Should minor leaguers be paid more/unionize?

[caulfield12]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-061841237.html

 

Of course, not mentioned are the huge signing bonuses that the Top 1-5 round players receive and are able to live on for most of their 4-6 years in the minor leagues.

 

Or the signing bonuses that most of the best Latin American players are getting...although certainly we're only talking the elite 3-5% of players in the minors, and not the average case of a guy who hangs around for 2-3 years and never reaches AA.

 

[ShandyMan]

I think they should. They make close to nothing at this point. They shouldn't be making substantially more but they also shouldn't be near the poverty line as the article says. Most of these players spend the offseason working out getting ready for the season, so their chances for other jobs are limited.

[caulfield12]

Of course, you'd also (as a lawyer) have to deal with the Sherman anti-trust exemption for MLB.

[SoxFan1]

As someone who has worked in MiLB and gotten to know a lot of minor leaguers personally, ABSOLUTELY. You'd be surprised how many of them rely on saving the per diem they get on road trips as extra income.

[ShandyMan]

You would think that teams would want to spend more money on their minor leaguers. I don't know how it works or what they get per diem for meals and such, or are they fed by the teams?

 

 

I can't see how a team would want their prospects eating crap like mcdonalds every day, you aren't going to get much out of your body doing that.

[ewokpelts]

Yes and no. There are plenty of clubs that would go under if the pay rates were to rise. And that is after they recieve the development fees paid by MLB teams.

But yes, the players would greatly benefit from better pay and conditions.

[3GamesToLove]

I remember hearing a Joe Sheehan and Rany Jazayerli podcast last year where they speculated on nutrition for minor leaguers being a market inefficiency. If you (the major league club) could cater good food for them at home on a regular basis; the reward could potentially vastly outpace the cost by a large margin. All just speculation, but an interesting idea.

Edited March 30, 2015 by 3GamesToLove

[southsider2k5]

I always thought of minor league baseball as a glorified internship.

[oldsox]

You would think that teams would want to spend more money on their minor leaguers. I don't know how it works or what they get per diem for meals and such, or are they fed by the teams?

 

 

I can't see how a team would want their prospects eating crap like mcdonalds every day, you aren't going to get much out of your body doing that.

I think they know that, and the minor leaguers are fed pretty well. Not as well as in The Show, but what else would anyone expect? The minor leaguers I have seen over the years look pretty fit.