The Coming Minor League Apocalypse

[Philsmania]

I'll believe any actual Congressional action when I see it, but they're weighing in. I think this is just the House (and very much bi-partisan). Bernie Sanders also tweeted about it today.

Congress sends MLB a letter condemning the plan to eliminate minor league teams

Senator Sanders' Tweet on the subject:

https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1196858220507226113

[zambonir]

Maybe MLB doesn't want to be following Jeff Luhnow's lead on anything right now?

[Philsmania]

Supposedly, MLB's response to Congress was somewhat defiant. MLB is asking for a big smackdown here.

Dueling Letters Highlight Dramatic Differences Between MLB, MiLB On Elimination

[jimbomill]

When my company (and many others) had large layoffs, where was Congress for us? Layoffs seem to hit all factions of life. If Congress can influence this, I'd be surprised.

[baseballoldie]

Interesting comment in Dan Halem's letter:

Halem also said: “Most of the players on the rosters of rookie, short season and low-A teams are there to fill rosters so the Minor League teams can stage games for their fans

Isn't that what professional baseball in every community is about - providing entertainment for the fans? Wouldn't that be a good way to grow the interest in the game?

I wonder if this Halem guy is even a fan of the game of baseball or simply some suit that is only looking for ways that more of the MLB revenue pie ends up in the owners ledger.

[zambonir]

Other companies don't have an anti-trust exemption. But Congress (and other levels of government) gets involved in that kind of thing all the time - tied to tax breaks and incentives and public infrastructure. The President too (not just this one).

Not that I think they can actually force MLB to do anything, it's not like they will pass a law or actually revoke the exemption. Not to mention that in the end Congress does what the rich powerful MLB owners want. But sometimes if your constituents freak out enough it changes the PR equation.

Irony:

Minor League Baseball supports new legislation to protect America's pastime

[Philsmania]

Other companies don't have an anti-trust exemption. But Congress (and other levels of government) gets involved in that kind of thing all the time - tied to tax breaks and incentives and public infrastructure. The President too (not just this one).

Not that I think they can actually force MLB to do anything, it's not like they will pass a law or actually revoke the exemption. Not to mention that in the end Congress does what the rich powerful MLB owners want. But sometimes if your constituents freak out enough it changes the PR equation.

Irony:

Minor League Baseball supports new legislation to protect America's pastime

What Congress can do is hold hearings on the subject and subpoena many folks, including Manfred, and make them squirm in the public eye.

[zambonir]

Yeah, it's all just PR and negotiating tactics. At the end of the day, no one can force MLB teams to give Williamsport players. It's done by mutual, if negotiated, contractual agreement, and MiLB doesn't have all that much collective leverage. It's not like the AAA and AA markets are going to refuse to stay in business with MLB to help save the Pioneer League. And as Cooper wrote:

Minor League Baseball does not have a lot of clear avenues for response. In these negotiations, MiLB can try to use public opinion mixed with potential Congressional pressure to “save its teams.” MLB also faces the potential for a long list of lawsuits from both teams and municipalities affected by the potential reductions.

But MiLB doesn’t have a truly viable option to walk away from the negotiations. In a nightmare scenario where no agreement is reached before the 2021 season, the current MiLB system would likely shut down. MLB could keep its players at its spring training complexes in 2021, playing games on the multiple back fields at each facility. In 2020, it’s unrealistic to believe that MiLB teams would counter by fielding teams of players they procure themselves for 2021, turning the leagues into quasi-independent leagues.

That scenario is surely unacceptable to MLB too but they hold all the cards.

[zambonir]

More Bernie. Hey, it can be political grandstanding and correct at the same time.

MLB_Letter112519.pdf (89.8 KB)

Let’s be clear. Your proposal to slash the number of minor league teams has nothing to do with what is good for baseball, but it has everything to do with greed. Your proposal to throw about 1,000 ball players out of work comes less than three months after an appeals court ruled that Minor League Baseball players could move forward with a class action lawsuit seeking higher wages.

In other words, instead of paying Minor League Baseball players a living wage, it appears that the multi-millionaire and billionaire owners of Major League Baseball would rather throw them out on the street no matter how many fans, communities and workers get hurt in the process. If this is the type of attitude that Major League Baseball and its owners have then I think it’s time for Congress and the executive branch to seriously rethink and reconsider all of the benefits it has bestowed to the league including, but not limited to, its anti-trust exemption.

[zambonir]

Everyone's furiously spinning and trying to turn the temperature down. On its face, the arguments the various GMs make here are hard to refute, if true. That they intend to spend about the same amount of money developing fewer players. That many of these stadiums aren't even as good as high school or college facilities (I can confirm this just from the last Northwestern League game I attended). And that there is still plenty of baseball in the world (which is an easily overlooked point. We romanticize Little Leagues and small-towns and going to games in person but when I grew up you could barely watch more than one game a week, plus your local team. Now kids don't necessarily even form regional attachments.

https://sports.yahoo.com/why-mlb-executives-think-a-leaner-minorleague-system-is-best-for-baseball-140027670.html

[Philsmania]

One idea being kicked around is MLB starting its own minor league and taking the MLB-owned MiLB teams with them.
How many of the Phillies' affiliates are owned by the Phillies? I know Reading and Clearwater are owned by the big club lock, stock and barrel. I thought I heard that they the Phillies may own small pieces of Lehigh Valley and Lakewood.

