Around the League - 2021 Szn

[50PoundHead]

I have not read the article yet but will at your suggestion. OTOH, back in the 90s there was a Low A team here. Most if not all players were given free housing by local fans in exchange for season tickets. The team had had a van (may have taken 2 vans) that transported players to home and back. The local community college had a English language class that they conducted every morning 7 days a week during home stands for the latin players. Im sure there were other available benefits. But times change

Much of the article is a stark contrast to the way things used to be in terms of players being able to live with local families (COVID didn't help there). Living where you do, the article will probably even mean more.

The thing with housing in many instances is that the players often don't know where they are heading until the last couple days of spring training. After assigned, they often have to make a beeline to the city, find a place, sign a short-term lease (which may become a problem if they are promoted or demoted), and stay within their budget.

The thing that is striking about the article is that I get the impression that most of the major league front offices just shrug their shoulders about this. Why is the player's name on the lease? Why doesn't the major league team sign the lease and rotate guys in if a vacancy occurs due to promotion, demotion, or release? This seems to be an area where there are a few simple fixes that would make life a bit simpler for your human capital.

 

[thewupk]

Much of the article is a stark contrast to the way things used to be in terms of players being able to live with local families (COVID didn't help there). Living where you do, the article will probably even mean more.

The thing with housing in many instances is that the players often don't know where they are heading until the last couple days of spring training. After assigned, they often have to make a beeline to the city, find a place, sign a short-term lease (which may become a problem if they are promoted or demoted), and stay within their budget.

The thing that is striking about the article is that I get the impression that most of the major league front offices just shrug their shoulders about this. Why is the player's name on the lease? Why doesn't the major league team sign the lease and rotate guys in if a vacancy occurs due to promotion, demotion, or release? This seems to be an area where there are a few simple fixes that would make life a bit simpler for your human capital.

Because unless you are a legit prospect the teams don't really care about you. This is true for virtually every team in baseball. You are only there as filler to give the legit prospects people to play with and against.

 

[MadduxFanII]

The thing that is striking about the article is that I get the impression that most of the major league front offices just shrug their shoulders about this. Why is the player's name on the lease? Why doesn't the major league team sign the lease and rotate guys in if a vacancy occurs due to promotion, demotion, or release? This seems to be an area where there are a few simple fixes that would make life a bit simpler for your human capital.

I have to think that some team could see a meaningful return by investing a few million bucks a year in things like housing and basic nutrition for their minor leaguers. Just making sure your guys have something of value to eat every day seems like a pretty good idea.

 

[50PoundHead]

Because unless you are a legit prospect the teams don't really care about you. This is true for virtually every team in baseball. You are only there as filler to give the legit prospects people to play with and against.

That's the gist of the article. The guys who have signed big bonuses can absorb the costs of playing in the minors, but I was shocked to learn that a lot of players retire because they are actually losing money by continuing to play.

Some franchises are stepping forward to create better living environments for the players, but it does boil down to most franchises just playing the risk/reward game. It's so much different than pro football, where college football serves as the minor league system and players are fed and housed.

 

[clvclv]

To put that $12.50/hour in perspective for those who still don't quite grasp it - there's a sign in each of the parking lots of EACH of the local fast food establishments here advertising that they need help. Wendy's is in the lead (offering $11 per hour), but McDonalds is actually pimping a $400 sign-on bonus.

When you put what A-Ball players make in that light, you realize they're pretty far up the totem pole - they're taking down as much as the Shift Leader you see hovering over the shoulder of the kid taking your ATM card at the drive-thru. Of course, it took that dude a year to work up to Shift Leader - A-Ball guys don't get a raise until they get promoted to AA.

 

[Southcack77]

To put that $12.50/hour in perspective for those who still don't quite grasp it - there's a sign in each of the parking lots of EACH of the local fast food establishments here advertising that they need help. Wendy's is in the lead (offering $11 per hour), but McDonalds is actually pimping a $400 sign-on bonus.

When you put what A-Ball players make in that light, you realize they're pretty far up the totem pole - they're taking down as much as the Shift Leader you see hovering over the shoulder of the kid taking your ATM card at the drive-thru. Of course, it took that dude a year to work up to Shift Leader - A-Ball guys don't get a raise until they get promoted to AA.

Waiting to see if people will ever stop whining about teenagers who choose to walk into situations to play a game for a living that thousands have chosen before.

They can room together and eat ramen noodles.

