Minor Leaguers Make Livable Wage per Manfred

6,066 Views | 55 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by greg.w.h
GigEmAgsCaleb
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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34268863/rob-manfred-adamant-mlb-made-real-strides-last-years-paying-minor-leaguers

The annual pay roll on average is as follows:

$6000- Single A
$9350- Double A
$15,000- Triple A

Fast food employees make more than that based on the amount of hours the players spend playing, practicing, or on the road.
ColoradoMooseHerd
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GigEmAgsCaleb said:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34268863/rob-manfred-adamant-mlb-made-real-strides-last-years-paying-minor-leaguers

The annual pay roll on average is as follows:

$6000- Single A
$9350- Double A
$15,000- Triple A

Fast food employees make more than that based on the amount of hours the players spend playing, practicing, or on the road.
Agree they are underpaid, but stating that their pay is an annual salary is misleading. Only count the months they are paid for and calculate that would be for an annual salary. Still they will likely be underpaid, but very misleading in the way you are stating it.

EDIT - You did not say annual salary, only annual pay. But still the point is that this is only pay for part of the year and they are allowed and most do get other jobs.
GigEmAgsCaleb
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They play around 5 months, so at $15,000/season, if they played the whole year it would be $36,000 for all 12 months. That's not really a livable salary
Matsui
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They don't make a livable salary
LOYAL AG
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It's not meant to be livable. It's meant to keep you hungry and fighting for a spot in the show. MiLB isn't a career it's a chance to prove yourself. A livable wage keeps guys around way longer than they should with no benefit to the organization funding It. Why is this a conversation?
powerbelly
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AG
LOYAL AG said:

Why is this a conversation?
This
carl spacklers hat
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LOYAL AG said:

It's not meant to be livable. It's meant to keep you hungry and fighting for a spot in the show. MiLB isn't a career it's a chance to prove yourself. A livable wage keeps guys around way longer than they should with no benefit to the organization funding It. Why is this a conversation?
To add, we're talking about the Sports Entertainment industry in general and the lower/lowest levels of that industry. Makes perfect sense that they would receive paltry salaries because the organizations at that level receive paltry revenue. BIL was offered an AA contract with the Astros out of college. Craig Biggio played his position so rather than scratch out a couple of seasons in cheap hotels and long bus rides with basically no chance to make the Bigs he found a real job.
People think I'm an idiot or something, because all I do is cut lawns for a living.
htxag09
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GigEmAgsCaleb said:

They play around 5 months, so at $15,000/season, if they played the whole year it would be $36,000 for all 12 months. That's not really a livable salary
Then just take a couple million away from Trout and spread it out. I mean you could take 4 mil away and basically give every minor league player in the Angels system a $20,000 raise. He doesn't need more than $31.5 mm / year (base salary), right?!?!

As said, minor leagues aren't really meant to be a place to earn a livable salary. That's not the design of the system. You go, put in the work, grind it out, and decide if you have a shot at the league or not.

But the thing is changes like this have consequences. People seem to think that increasing minor league play requirements will simply take away a couple million from the owners and spread it around to everyone else. But it's a business and MiLB payrolls are an expense. I wouldn't be surprised to see smaller farm systems and more select player selection, thus even fewer opportunities, shortly following any kind of MiLB pay increase.

If that's what players want, that's fine. But how many of them may of not got their shot under this new potential minor league system....
aggiebrad94
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Do they get meals and housing? I expect they get a pre-game and post-game meal. I have heard of some teams having host family homes for players.
htxag09
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Some teams have come out and provided furnished apartments for all minor league players, but this is new. The Astros were the first to do it and they just started in 2022 if I'm not mistaken.

But I've listened to a few mlb players in podcasts and most say they bunk with 4 or 5 guys in a house. Not sure the exact arrangements, but they are paying rent but it's more flexible than normal leases. For example they wouldn't be paying rent in Corpus and Sugar Land if they get bumped mid year.
jkag89
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LOYAL AG said:

It's not meant to be livable. It's meant to keep you hungry and fighting for a spot in the show. MiLB isn't a career it's a chance to prove yourself. A livable wage keeps guys around way longer than they should with no benefit to the organization funding It. Why is this a conversation?
I do think organizations should do more in the way of housing such as the Astros have done but Loyal's assessment although somewhat harsh is essentially correct.
greg.w.h
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It's a conversation because somewhere a union is wanting to represent them and causing them to be deeply unhappy with getting paid to play a game…
Maroon Elephant
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Soon there will be fewer guys willing to pass up big college NIL money (and college life) to go play A ball at waitress wages. Hope MLB realizes they need to raise those salaries by 50% just to keep the product relevant. Nobody is watching g as it is now.
carl spacklers hat
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Maroon Elephant said:

Soon there will be fewer guys willing to pass up big college NIL money (and college life) to go play A ball at waitress wages. Hope MLB realizes they need to raise those salaries by 50% just to keep the product relevant. Nobody is watching g as it is now.
What percentage of A ball players make it to the Bigs? Throwing more money at the Minor Leagues isn't going to get more players to the show, it'll just cost the owners more money. If nobody is watching as it is now, how exactly is higher wages going to fix that?
People think I'm an idiot or something, because all I do is cut lawns for a living.
htxag09
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carl spacklers hat said:

