Minor League Baseball players get living wages

March 31, 2023 9:22 AM

The first-ever collective bargaining agreement in minor league baseball history is near, a landmark moment in the sport’s history, and for the players in particular. The deal — which would have sounded outlandish just a year ago, when minor leaguers didn’t have a union — provides substantial raises to players and a slew of other improvements. Evan Drellich at The Athletic has the story. (Archive link.) More than 99% of minor leaguers voted in favor of the agreement. (Twitter).

The new CBA (which is still pending owner approval, though that is seen as a formality) provides greatly increased minimum annual salaries:

• Complex League, Rookie League: $19,800, up from $4,800
• Single A: $26,200, up from $11,000
• High A: $27,300, up from $11,000
• Double A: $30,250, up from $13,800
• Triple A: $35,800, up from $17,500

Combined with provided housing expenses, meals, and health care, all minor league players are earning what is, by most standards, a living wage.

Minor leaguers also got some other improvements to per diem, clubhouse nutrition, transportation, and more. Their big concession was that, starting next year, the number of allowed minor leaguers per team will decrease from 180 to 165, meaning a loss of 450 jobs.

Previously:

• Most players make less than $14,700 per year
• MLB to require teams to provide housing for minor leaguers

posted by DirtyOldTown (15 comments total)

This ends up with around 3 million per team. Which means, as a 10 billion a year Industry; they could have done this a long time ago. Unions work!

Along with the pay increase I really think the housing, nutrition and healthcare aspects of this are really important as well.
posted by indianbadger1 at 9:57 AM on March 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

The reality is that this finally got done because of the combination of owners who didn't want to lose their antitrust exemption and teams increasingly looking for ways to maximize their minor league development.

Or to put it plainly: I don't think the owners starting giving a shit about the minor leaguers' living situation, they just didn't want to put targets on their backs for government regulation, and they'd like to develop more cheap talent as an alternative to paying top wages.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:58 AM on March 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

Developing talent in your minor league system and signing them to longer-term contracts before they are eligible for free agency is a better deal for the team than overpaying once a player reaches free agency. If you can do it consistently you are the Rays or Braves. It's not a terrible deal for the players either. I think if I had that kind of talent I'd take the guaranteed $100 million at age 24 versus earning $20 million over a couple of years and gambling nothing goes wrong that costs me the potential $200 million or more in free agency.
posted by COD at 10:20 AM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

It's not a terrible deal for the players either.

At least a billion dollars of worth of salary would have been left on the table just from the deals during the last off-season alone if players followed your line of thinking.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 10:41 AM on March 31, 2023

Union stories are some of my favorite stories on MetaFilter.

This is great news. I pay hardly any attention at all to baseball, but I have a nebulous fondness for the anonymous minor league ball player in my mind.

Thanks for posting this, DirtyOldTown! Hurray for the minor leaguers and their union!
posted by kristi at 10:46 AM on March 31, 2023 [4 favorites]

Reflections on the Revolution in Minor League Labor Relations (Michael Baumann for Fangraphs)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:06 AM on March 31, 2023

How Minor League Ballplayers Won a Union (The Nation)
posted by box at 11:21 AM on March 31, 2023

aaaaaand to prove that there is nothing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won't do to screw over working people in service of wealthy conservatives who can cut him big fat campaign donations, he's carrying the water for MLB owners and pushing to cut minor-league baseball players out of the state's minimum wage law. (From Jason Garcia, the best journalist covering Florida politics and government, and is 100% worth following.)
posted by martin q blank at 11:59 AM on March 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

They all make more than the minimum wage in Florida now, though. They work 43 weeks a year and make at least $19,800. And that's not including housing, food, healthcare, and equipment. Toss that in and they're safely above what they'd get with an $11/hour wage even for 52 weeks.

The union got those kids a half-decent living, DeSantis's minimum wage hijinks be damned.

On a different note, I'm hoping this, along with advances in player development, means we start seeing a lot more out-of-nowhere 10th round or later guys breaking through as major leaguers.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:09 PM on March 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

They all make more than the minimum wage in Florida now, though.

You say that like you think he actually gives a shit about the entire issue and isn't just using it to get on Fox.
posted by Etrigan at 12:12 PM on March 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

Fair.

Speaking of DeSantis being de-pantsed, is anyone gonna do an FPP post about how Disney neutered his board before they even took office? That's great stuff.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:13 PM on March 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

DirtyOldTown: Interesting. Didn't realize it covered them for 43 weeks of the year. A story I heard on the radio last week suggested the players needed the minimum wage because they work other jobs much of the year. Hmmm.

Also, the story noted MLB is fighting minimum wage laws in several states. They had to see this CBA coming, so why are they bothering? Gotta be something Montgomery Burns-ish happening under the radar.

As for the Disney pants-ing, damn. I should do that post. (Colbert talks about it in the clip linked in the Trump Indictment thread.) One of the pantsed board members is the Nazi Barbie who took over my school board. If I get some time this weekend I'll do it.
posted by martin q blank at 12:21 PM on March 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

One really interesting thing is the bit on winter and fall training periods. Basically, from the end of the season until the Friday before Thanksgiving, they will be paid one rate if staying at home training and a higher rate if they are called in for instructional work. A winter training period from Jan. 2 until spring training will work the same way.

This will allow select more promising players, as well as possibly some dedicated players who talk their way in, to make above these minimum salaries and get additional structured training during the offseason. Meanwhile, the other players will have the option to take on part or full time work to go with their offseason training while still receiving the lower training salary.

The only time they're not paid is the nine weeks between the Friday before Thanksgiving and January 2nd. BUT, they also won't be called on to do anything during that time. So they can visit home, work, whatever.

It will now be possible on all but perhaps the lowest salaries, if frugal, to simply focus on baseball all year round. After all, they won't need to pay for housing or food during camp/the season. Even a part time job during that time will probably make life very affordable. And if they're on a track to the majors, they can train extra and be paid for it, making a job probably unnecessary.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:31 PM on March 31, 2023

This will be life changing for most minor leaguers, but the Latin American players trying to improve their baseball skills while also sending money home while often making $4,800 to $11,000 a year are going to have very different and presumably better lives. So many burn out from the stress of poverty, culture shock, hunger, homelessness.

Now they can stay in a modest apartment all year round, train, hire language tutors, and still help the folks out back home.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:39 PM on March 31, 2023 [4 favorites]

“When you lose your way, you’ve got to have people that are going to tell you the truth.”
--Ron DeSantis, impervious to irony.
posted by box at 2:32 PM on March 31, 2023