Minor Leagues Labor Deal!

[andyb]

I imagine they will eventually pay the DSL players the same as the other complex players. That will of course come with a 1-team and 40-50 player limit.

Each little move like this encourages prospective baseball players to play other sports. The Dominican Republic might have a much better soccer team in a decade or two because of this.

[BaseballCat]

Thanks for your insight Matt. I will not be happy if they eliminate a level as I love minor league baseball as well. My hometown team would certainly be on the chopping block. I could go on it I won’t as it is opening day and that is always good. ️️️️

FYI Matt - your Twitter cats are beautiful

[Philsmania]

Not poverty wages anymore but not really a living wage, either.

[phillychuck]

Those really are pretty decent wages given they get meal money, apartment allowances or discounts in A+, AA, and AAA, and they get fed a meal or two each day when they are playing or in the complex. And keep in mind those are minimums and that a significant percentage of the players have bonus money, too. Lots of free gear, also.

[LoneStarPhan]

this agreement is a very positive step up for the minor leaguer seeking to make it in baseball. Frankly, the previous level of pay was an embarrassment for organized professional baseball.

[Austinfan]

How much did you make at 21 without a college degree or a professional skill?
I was working my way through grad school as a security guard.
How much do aspiring musicians and actors get paid (whatever the restaurant pays!).

These are tournament professions, where there's a large supply of people hoping to grasp the brass ring someday.
Most minor league baseball players are up and out by 25, the older players get paid more since they're mostly professional AA and AAA players that teams want around to be competitive and as mentors for the real prospects.

I think playing minor league ball until you're 25 at minimum wage won't kill your life plans, for one thing, it's probably a positive in job interviews.

[andyb]

How much did you make at 21 without a college degree or a professional skill?

Playing baseball at a high level IS a professional skill. And it is a career that is very short. It is totally rational for 16-21 year olds to work on that skill and get compensated. In HS and college that compensation is free coaching, housing, and education. In pro ball that compensation is money.

So did you decide to work for minimum wage in the first 10 years of your career just because you would make more later? Of course not. You made as much as you could. And if your career had a maximum length of 15 years you sure as heck would wanted to be compensated more in your early years.

This is why unions exist. To stop exploiting workers.

[Austinfan]

It's not exploitation. It's a tournament. Just like actors and musicians, where only a fraction make a living out of something they love. We'd all play baseball tomorrow if we could get paid to do so, and most of us would take substantial haircuts. So these kids gamble they'll be the exception, the long shot who makes it - even a short stint in the majors probably leaves memories to last a lifetime.

And it's not a "professional skill" like being a plumber or electrician, you ever hire a minor league baseball player to remodel your kitchen?

It's not like they're being forced to play baseball, but really, if you're a kid in your early 20s, you really think it's a tough life?
You play ball, get to be a "local hero" in that minor league town, hang out with a bunch of guys who love the game - it beats growing up!

What do you think graduate students get paid at the same age - and most will end up scrapping by the rest of their lives.

[zambonir]

Ok boomer

Work is work. Most arts organizations now pay their interns, and the restaurant stage, where aspiring chefs work 80 hours a week for free just to be at the ends of the great one, is also going out of fashion. So is free labor by grad students.

There is a happy medium here in terms of the fact that mentorship and education does have some value that you might otherwise pay for (in baseball, those would be the rich American kids paying their American Legion fees or going to agent academies on spec), and with this development baseball is a little closer to finding it. But not outside the US, where it is still exploitation. And callling it a "tournament" is gross. Yes, The Hunger Games. But even by that logic, if you lose the tournament, you lose your job and won't get paid at the next level. Until then you should be paid appropriately.

I think people are making a lot of assumptions about how great it is to be in the complexes, and to be fed. We already know the American facilities weren't up to snuff, even in AAA (by baseball's own admission) and we've heard how bad the food is (again in AAA). So to think it's so great in the DR (or even Clearwater) seems like a stretch. Doesn't matter if it's better than what they might have had at home either. That's the part that makes it exploitative!

[Austinfan]

Grad students (at least the ones smart enough to know if you're not offered a part-time job or stipend, you're considered a marginal student) got paid, about what minor league players used to get paid. Like baseball players, they do it for "love," otherwise they'd get a MBA or law degree (where you have to pay your way b/c the payoff is higher and more predictable than a Ph.D.).

Tournaments are characterized by numerous entrants but only a few "winners."

They tend to dominate fields where if paid a good salary, the demand for positions would swamp the available slots - if people could play baseball or guitar and be assured they'd get paid the same as a corporate lawyer, no one could go to law school. Why be miserable in an office when you can hang out in a bar all evening and make the same money?

Exploitation is a meaningless word without context. Are you talking in terms of a Marxist (all value is labor value), neoclassical economist (monopsony buyer of labor forcing wages below market rates), social justice warrior (any wage below what I deem acceptable is exploitation), etc. It's not like minor league players are forced to play baseball, there are alternative jobs they could quit and take anytime (maybe less so in the DR).

[zambonir]

Ha, I would say all of the above.

When it comes to the minors, the value these players collectively add to the monopoly of North American professional baseball deserves more remuneration. And that's still true of the guys who win the lottery (in their first two-three years if not longer) as well.