[zambonir]

I don't think it will really come to that. It would be such a mess. For all the posturing MLB definitely needs centralized MiLB to execute this plan, a patchwork of leagues, teams and affiliations would not serve what they want here.

I don't think the Phillies own any of Lakewood (which was sold in 2017, before that they had the same owners as the Iron Pigs (headed up by longtime Reading owner Craig Stein).

At the end of the day what probably happens here is the more successful and MLB-connected clubs eventually turn on the little guys. I mean, MLB bends over backwards to subsidize its small market teams, and/or get them new facilities. But how long will the PCL owners really stick together to protect the Pioneer League?

[phillychuck]

Doug Glanville's recent article on the Athletic (paywalled) is eye-opening in terms of the responsibility he accepts for the MLB players' role in the economic plight of minor leaguers.

Glanville: Why major league players haven't done more for...

As usual, Glanville is thoughtful and writes well.

To me, a very interesting anecdote was that he was working at Barnes and Noble while a minor leaguer in the off-season to make money for Christmas, and a patron walked in wearing a UPenn Engineering hat. Doug relates that the customer was horrified when Glanville revealed that he, too, graduated from Penn Engineering, ostensibly because he was working at B&N.

[bkeich]

To me, a very interesting anecdote was that he was working at Barnes and Noble while a minor leaguer in the off-season to make money for Christmas, and a patron walked in wearing a UPenn Engineering hat. Doug relates that the customer was horrified when Glanville revealed that he, too, graduated from Penn Engineering, ostensibly because he was working at B&N.

To be fair, it isnt unique to baseball.

Big Country - Bryant Reeves (basketball, OK St) had 2 jobs at one point WHILE playing college basketball, and then actually had to quit because one of them was given to him by an alumni. He ended up on welfare for a short time as he had a small family already started at that point in his life. He was afraid to take a job because of the possibility of the NCAA that would have caused him to be suspended if there was even a hint of impropriety.

There needs to be a simple system to make sure these guys are not treated like this, it is unjust. I dont mind them having to work, I had to work while going to engineering school to as most people do, so Glanville having to work in the offseason doesnt really ring as a problem to me.

I also see college players driving Lexus and Rolls Royces, so there is apparently some source of income

Minor league baseball needs a few simple things:
Team provides more meal money on the road. They already do, but as I remember it is insanely low. $50/day. I get more than that when I am on the road.

Team provides free rent for an local apartment. I dont care if it is a dorm style, that is fine. This just makes sense for the teams frankly, that way they can move players from league to league without issues.

Minimum pay reasonable for the unique value of a sports player. $60K/season sounds reasonable at A ball, $70 at AA, $80 at AAA. That is more than reasonable with free rent and traveling money. These are minimums, obviously some players deserve more.

Minimum signing bonuses: The player should get an upfront stipend, giving College Seniors $5K just because they have no leverage is ridiculous. Make the minimum $75K, and this is the same for foreign players.

With all of that there is now way they can have these issues.

[zambonir]

Glanville also chose not to live off his signing bonus - put it into investments and made do until he got to the majors.

But at this point none of these guys should have to have off-season jobs (especially not college players!). The demands on their time and the expectation that they work year-round are just too great. If teams would pay A ballers $60 K certainly they wouldn't have to. Right now they make what, between $4,000 and $8,000? And even if a Latin kid who gets a five-figure signing bonus doesn't give that to their family it's not gonna get them through more than one-two years of minor league ball.

At most their salaries are going to double and MLB will act like that's a huge thing (because a "100 per cent raise" technically is if you put aside the actual numbers).

[Squire]

Minor leaguers should be paid better than they are. Step 1 is properly quantifying the number of hours they are reasonably required to be subject team control (and reasonable additional training) and making them subject to State Minimum Wage laws.

[zambonir]

But didn't they just pass a federal law explicitly freeing teams from that exact obligation? And even if states can override I don"t know that Florida or Arizona would be any more receptive.

[zambonir]

Boy, this just isn't gonna work out well for anyone is it? The short-term situation is rough for players though they get a stipend for the moment. Probably can't go back to their off-season jobs in most cases. This story starts out w/ a guy who is working for Door Dash.

And after all the lost revenue this year MLB is probably not going to be feeling generous in those negotiations with MiLB.

Minor leaguers seek side gigs -- and answers -- during shutdown

[Philsmania]

Unlike MLB, MiLB counts on gate revenue. A lot of these teams may now be going broke anyway.

[el-pietro]

Thats exactly whats happening over here in smaller leagues already. My local football team is fan owned, and without gate receipts we have virtually zero income. The board made a statement today saying that they would continue to pay players and staff for one more week but after that there would not be enough money to pay anyone. The league has set a return date for mid June. Several other clubs have either stopped paying players or officially laid everyone off already. Major leagues will likely be fine but there are thousands of smaller clubs world wide that rely on gate receipts.