 

[NYCBrave]

That's the gist of the article. The guys who have signed big bonuses can absorb the costs of playing in the minors, but I was shocked to learn that a lot of players retire because they are actually losing money by continuing to play.

Some franchises are stepping forward to create better living environments for the players, but it does boil down to most franchises just playing the risk/reward game. It's so much different than pro football, where college football serves as the minor league system and players are fed and housed.

But allow me to play devil's advocate. The majority of us on here follow the Braves minor leagues pretty closely. I don't recall ever hearing of guys just randomly retiring. So they must be finding ways to make it work. Now I'm not saying the conditions are great. But there must be some truth somewhere in the middle.

 

[50PoundHead]

But allow me to play devil's advocate. The majority of us on here follow the Braves minor leagues pretty closely. I don't recall ever hearing of guys just randomly retiring. So they must be finding ways to make it work. Now I'm not saying the conditions are great. But there must be some truth somewhere in the middle.

All I can say is read the article. I'm sure a lot of players who aren't cut, but don't continue playing, have done the math and realize they aren't going to make the major leagues and continuing to play at the minor league level just doesn't make sense. It's probably not a mass exodus because these guys are chasing a dream, but the article points out how difficult it is for these guys to make ends meet in the lower minors. It's always important to remember that minor league players do not get paid during the off-season. I knew a couple of minor league players who worked at an baseball instructional facility where I worked out so I wouldn't be surprised if that was an off-season option for some guys.

 

[The Tariff King]

Chuck James worked at Home Depot.

 

[jpx7]

Waiting to see if people will ever stop whining about teenagers who choose to walk into situations to play a game for a living that thousands have chosen before.

They can room together and eat ramen noodles.

You’re sick.

 

[Carp]

Actually rather shocking to me that this doesn't get talked about a lot more. I deal with this on a day-to-day basis so it's in front of me all the time, but this is rapidly becoming a huge problem across the board - not just for minor league baseball players. The real estate market has been incredibly hot across the country for well over a year - home prices and rents have skyrocketed everywhere while salaries have remained stagnant pretty much across the board for the rest of the world. Even with the bump, the minimum salary for players in A-Ball (both Lo and High) is $500/week. That's $12.50/hour folks. If you live as far away from Atlanta as I do and you make that, you can't go see a game (much less come down for a weekend series) without saving like a miser for six months

I don't remember what take-home pay was when I was re-stocking shelves for Coke when I was in high school, but it's probably fair to assume the kids in A-Ball bring home between $350 and $400 a week during the season. Remember what it was like when you were in college and there wasn't anything in the fridge other than a 12 pack of beer, a bottle of ketchup and mustard, and a jar of mayonnaise with a jar of peanut butter in the cabinet and a loaf of bread on the counter? I bet everybody that plays for the Asheville Tourists do. The average apartment rent in Asheville is $1362/month - that sure doesn't leave those guys much left to do a lot of grocery shopping with AFTER they pay their power and phone bills.

Don't they also get per diem or something like that to cover food costs? I'm sure it isn't much and many of these guys are probably eating bologna sandwiches a lot, but it certainly would add up to more than $500/week. Crazy to me to think that $500 a week doesn't do what it used to. I didn't make much more than 10 years ago fresh out of college, but it seemed like I got by pretty well all things considered. Of course, the cost of living in East TN is some of the lowest in the country, but still, the point remains.

 

[Carp]

Much of the article is a stark contrast to the way things used to be in terms of players being able to live with local families (COVID didn't help there). Living where you do, the article will probably even mean more.

The thing with housing in many instances is that the players often don't know where they are heading until the last couple days of spring training. After assigned, they often have to make a beeline to the city, find a place, sign a short-term lease (which may become a problem if they are promoted or demoted), and stay within their budget.

The thing that is striking about the article is that I get the impression that most of the major league front offices just shrug their shoulders about this. Why is the player's name on the lease? Why doesn't the major league team sign the lease and rotate guys in if a vacancy occurs due to promotion, demotion, or release? This seems to be an area where there are a few simple fixes that would make life a bit simpler for your human capital.

You would figure the team would have agreements in place with the city that they are partnering with to accommodate their players and rental agreements in some way or another. In any event, I would be surprised if all minor league teams didn't staff in place or multiple contacts around town that they can reach out to that can help with housing.

 

[thethe]

The idea is to bet on yourself. These kids don't get 'real jobs' and play a game with the hopes in striking it big.

They know what they are signing up for. If they want to make more money they can always give up their dreams.

