MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has a talent to irk fans and media.
In the middle of the All-Star Game festivities, the leader of Major League Baseball was questioned about the living wages of minor leaguers.
He said he rejected the premise that they don’t make enough money to live a decent life.
After all that he went through during labor negotiations in the lockout, for him to still ignore the fact that minor leaguers compensation is insufficient represents a problem.
MiLB Advocates, an entity that provides a collective voice for all minor league-related matters, had some things to say to Manfred.
@MiLBAdvocates response: pic.twitter.com/OBFpQWfPVe
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) July 19, 2022
The advocates for minor leaguers touch a painful reality: while the minimum salary for major leaguers is $700,000 and they often can aspire to multi-year pacts worth millions, most minor leaguers barely make around $1,000 per week.
MLB Is Not Treating Minor Leaguers Fairly
The fact that they have to find side jobs to make it to the end of the month is not right: they should be focusing on improving the skills that could make them major leaguers someday.
For a minor league player, reaching the major leagues is the dream: it would represent a major opportunity for considerable earnings.
That won’t happen as minor leaguers, and the sad reality is that the vast majority of minor league players won’t make it to the bigs.
While major leaguers have the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to fight for their rights, who defends minor leaguers?
It’s truly baffling, because they feed the major league system with players year after year.
Something needs to change, because it isn’t fair for anybody but big league teams and Manfred.
