues plus an incentives package. As of 2010 the pay scale for most players is as follows:

 

All wages are based on first year participation. Each additional year of service at each level adds more money.

 

How much money do Minor League Baseball Players make / get paid a month?

 

[pre]Level………. Yr1 Yr2 Yr3

Rookie…….. $1,150 $1,200 $1,250

Short Season A $1,150 $1,200 $1,250

Low A……… $1,300 $1,350 $1,400

High A…….. $1,500 $1,550 $1,600

Double A…… $1,700 $1,800 $1,900

Triple A…… $2,150 $2,400 $2,700[/pre]

 

The incentives include:

• $500 bonus after 60 days in Double A time.
  $1000 bonus after 60 days Triple A time.
  $5000 bonus after 60 days Big League time.

 

All minor league players recieve $20 meal money per day that the team is away from home. Not including the off season.

 

Minor League Baseball Players do not get paid during Spring Training. They only receive $20 for every meal the team doesn't provide. Some teams provide all meals which means the players get paid nothing, while some teams don't provide dinner.

 

Therefore those players would get $140 a week for meal money. There aren't many other things to consider when determining how much money Minor League Baseball Players make / get paid besides the signing bonus. But that is just a one time payment and varies very much depending on where a player was drafted.[.

[dacbrewers]

I would say that you pretty much summarized it correctly. Approved supplements could run hundreds of dollars over a season. Road Meals=Fast Food. Parents have to supplement the players. Bottom line...these players are getting shafted and something needs to change. I read somewhere that minor league hockey players have a players association maybe it's time for baseball to step up and do what's right by these players. Every player who is drafted has put in a substantial amount of time (years) developing their craft and deserved to be paid a working wage. I think an IHL minor league hockey player makes $50,000 to $80,000 a year. If you cut 10% off the Major League players salaries and gave it to the minor league guys, they would at least have a descent wage. Granted most of the players in the minors will work for peanuts because they are living their dream.

[jerichoholicninja]

Considering the parent club is trying to turn these players into players who can help them win and make money they should give them what they need to become better players. The club should pay for adequate housing, meals, equipment, etc. I don't think giving these guys more money is going to be better in the long run for the club. When teenagers/young 20-somethings get cash in their hands they don't always make wise decisions with it, especially when you group them all together for long periods of time. Take a look at the NFL and NBA.

[Bombers]

Considering the parent club is trying to turn these players into players who can help them win and make money they should give them what they need to become better players. The club should pay for adequate housing, meals, equipment, etc. I don't think giving these guys more money is going to be better in the long run for the club. When teenagers/young 20-somethings get cash in their hands they don't always make wise decisions with it, especially when you group them all together for long periods of time. Take a look at the NFL and NBA.

I agree with you that the club should pay for adequate housing, meals, equipment, etc.

 

Add in access to free supplements approved by team doctors and free gym memberships to wherever you call home in the offseason. But they also just need to get paid more. I know it is a double edged sword but from the sounds of it - they are drastically underpaid

[igor67]

They are workers they deserve a minimum wage. Unless we want to start paying CEOs less than minimum wage because they are living their dream as well.

[JohnBriggs12]

Welcome to the real world. It's supply and demand. There's a much larger supply of guys willing to sacrifice in pursuit of their dream than there are jobs available in the minor leagues. If it's too much of a hardship for them, somebody else will take their spot. Many minor league teams operate on a shoe string as it is. True some additional funds from the parent clubs might be in order, but they'll likely try and diminish signing bonuses to compensate and that won't sit well with agents.

[torts]

youre correct, hockey is the only sport to have a players association for athletes below the professional level. I believe its called the Professional Hockey Players Association and covers the AHL, ECHL and CHL. There are still a number of leagues, though, that are not members (OHL and WHL are two off hand), but it might be an age-reason as the OHL/WHL players tend to still be under 18 for the most part.

 

fantastic post, by the way

[TheCrew07]

Welcome to the real world. It's supply and demand.

