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Via The Biz of Baseball, news that Major League Baseball and the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues have signed a new six-year extension of the Professional Baseball Agreement (PBA) that covers all interactions between the majors and the minors ...
According to both MLB and MiLB, the extension continues many aspects of the previous contact, which was reached in 2005 and extended through 2014. Both parties will remain committed to ongoing efforts to improve player development, fan experience and the business stability of Minor League Baseball.
This is probably not good news. It's not like there was ever any danger of MLB and MiLB engaging in a nasty divorce or something. They obviously need each other, and frankly I don't know why they don't just merge, officially.
What's disappointing is that they're presumably continuing the same policies that result in many minor-league players earning salaries too paltry that they can't even afford to eat well. You'll know that progressive-minded people are running things when you hear that all professional baseball players are being paid living wages.
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Are You Listening, Michael Weiner?
Rob, yes! I’m glad you continue to champion this cause. It’s also fair to say that we’ll know that the MLBPA actually cares about the welfare of its rank and file members when it pushes for a living wage to be paid to minor leaguers.
by Larry Behrendt on Mar 8, 2011 6:16 PM EST reply actions
On the other hand...
… at least baseball is paying their farmhands for their efforts, rather than relying solely on a college feeder system that prohibits players from making a nickel, like football and basketball.
I think this issue is far more complex than to warrant a few off-hand comments in a blog. Sure, everyone would agree that a “living wage” (good luck defining that to everyone’s satisfaction, folks) should be paid to minor leaguers. But let’s be honest… if minor league salaries were to be raised significantly, teams would only be interested in paying those wages to legitimate prospects (mid level or above). How many levels of minor league ball would survive and in how many towns? Would it really be in the interests of MiLB or even the MLBPA to significantly reduce the number of teams and roster spots in minor league baseball? I’m not saying there isn’t significant room for improvement in the system, just that I think it’s a much more complicated issue than people think.
by Jim Crikket on Mar 9, 2011 9:57 AM EST reply actions
so you suggest $850/month is reasonable to live on?
The minimum salaries below AA wouldn’t even cover room and board at most NCAA schools. Forget about tuition. So I wouldn’t give baseball any credit for “paying farmhands for their efforts.” If a player makes the minimum, they need another job and/or charity (e.g. host families) to make basic ends meet.
Do you really believe low-minors baseball wouldn’t survive if they applied the AA minimum of $1,500/month to everyone? And if that’s really so (which I’m skeptical of), is that an unreasonable amount for MLB (a multi-billion dollar industry) to invest? Heck, in lieu of paying them a nickel more they could at least arrange to provide them free nutritional meals and thus have more control over what goes into their bodies. It would be worth the investment many times over if it produces just one more major leaguer per team per decade.
by Michael_K on Mar 10, 2011 2:14 PM EST up reply actions
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