 

[Carp]

The idea is to bet on yourself. These kids don't get 'real jobs' and play a game with the hopes in striking it big.

They know what they are signing up for. If they want to make more money they can always give up their dreams.

That's not really the point here. One would think the MLB teams that are raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue would want to take care of their investments a little better. I realize a 29 year old 1b in A ball hitting .250 probably isn't super valuable to club. But you're not really catering to that player. You're catering to the 18-23 year old wild cards you drafted in the 15th round or some random Venezuelan kid you signed for 100k. I would think kicking in an extra 500k or so split between the all the players in your system would help improve the lives of your assets quite a bit while having a minimal affect overall on your overall profits. And on the outside chance one of those lottery tickets hit, you have recouped that investment 10 fold.

Obviously some teams have started to understand thos, and have began investing pretty well in their prospects and their development, while a lot of clubs are still stuck in the stone age.

 

[Southcack77]

The idea is to bet on yourself. These kids don't get 'real jobs' and play a game with the hopes in striking it big.

They know what they are signing up for. If they want to make more money they can always give up their dreams.

It amuses me that folks like to suggest they're going without meals. Like those poor college football players with the room and board and stipends and fringe benefits.

It's not particularly lucrative but there is literally everything else in the world as options if it doesn't suit.

They're young adults, boo hoo hoo.

But it's marginally better than the whining that goes on about whether millionaires are being exploited for not making more millions.

 

[Tapate50]

What do most sign for these days? 100k?

 

[thethe]

That's not really the point here. One would think the MLB teams that are raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue would want to take care of their investments a little better. I realize a 29 year old 1b in A ball hitting .250 probably isn't super valuable to club. But you're not really catering to that player. You're catering to the 18-23 year old wild cards you drafted in the 15th round or some random Venezuelan kid you signed for 100k. I would think kicking in an extra 500k or so split between the all the players in your system would help improve the lives of your assets quite a bit while having a minimal affect overall on your overall profits. And on the outside chance one of those lottery tickets hit, you have recouped that investment 10 fold.

Obviously some teams have started to understand thos, and have began investing pretty well in their prospects and their development, while a lot of clubs are still stuck in the stone age.

The players that actually have a shot sign for more money than most 18-25 year olds will see if they worked during those years.

 

[Jaw]

I've always wondered why they don't build their own dorm style housing close to the ball park. It wouldn't cost much, you wouldn't need many, and it seems like it would let prospects focus on just improving their game instead of where they would sleep.

 

[50PoundHead]

Don't they also get per diem or something like that to cover food costs? I'm sure it isn't much and many of these guys are probably eating bologna sandwiches a lot, but it certainly would add up to more than $500/week. Crazy to me to think that $500 a week doesn't do what it used to. I didn't make much more than 10 years ago fresh out of college, but it seemed like I got by pretty well all things considered. Of course, the cost of living in East TN is some of the lowest in the country, but still, the point remains.

I believe they do get meal money, but it's nowhere near big league meal money. I met a Twins' player in the 1970s in a bar after a game at the old Met Stadium in Bloomington, and he was using his meal money to pay for a long-term room in a Motel near the Stadium. He was banking nearly all his check. But that was in the old days.

I don't post premium material from other sites, so I can't post the article. A lot of it is anecdotal, but I think it pointed out a pretty real problem. As Tapate50 points out, most bonuses for fringy prospects are in the $100,000 range so it's my guess that a lot of guys bank most of that (probably ends up to be between $70,000 and $75,000 grand after taxes) and can at least keep going until that runs out. I think the point is that while these guys are chasing a dream and getting paid to play a game they love to play, they certainly aren't coddled and the average fan has no idea of some of the real life challenges they face.

It's not directly related, but when the oil/fracking boom was going wild in North Dakota and Montana, the big oil companies basically took all the rooms in a number of motels for the entire workforce; everyone from engineers down to the guys working the oil fields. I guess I'm a bit surprised that baseball doesn't take a similar approach and have a shared payment responsibility between the team and the players. A little creative thinking could go a long ways here and the article does point out how some franchises are trying to mitigate some of the larger issues.

 

[Carp]

The players that actually have a shot sign for more money than most 18-25 year olds will see if they worked during those years.

Again, look at what Ronnie signed for. Totally a lottery ticket. And he could have made similar money working a pretty basic job over the same 5-6 years if he were organizational filler instead of a super star. I'm sure there are countless other cases too, that's just the one that stands out. The point is, take better care of your own, and you'll more likely to produce better results. You don't worry about the dead weight along the way.