 

I'm sorry but that's garbage. With all the money in baseball teams can easily afford to provide healthy meals, training facilities, health care, and a decent living wage during the season.

 

I've literally posted on this topic dozens of times in the past, but I'll say again that cause and effect are being overlooked by many. When you have young athletes who are malnourished and sleep deprived, is it any wonder that so many turn to alternative sources for "pick me ups"? MLB created its own drug culture by conditioning players to depend on outside influences through the minor leagues. The only players who have ever been somewhat immune were the the bonus babies.

 

Oh and for the record I'm both a Republican and a capitalist, but I'm also a coach and the "development" which happens in the Minor Leagues has been and continues to be garbage, it's largely trial by fire, the system is crap and needs to be overhauled.

[igor67]

supply and demand is bunk there is a vast over supply of people qualified to work on boards and be CEOs, the social part of these jobs artificially lowers the pool. There is a whole host of real factors at play in the baseball case that break every assumption required for the simple supply and demand model to actually apply to this situation. For example there are only 30 MLB teams far less than the infinite number required by the supply and demand mathematics

[Mass Haas]

Quite the read on this topic from Dirk Hayhurst here.

[TheCrew07]

Quite the read on this topic from Dirk Hayhurst here.

 

I've been highly critical of the entire minor league system in the past even though I believe in a free market economy and I lean red, I just don't understand this at all. There is so much money in baseball that it would be very easy to at least pay minor leaguers a livable wage during the season. The teams' have so much riding on the success of these guys why wouldn't they want to provide proper nutrition, living conditions for adequate rest, and proper training facilities so they can get the absolute most of the players that make it?

 

I've found the system progressively more infuriating which each successive insight I've had into the life over the years. At least the Brewers made a change are providing more nutritious pre-game spreads than what was reported in the story, but the rest of the "development" that takes place in the minor leagues is a joke.

[Mass Haas]

Great story of perseverence here just to get to affiliated ball, the lengths some of these guys go to, kudos for parents' support, too.

[DHonks]

Also, players must pay clubhouse dues of around $10/day (depending on level) for locker room services including pre-/post-game meals, shoe service, bat boy, laundry service, etc

[Mass Haas]

Ridiculous stance and scare tactics from MLB and MiLB - you're telling us that if the Brewers had to pay another $1,000 or so per month to the kids in Brevard/Appleton/Helena that those ownership groups would somehow suffer? How? Nonsense.

 

Baseball America - MiLB Opposes Players, Supports MLB In Lawsuit

[torts]

I heard that yesterday.. such crap that they're trying to have FLSA amended to include minor league baseball players as an exempt profession

[clancyphile]

When the MLB minimum is $500,000 or so, then yeah, minor-league players should be paid more.

 

Seriously, why not set a minimum salary of $60K/yr for A ball and below, $90K/yr for A+, $120K/yr for AA, and $150K/yr for AAA?

[fondybrewfan]

I probably wouldn't even need to be that high. 40K for A ball, $60K for A+, 75K for AA, and $100K for AAA. I think MILB players would be pretty ecstatic with that. Assuming 25 players rosters that would put the total organization cost would be around $7.5 Million if you aren't including the Dominican League. So for the entire MILB system they would be paying for the equivalent of a league average type outfielder.

[LouisEly]

I've posted this several times before - one of my friends, who posted a 1.096 OPS in rookie ball for the Brewers (with 38 BB and 15 K in 300 PAs), quit baseball for this exact reason. He did something that wasn't too smart first - he got his girlfriend pregnant - and when he went out to Stockton not only was he away from his family but he also couldn't support them.

 

(He was old for his leagues as he played four years of college baseball, but his final minor league career - .347 BA, .441 OBP, .528 SLG, 108 BB, 78 K in 852 PAs).

 

Money in the hands of young men is always a dangerous thing, but to not provide meals & nutrition is not smart. Have local catering companies bid for contracts and use market competition to drive down prices. With season-long contracts and caterers bidding against each other a team could probably feed it's players quality meals for around $20/person/day. Contracts can include visiting teams to provide meals while on the road. For a 5-month-long season that's $3000/person/year, about $90,000 per team per year. I don't think that's too much to ask for.