Maroon Elephant said:

Soon there will be fewer guys willing to pass up big college NIL money (and college life) to go play A ball at waitress wages. Hope MLB realizes they need to raise those salaries by 50% just to keep the product relevant. Nobody is watching g as it is now.
What percentage of A ball players make it to the Bigs? Throwing more money at the Minor Leagues isn't going to get more players to the show, it'll just cost the owners more money. If nobody is watching as it is now, how exactly is higher wages going to fix that?
Also, as pointed out numerous times in this thread, most minor league teams aren't around because the product is relevant and they are making bookoos of money. I'd wager the vast majority of minor league teams are net losses.
94chem
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The one difference from a normal job is that the team owns the player. I don't know for how long, or what the rules are. Maybe someone can help. But why not just offer every minor leaguer making less than $50K and/or not on the 40 man either free agency or a retention bonus?
tcow715
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carl spacklers hat said:

Maroon Elephant said:

Soon there will be fewer guys willing to pass up big college NIL money (and college life) to go play A ball at waitress wages. Hope MLB realizes they need to raise those salaries by 50% just to keep the product relevant. Nobody is watching g as it is now.
What percentage of A ball players make it to the Bigs? Throwing more money at the Minor Leagues isn't going to get more players to the show, it'll just cost the owners more money. If nobody is watching as it is now, how exactly is higher wages going to fix that?
Every player starts in Low A Ball a large large majority of the time so that is a silly comment. Things have improved this year due to the league requiring their clubs to provide minor league housing. Every team is different. For example, the Rays have their players almost living in a commune together in one place where the Orioles have 2 bedroom apartments in various areas around their minor league cities. That is money directly back in players pockets. This used to be a massive issue for players who were later round picks and for foreign players. A large majority of guys have to get jobs in the off season because they can't afford to live, this is ESPECIALLY hard for foreign guys trying to make it. In the offseason the team doesn't pay for them to have a place to stay but will still require them to be in a certain place for workouts/training camp.

Minor League Players get housing, they get a weekly salary ($500 for AA i think at the moment only during the season), they do get per diem on the road, and they get dinner or lunch provided on gameday depending on the game time. During the season players are normally fine, it is the off season where it becomes difficult.
carl spacklers hat
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According to this site, 10% of ALL minor league players will play at least one Major League game. 10%. I'll stand behind my "silly" statement.

https://chasingmlbdreams.com/about-chasing-the-dream/#:~:text=Out%20of%20all%20players%20who,levels%20of%20the%20minor%20leagues.
People think I'm an idiot or something, because all I do is cut lawns for a living.
LOYAL AG
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94chem said:

The one difference from a normal job is that the team owns the player. I don't know for how long, or what the rules are. Maybe someone can help. But why not just offer every minor leaguer making less than $50K and/or not on the 40 man either free agency or a retention bonus?
Why spend that money? If you aren't struggling the fill the roster right now why spend money you don't have to? More money isn't going to make the players on the roster more talented.
jkag89
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Quote:

A large majority of guys have to get jobs in the off season , , .
Why shouldn't they have to get off-season jobs?
94chem
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LOYAL AG said:

94chem said:

The one difference from a normal job is that the team owns the player. I don't know for how long, or what the rules are. Maybe someone can help. But why not just offer every minor leaguer making less than $50K and/or not on the 40 man either free agency or a retention bonus?
Why spend that money? If you aren't struggling the fill the roster right now why spend money you don't have to? More money isn't going to make the players on the roster more talented.
Right. If my company owned me, I'm sure they'd feel the same way.
LOYAL AG
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94chem said:

LOYAL AG said:

94chem said:

The one difference from a normal job is that the team owns the player. I don't know for how long, or what the rules are. Maybe someone can help. But why not just offer every minor leaguer making less than $50K and/or not on the 40 man either free agency or a retention bonus?
Why spend that money? If you aren't struggling the fill the roster right now why spend money you don't have to? More money isn't going to make the players on the roster more talented.
Right. If my company owned me, I'm sure they'd feel the same way.
They do own you if there's 1000 other people that would put their lives on hold for a few years to pursue the dream you're living. If you're in a position where replacing you is expensive or you can improve your life elsewhere then you have some leverage and can demand more money. Neither of those apply to minor league baseball. Like I said earlier in the thread this isn't meant to be a career. The minors are there to give guys a chance to prove themselves. The 10% or less that do make tens of millions of dollars, the rest move on to the real world where they can ascend to jobs like yours that provide more leverage which ultimately leads to a higher quality of life. You cannot equate their situation to yours, they're in no way comparable.
cevans_40
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This is akin to women soccer players complaining about pay when they draw 50 people to watch them play.
tcow715
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Not really. The parent clubs of Women Soccer Players don't bring in millions of dollars a year.
alvtimes
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Im curious on "paid housing" because that could be a huge bonus. Is "paid housing" year round or in season only?
Maybe its already happening but who will be first MLB team to form a shell management company, build an apartment complex..... house their minor leaguers in it and help offset the cost by renting out the other units to the general public?
tcow715
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This past year it became a requirement for parent clubs to provide housing. Right now I know the Orioles put up all of their guys in 2 bedroom apartments throughout the city. I have a sibling with them now and I think something like 6 guys live in his complex (2 per apartment). His complex is pretty nice. The Cleveland Guardians have their entire High A team in a high rise down town so they are close to the parent club. I believe the Rays have all of their guys in Low A (maybe more) in one building that is just theirs. Almost like a commune. Providing housing during the season has been massive. I do know in the offseason when they require guys to be at their facility they do not pay for the hotel the guys stay in, but they do get them a discounted rate. I think the motel the Orioles guys stay at is something like $30 a night.