The owners should do it for "love" too then!

[schillingfan]

Zamboni, no Boomer cracks. I understand his pain. I think the minor league deal just reflects the current labor market. Ten, fifteen years ago new lawyers had too beg for jobs. Now district attorneys an public defenders are begging for attorneys. The pandemic changed a lot of peoples Islas about work, needs and creative alternatives.

[zambonir]

I am far too old myself to be saying that (even if I'm not a boomer) that's why it was a joke.

I think those are two aspects of a similar awakening for sure, though I don't think the changes in baseball are quite as market-based on a day-to-day or month-to-month basis (but Andy's note that it will just make kids want to play soccer more is germane as far as that goes. And baseball has already had that problem for years even in the U.S., though more because it's more expensive as a youth sport, and less popular than football & basketball (though football is both expensive and unsafe).

[phillychuck]

There is quite a bit of agreement here I think...the previous wages were embarrassingly low, the new scale is much more reasonable; in line with what selective Universities are paying teaching grad students in the sciences.

And don't forget many of the 180 kids in the minors have bonus money from signing and will receive all kinds of perks as mentioned above--food, gear, housing discounts, "free" physical training, and top-notch medical care. Some will receive 'free' transportation to and from home.

I'd have been satisfied in my 20s with this kind of compensation for whatever work I was doing.

[andyb]

Most of the criticism was not at the level of pay which everyone agrees is better. For me it was more about the DSL kids not being included. We are essentially treating them as second class citizens because U.S. labor law does not apply there. I just don't think that is right.

The second criticism was the winnowing away of the number of minor league player/slots. While there is no contraction here, it is basically MLB offloading more development to the colleges and independent leagues. And more likely just saying that fans won't care if the next Michael Plassmeyer never develops as long as there is some warm body replacement. This is saving money (or offsetting the pay increases) with the hope that nobody notices. And that might be true as it is really hard to distinguish between a replacement level player and someone who is slightly less good. It does not make the game better though and the amount they save might be less than a million dollars per team.

[zambonir]

Yeah I don't think anyone is taking (too much) issue with the domestic pay raises. But if they intend to get rid of another level, that's a whole other chunk of money MLB won't be paying to players, along with all the money they've already saved by the culling (of both teams/leagues and players) to this point.

And what level would it be? I'd think they want to keep having players at their complexes, though I guess in the Phillies and other cases the low A team is already there. And numerous teams/cities/stadiums are already spending $ to meet MLB's new standards.

So, the longer you can keep your younger international prospects off US soil the cheaper they are. But won't richer teams just decide to pay them better anyway, including as part of the recruiting/signing process (and possibly under the table)?

[andyb]

If MLB eliminated a level I am guessing it would be low A. Clearwater would essentially become the FCL team. It would probably be year round but would have a younger roster than the current Clearwater team.

AF is right that teams will just keep international prospects in the DSL longer, but I am guessing that "loophole" will be closed at some point too.

[allentown]

I think if they are going to place salaries in the DR at the same level as U.S. to complete this reform, then they really should reform the LA prospect system and institute a draft at a minimum. Latino major leaguers have blocked this in the past, but the system is totally corrupt and gamed by the teams who are willing to cheat, as in promising multiple large bonuses which they know they can't afford and then backing away from some after they have an additional year of data on all of those prospects. I don't see the wisdom of shoving more money into the present corrupt system. The majority of the good LA prospects come state-side by the time they're 19, so the underpaid years are years they would be juniors and seniors in H.S. My vote is fix it right or leave it alone for now.

[phillychuck]

Most of the criticism was not at the level of pay which everyone agrees is better. For me it was more about the DSL kids not being included. We are essentially treating them as second class citizens because U.S. labor law does not apply there. I just don't think that is right.

Actually, they are not even second-class citizens since they are not citizens at all.

Allentown's point is well taken; at this point don't pump money into a corrupt system. And the standard of living is much lower in the Dominican; everything is less expensive there.

The younger kids in the DSL have a much better diet, much better living conditions, and much better training than they did at home. Now they have a decent salary to look forward to when they come stateside, too.

[zambonir]

Actually, they are not even second-class citizens since they are not citizens at all.

Allentown's point is well taken; at this point don't pump money into a corrupt system. And the standard of living is much lower in the Dominican; everything is less expensive there.

The younger kids in the DSL have a much better diet, much better living conditions, and much better training than they did at home. Now they have a decent salary to look forward to when they come stateside, too.

Good joke, but the players in the US aren't citizens either, they just have jobs in the US instead of at home.

Anyway, I still just find this argument to be really patronizing - and colonial! They live in poverty, they're lucky they get a chance to play a game and have a shot at a better life, they should take whatever crumbs we give until then. How 'bout actually making life better for them and their families from Day 1, for all players, not just the big bonus (or any bonus) guys? It is the same situation as the NCAA, no matter how many perks or opportunities they get it is still not right relative to what the overall business is taking in.

It's true the system is corrupt but it's also generally agreed that an international draft will ultimately result in less money going to the players (and their countries) too. For sure MLB probably sees this whole thing as another piece of leverage to get that, which they want not because the system is corrupt but because it will save them money.