[clancyphile]

I probably wouldn't even need to be that high. 40K for A ball, $60K for A+, 75K for AA, and $100K for AAA. I think MILB players would be pretty ecstatic with that. Assuming 25 players rosters that would put the total organization cost would be around $7.5 Million if you aren't including the Dominican League. So for the entire MILB system they would be paying for the equivalent of a league average type outfielder.

 

One other thought: End the requirement for clubhouse dues in the minors, and maybe also have the parent club add not only more meal money (say, $50 a day) as well.

[TooLiveBrew]

Paging agent39... would love to hear Josh's thoughts on this topic

[dacbrewers]

Minor league wages is the primary reason most players go to winter leagues. Some players make more than playing a couple years in the minors. MLB is ripping off these young players by keeping them under contract for seven years with a major majority of them receiving below minimum scale pay rate for the hours they put in...hence the lawsuit...I have heard numerous minor league players state that they could actually make more money working at In-N-Out Burger but who wants to flip burgers when you have a chance at the dream. Some people say that these players are privileged for having an opportunity to play baseball for a living but with what they are paid...it's hardly a decent living.

[fondybrewfan]

Short of a whole mess of minor league players walking out and not playing; I don't think this is an issue MLB owners really care a whole lot about. They figure there is a very limited supply for these jobs and very high demand. They are getting out of the system right now what they need to get. I would be curious to find out the effects if just one single team decided to drastically increase the MILB salaries. What kind of effect on their system would it have? I am sure the fringe AAAA players would be knocking down the door trying to get a spot in AAA, but what about everything else. Undrafted free agents?

[JohnBriggs12]

The minor leagues are nothing more than extended tryouts for major league jobs. At worst, a kid gets to spend a few summers playing a game usually driving a nice car they bought with their signing bonus. Most guys who were athletes in high school and college would love the opportunity to keep playing a bit longer even if that means sacrificing a few years of a career in the real world and a bit of salary. Don't think so? Then check out an indy league game sometime. Along the way, they learn the value of a buck and in the real world, having played professional sports is not a bad thing to have on your resume. After all, a lot of guys hiring are sports nuts themselves. Most of the guys that are good enough to stick around a long time in the minors usually have had some major league paychecks and can get jobs in the winter leagues. The occasional "lifer" type guys are those who probably don't have much in way of job skills outside of the game anyway.

[TheCrew07]

The minor leagues are nothing more than extended tryouts for major league jobs. At worst, a kid gets to spend a few summers playing a game usually driving a nice car they bought with their signing bonus.

 

Seriously?

 

I think you need to revisit your bonus baby comments.... it's not relevant past the top 4 rounds or so.

 

5. Dustin Demuth - $50,000

6. David Burkhalter - $200,000

7. Mitch Meyer - $10,000

8. JB Kole - $159,000

9. Greg McCall - $10,000

10. Javi Salas - $15,000

 

Burkhalter is a HS kid, how many years could he live off of that $200,000 bonus? You seem to be forgetting that there are all kinds of deductions taken out of that sum such as taxes. Here's a good blog post on the financial side of the draft.

 

TCU baseball coach shows how fast the guaranteed $$ of the MLB draft goes

 

This whole deal is complete garbage and has been for a very long time, MLB is awash in money, just pay the kids in the minors enough that they can sleep in regular beds and eat good meals, that's not asking much. I'm not a liberal by any stretch, I tend to lean very conservative, but even I can see how ridiculous this situation is. Does MLB want great athletes/players or not? There isn't much incentive to stick with baseball if you aren't drafted in the top 3-4 rounds and there is even less incentive to play the game clean. Poor rest and poor nutrition directly lead to athletes looking for "pick me ups" or an edge, MLB has created, almost forced upon the athletes, it's own drug culture.

 

MiLB is a farce by any measure.