I'm not here to be super opinionated either way. Just more provide insight to what I have seen. Do I think the guys should be paid a little bit more? Yeah. Do I understand the other side of the argument? Completely.
cevans_40
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tcow715 said:

Not really. The parent clubs of Women Soccer Players don't bring in millions of dollars a year.

I guess I don't follow. There is no demand for minor league baseball or women's soccer in the grand scheme of things. That's why their pay is low.
ColoradoMooseHerd
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cevans_40 said:

tcow715 said:

Not really. The parent clubs of Women Soccer Players don't bring in millions of dollars a year.

I guess I don't follow. There is no demand for minor league baseball or women's soccer in the grand scheme of things. That's why their pay is low.
The major league teams use the minor league teams as farms. While the games in minor leagues don't draw tens of thousands, the players are valuable because they are diamonds in the rough that they develop into the stars. When teams can draft and sign hundreds of players and own them for long periods of time, the players are trapped without options to get more pay and the owners can artificially keep the pay down. If you opened up the players to free agency sooner, teams would start paying more for them on the open market. Major Leagues need the players.


cevans_40
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ColoradoMooseHerd said:

cevans_40 said:

tcow715 said:

Not really. The parent clubs of Women Soccer Players don't bring in millions of dollars a year.

I guess I don't follow. There is no demand for minor league baseball or women's soccer in the grand scheme of things. That's why their pay is low.
The major league teams use the minor league teams as farms. While the games in minor leagues don't draw tens of thousands, the players are valuable because they are diamonds in the rough that they develop into the stars. When teams can draft and sign hundreds of players and own them for long periods of time, the players are trapped without options to get more pay and the owners can artificially keep the pay down. If you opened up the players to free agency sooner, teams would start paying more for them on the open market. Major Leagues need the players.




I respectfully disagree. If the contracts were shorter and more expensive, there would be fewer levels of Minor league ball.
LOYAL AG
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Why is this a conversation? The value of being a minor league baseball player isn't in the contractual pay the player receives. Instead it's in the opportunity to develop and become a major league baseball player, a job most men would give their left nut for. The chances of that happening aren't good as a minor leaguer but the chance is zero if you're not a minor leaguer.

cevans_40 is right, if minor league players cost more per player there will be fewer minor league players. We aren't going to see the MLB commit more money to that level of ball. The players will look to college ball to get big enough to provide this opportunity. We just saw this when MiLB was reduced about 25% not five years ago.

BBGigem
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LOYAL AG said:

Why is this a conversation? The value of being a minor league baseball player isn't in the contractual pay the player receives. Instead it's in the opportunity to develop and become a major league baseball player, a job most men would give their left nut for. The chances of that happening aren't good as a minor leaguer but the chance is zero if you're not a minor leaguer.

cevans_40 is right, if minor league players cost more per player there will be fewer minor league players. We aren't going to see the MLB commit more money to that level of ball. The players will look to college ball to get big enough to provide this opportunity. We just saw this when MiLB was reduced about 25% not five years ago.




This is exactly what you have seen. I don't know the actual numbers but I am sure it can be found but there are much fewer minor league teams and players now than there used to be. Just look at the draft rounds. Yes Covid really did it's number a few years ago but that just helped MLB move faster in reducing its minor league costs. Years ago there was no round limit. Teams just drafted until they decided to stop. They were filling rosters. Over the years you do see fewer and fewer high school kids taken as compared to college players. This is especially the case past the 3rd-5th round. That probably also means there will be fewer minor league only careers. Teams will cut bait earlier than they used to years ago.

That is good for college baseball for sure.
TXAggie2011
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It's a conversation because Manfred said he thinks the players make a living wage
W
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in the grand scheme of life so to speak...

it's good that the players from high school and college get a little bit humbled in the minor leagues.

because let's face it...they are treated like kings thru high school and college once they demonstrate high level athletic ability.

nothing wrong with tough times to make them appreciate the good life in the show and the $700k rookie minimum salary
W
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and did someone say that $36,000 per year is not a livable salary?

what?
94chem
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College scholarships, though hard to come by, are worth way more than minor league pay.
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